Pirates agree Junior loan

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs scrum-half Junior Poluleuligaga has today agreed to join Championship outfit Cornish Pirates on a short-term loan deal.

With the Pirates having been dealt an untimely blow with captain Gavin Cattle sustaining an injury in last Friday's 18-18 draw at Doncaster Knights, the Cornish club have moved swiftly to acquire the services of the talented 31-year-old Samoan international.

The Auckland-born number nine, who is now into his third season at Sandy Park, will head to the Duchy with at least a few familiar faces in tow as the Pirates have already dual-registered Exeter Academy starlets Jack Yeandle, Sam Hill, Jack Nowell and Dave Ewers.

Commenting on the move, Chiefs head coach Rob Baxter said: "With Will Chudley coming in and doing so well; Haydn Thomas back from injury and Kevin Barrett also going well, an opportunity has arisen for Junior to get some extended game time down at the Cornish Pirates.

"With Gavin Cattle having played a lot recently and he's taken a couple of knocks recently, we see this as a fantastic opportunity for Junior to play what we believe is high level rugby.

"We feel it's just what he needs right now because it can be difficult for scrum-halves and fly-halves, your kind of touch players in the team, to come in and out of sides if they are not playing regularly. Our A League programme starts to become a little bit fractured now, we've not got a game next Monday night, so getting Junior playing of game time will be great for him.

"Hopefully it will be good for the Pirates too and it will give ourselves a fantastic opportunity of seeing him performing in a series of games. It's also something he will need to keep his performances up should the opportunities arise for him in the future."

Baxter's positive sentiments were endorsed by Cornish Pirates CEO, Rod Coward, who added: "To have the on-going, professional relationship with Exeter Chiefs that allows us to be able to approach them when injuries occur to key players and for us to get such a prompt response is hugely beneficial. We are confident Junior will provide excellent cover at scrum-half during his time at the Pirates.”