Sonny Bill Williams will play for Canterbury in the ITM Cup and the Crusaders in next year's Super 15.
The 24-year-old's signing means Hawke's Bay, Counties Manukau and North Harbour have all missed securing the former Toulon and Bulldogs superstar.
Canterbury coach Rob Penney and Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said they were delighted to have Williams on board.
Penney said: "Sonny Bill is an exciting prospect for us. We're all looking forward to working with him this season and are sure he will fit in very well."
Blackadder added: "We are sure Sonny Bill will do very well with the Crusaders in
2011. We're confident we can help in his development and we're sure he will add a lot to our game. Sonny Bill is a humble and down-to-earth guy and I know he has a very professional approach."
Williams has stated his aim is to represent the All Blacks at next year's Rugby World Cup and sees Canterbury, particularly the prospect of playing alongside Dan Carter, as the best way to achieve that goal.
Both Penney and Blackadder are sure Williams has made the right choices with a view to developing his game.
Canterbury's first competition game of the season is against Hawke's Bay at AMI Stadium on Friday, July 30.

O'DRISCOLL PREDICTS WIN

Ireland captain Brian O'Driscoll says that his side has the ability to best the Wallabies at Suncorp Stadium on Saturday night, but realises history will be against them as they chase their first win of the tour.
The Irish side haven't won a game on Australian soil since 1979, haven't tasted victory since beating Wales in March and will be facing a fired up Australian side looking for redemption after losing by a solitary point to the English on the weekend.
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WALLABIES WEAKENED

The Wallabies have been forced to make a late change to their starting line-up for Saturday's Lansdowne Cup test against Ireland in Brisbane with lock Nathan Sharpe ruled out by injury. The Western Force skipper was withdrawn from the team this morning due to a back complaint. He suffered a twinge in his lower back during Tuesday's training session. The injury hasn't responded to treatment in the time since, forcing the 82-test veteran to pull out of the team.
His place in the starting XV will be taken by Brumbies second rower Mark Chisholm, with Mitchell Chapman moving into the squad on the bench. The uncapped Chapman, who started off his Super Rugby career in Brisbane with the Queensland Reds in 2005 before switching to the Brumbies three seasons later, featured in the second row for the Australian Barbarians in both of their recent tour matches against England.
The Wallabies face Ireland in the fourth test of this year's Bundaberg Series at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane on Saturday night.

JOHNSON ANGRY WITH LOSS

England manager Martin Johnson admitted his side had learned some brutal lessons after Wednesday's 35-28 defeat to the New Zealand Maori.
The tourists had raced into a 13-0 lead in Napier with an early try from Steffon Armitage and then recovered from two blistering Maori scores to lead 28-17 at the interval.
But England could never add to the tries Danny Care and Chris Ashton scored late in the first half as the Maori took control.
Wing Hosea Gear completed a hat-trick as England's defence was found wanting and Johnson's men failed to score a single point in the second half.
"It rankles losing that game because there was a definite chance to win it," said Johnson.
"I am a bit grumpy. We said international rugby is brutal and at times people didn't do their jobs well enough in the second half for us to be able to win.
"I think it is [a harsh lesson]. We were upbeat at half-time. We knew what we had to do – but we then had to go and do it.
"We lost our way a bit, we lost our composure slightly, forced a few things and defensively we were poor at the start of the second half.
"If you don't handle their powerful runners you get what we got, which is a couple of tries conceded and a good lead lost.
"I should be more upbeat about the whole tour but it annoys me to chuck away the game."
England arrived in Napier on the back of a drawn test series with Australia and an unbeaten midweek record, following a draw and a win against the Australian Barbarians.
For the Maori, who were celebrating their centenary, it was another famous victory following their wins over England in 1998, the British and Irish Lions in 2005 and Ireland on Friday.

LEGEND PRAISES CARTER

Welsh and British and Irish Lions legend Barry John, regarded as one of the world's greatest five-eighths, said it was a compliment to him that he was talked about in the same sentence as Dan Carter.
John spearheaded the plans of Lions master coach Carwyn James to allow the 1971 Lions to be the only British side to win a series in New Zealand and with his goal-kicking, field judgment and running ability remains highest on the list of visiting five-eighths to have toured.
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DONNELLY TO REPAY FAITH

Tom Donnelly is determined to repay the faith Graham Henry has shown in him by picking him for Saturday's second test against Wales in Hamilton.
The Highlanders lock has not played any meaningful rugby since mid-March after fracturing his foot which kept him out of the remainder of the Super 14.
But, despite having just 40 minutes of club rugby under his belt, Henry has turned to Donnelly to replace the injured Anthony Boric in the All Blacks' starting line-up, leaving Sam Whitelock on the bench for the clash at Waikato Stadium.
Donnelly impressed Henry on last year's tour of Europe and was told another good Super 14 campaign would put him in the frame for selection again.
So when injury hit the 28-year-old was understandably anxious until Henry and his assistants Steve Hansen and Wayne Smith got in touch.
"I had a couple of meetings with them in the Super 14. They just said 'don't rush your recovery' because I was thinking I'd have to come back and play," Donnelly said.
"They just said 'come and play when you're ready. Don't push it too hard, too early'. That's what we've done.
"But obviously only playing five games [in the Super 14] they've picked me on faith and it's time to repay that really."
With such little recent game time neither the player nor the coaches are expecting him to last the full 80 minutes against a Wales side that will be looking for revenge following last weekend's 42-9 defeat.
"It's basically about going for as long and as hard as I can," the second rower said. "If they see me tiring they will pull me off.
"They understand I haven't played a lot of rugby so they're not expecting me to play the whole 80 minutes."

RETIRED WALLABY TO DO "THE HARD YARDS"

The age-old banter that exists between 'hard yards' forwards and 'fairy footed' backs has been taking a different path – in fact many different paths – in recent months. Former Wallaby, Richard Tombs, and ex Waratahs and Australian Sevens player, Steve Talbot, are in training for the longest match of their lives: the 100 kilometre Oxfam Trailwalker to be held on the last weekend of August.
"I've lost six kilos in the last eight weeks, and am hoping to be physically and mentally in shape to cope with fatigue, sleep deprivation, muscle soreness, blisters and cramps," says Tombs, who played for the Wallabies between 1988 and 1996.
The Trailwalker, a charity event to raise money for Oxfam's international aid programs, will involve 500 four-person teams trudging over terrains that vary from rugged bush trails to Sydney suburban footpaths. While the fastest teams will take less than 16 hours, Talbot and Tombs are expecting to slog it out for more than 24 hours. Without sleep!
For Talbot, a rugby journeyman who enjoyed eight seasons with the Waratahs as well as stints in Canada, Portugal and Japan, the trip from Sydney's fringe northern bushland to the finish line at suburban Mosman is an adventure too inviting to ignore. He still looks fit enough to run out for his former club Southern Districts, but appreciates the Trailwalker will pose obstacles that are far beyond being contorted at the bottom of a ruck.
Donations can be made at:
http://www2.oxfam.org.au/trailwalker/Sydney/team/511