Saracens have signed All Black scrum-half Justin Marshall for the rest of the season after his French club agreed to an early release from a one-year contract.

Marshall arrives from Montpelier having left the powerful Ospreys club in Wales to try his luck in France.

The 35-year-old is back in British rugby as cover for Neil de Kock, who will be ruled out for eight to 12 weeks after breaking his arm in last week's Guinness Premiership victory over Bristol.

Eddie Jones, the Sarries director of rugby, said: "Justin is one of the most experienced scrum-halves in the world and a really tough competitor.

"He will provide great support for our other two scrum-halves, Moses Rauluni and Mickey Wilson, and we are lucky to be able to sign someone with his knowledge of the game.

"We've got an exciting few months ahead of us as we challenge for trophies in the European Challenge Cup and Guinness Premiership and we're looking forward to Justin playing his part in that."

Marshall said: "Saracens is a high-profile, quality club, and I'm looking forward to joining up with the squad. There's still a good chunk of the season remaining, and I'm excited about contributing on and off the field."

Sarries face Viadana in the Challenge Cup this weekend.