Former Western Force hooker Nathan Charles has joined the Melbourne Rebels as they look to resurrect their Super Rugby season.
Charles has arrived in Melbourne from English Premiership club Bath to bolster the squad's hooker ranks which have been hit with injury to Jordan Uelese (arm) while youngster Sama Malolo is with the Junior Wallabies at the Oceania Rugby U20s championships.
Test rake Uelese is expected to be out for another three weeks with Charles likely to start on the bench against the Crusaders on Friday night at AAMI Park.
Charles made 86 Super Rugby appearances for the Force, while he also has four Test caps since 2014, with his experience valuable to the Rebels, who have lost their last four matches.
"We are fortunate to add an experienced player like Nathan to our squad mid-season and we look forward to him adding depth and competition in our hooking ranks," Rebels general manager of rugby Nick Ryan said.
"We have identified our set piece work as an area of improvement and we see Nathan being a great acquisition in support of Anaru (Rangi), and in the absence of Jordan and Sama."
