Staunton and Reddan snapped up by Wasps

WASPS chief executive David Davies yesterday unveiled Harlequins fly-half Jeremy Staunton and Munster scrum-half Eoin Reddan as new signings and insisted his top stars are going nowhere.

He has vowed to cling on to his big-name stars in the wake of interest from fellow Zurich Premiership clubs. The vultures have been circling the Causeway Stadium since the Londoners were crowned Premiership champions with a 39-14 victory over Leicester at Twickenham three weeks ago.

World Cup winners Josh Lewsey and Simon Shaw have been continually linked with moves back to former club Bristol, who clinched promotion to the Premiership a month ago.

But Davies insists his top stars are going nowhere. He said: "Josh does have a strong association with the west country and loves the outdoor life but he is contracted to us for another year. He has been holed up with Ian McGeechan for three weeks and it's reasonable to say that he's not going anywhere.

"There's no truth in Simon Shaw returning to Bristol either he's been a great servant to us. The current squad will be staying together, apart from those who have already left."

Staunton, who boasts one Ireland cap, joins after a year at The Stoop and can play at either fly-half or full-back. He missed the penalty which effectively put Quins down on the last day of the season. The 25-year-old faces stiff competition from Alex King and Mark Van Gisbergen for the fly-half berth with the likes of Lewsey and Tom Voyce in contention at full-back.

He said: "It's a great opportunity and I'm excited at the thought of joining what is currently the most successful club rugby team in England. I'm looking forward to working with Shaun Edwards and Ian McGeechan and it will be great chance for me to learn from such a successful and experienced coaching staff.

"I'll also be joining another couple of Irish players in the Wasps squad Jonny O'Connor and Eoin Reddan, who is from my former club Munster."

Reddan, 24, will fill the void left by Gloucester-bound Peter Richards but has a fight on his hands to pin down a first-team place ahead of veteran scrum-half Matt Dawson. The former Ireland U21 international said: "Matt's still a great player and I can't wait to start working with him."

Meanwhile, the club have announced that Magners Irish Cider will be their new shirt sponsor.