USA star Samu Manoa is moving from Toulon to the Cardiff Blues.

The hard-hitting lock/No. 8 just capped off a strong June summer series with the USA but had an up-and-down season with Toulon as he battled back from injury.

Manoa will join USA captain Blaine Scully at Cardiff. New Blues head coach John Mulvihill said he wants Manoa to impose his physicality on Pro 14 opposition.

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"Samu is a big, physical man, who will compete with Nick [Williams] for the No. 8 jersey and bring an abundance of experience to our pack," Mulvihill said. "It is important we take some of the workload off Nick and Samu will work in tandem with him, ensuring we have a real physical presence for the full 80 minutes.

Manoa is 33 but is a young in terms of how much rugby he has played. After helping SFGG to a Super League title, Manoa signed with Northampton in the English Premiership in the fall of 2011. He became a major star there and helped the Saints to two European Cup finals and a Premiership title.

Samu Manoa
Age: 33
Position: Lock, Flanker, No. 8
Clubs: SFGG, Northampton Saints, Toulon, Cardiff Blues
USA Caps:21
Ht.:6-6
Wt.: 275

He joined with Toulon in the fall of 2015 and the club was a French Top 14 runner-up in 2016. But overall, he hasn't logged the 35-plus seasons for 10-13 years that other players his age have recorded, making him older, wiser, but still fresh.

"I'm really looking forward to the next chapter and getting stuck in at Cardiff Blues," Manoa said in a statement. "They had a great season last year, winning the European Challenge Cup and sealing a return to the Champions Cup, so it is a great time to join.