RODNEY AH YOU has left Ulster to join Premiership club Newcastle Falcons with immediate effect, despite signing a new contract with the northern province as recently as August.

The 30-year-old prop had not featured for Ulster this season and departs Kingspan Stadium after three years with the club.

Ah You joined Ulster in 2016. Source: Morgan Treacy/INPHO

Ah You, who was capped three times by Ireland, has fallen down the Ulster pecking order this term, with the tighthead department in Belfast well stocked.

The arrival of Marty Moore from Wasps added to the competition already there, with Wiehahn Herbst, Ross Kane and Tom O’Toole all options for head coach Dan McFarland.

Wellington-born Ah You qualified for Ireland back in 2013, making his international debut under Joe Schmidt against Argentina in June 2014 before winning further caps against South Africa and Georgia that November.

Ah You, who played over 100 times for Connacht, was part of the province’s Pro12-winning side under Pat Lam, before he moved to Ravenhill to join Ulster at the start of the 2016/17 campaign.

“I’m pretty stoked that Dean Richards came after me,” he said.

I’ve played at Newcastle a couple of times with Connacht, I’ve been watching them get a couple of really good wins recently in the Heineken Champions Cup and there are a lot of good things going on around the place.

Newcastle, who also have Irish-born USA prop Paul Mullen on their books, have made a strong start to their Champions Cup campaign, recording victories over Toulon and Montpellier in the opening two rounds of the pool stages.

Richards added: “Rodney has been a proven performer at a high level for a number of years now and he will definitely add to what we already have here.

“He fits in with the way we want to play the game, he offers a ball-carrying threat as well as the nuts and bolts of his set-piece game and I’m delighted to be able to bring him over here.”

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