GREG Rawlinson is looking forward to renewing acquaintances with some former colleagues when he arrives at Sixways later this year.

The 18-stone lock signed a three-year contract with the Warriors earlier this week and there will be plenty of familiar faces to help him settle in.

He has played alongside front-rowers Aleki Lutui and Tevita Taumoepeau before while Sam Tuitupou -another player set to arrive in the autumn - is an All Blacks colleague of Rawlinson.

"I'm really looking forward to the whole experience," said Rawlinson. "I actually know some of the guys. Having played with Aleki Lutui at Bay of Plenty, I know what a big player he is, and also had a spell with Tevita Taumoe-peau.

"I know the quality of players I will be joining and it's also great that I'm coming over with Sam Tuitupou. Sammy and I are both excited about our next challenge."

There will be a strong presence from the southern hemisphere at Sixways next season with South African prop Shaun Ruwers also joining the ranks.

Rawlinson is himself a native of South Africa, which qualifies him as a non-overseas player. He moved to New Zealand in 2002 and became only the second ever South African-born All Black, the other being Andrew Mehrtens, who was also born in Durban.

Warriors are reporting a surge in season ticket sales following the announcement of Rawlinson's signing, which follows hot on the heels of Mike Ruddock's arrival as director of rugby.

The ticket office sold more than 400 renewals and brand new season ticket packages in just 48 hours and total sales have now smashed through the 2,500 barrier.

Existing season ticket holders have until Friday to take advantage of the discounted rate and guarantee first refusal on their current seat.

Warriors general manager Charlie Little said: "Last season culminated in a fantastic win against Saracens in the last match and this clearly helped our season-ticket drive. Those people that were fortunate to be at Sixways on that day won't forget the atmosphere created by the 10,000 Warriors supporters.

"Since then we have brought in Mike Ruddock as director of rugby, a rugby coach with a fantastic pedigree and who has a proven track record at the very highest level.

"Greg Rawlinson joining Sam Tuitupou, his All Blacks colleague, at Worcester is the start of this summer's recruitment process. We plan to secure the signatures of a couple more internationals in the forthcoming weeks and I hope that we can also now secure the support of more season-ticket holders."