Super Rugby newcomers Southern Kings said on Wednesday they had signed Argentina scrum-half Nicolas Vergallo, Auckland Blues utility back Hadleigh Parkes and Golden Lions hooker Bandise Maku.

Vergallo plays for French Top 14 outfit Toulouse and has been competing with Martin Landajo for the Pumas No.9 shirt in the Rugby Championship for southern hemisphere national teams.

Parkes can play fullback or centre while livewire Maku missed most of the last Super Rugby season due to injury. Other signings include Sharks lock Steven Sykes, Stormers fly-half Demetri Catrakilis and Cheetahs centre Andries Strauss.

Port Elizabeth-based Kings replace the Lions, who finished bottom of the 2012 South African Conference, in an attempt to stimulate growth of the sport in the Eastern Cape, traditional home of black South African rugby.