Whitehaven have signed Welsh international hooker Curtis Davies on a month’s loan from neighbours Workington Town.
The 25-year-old and his twin Connor both joined Town earlier in the campaign following the conclusion of Elite 1 competition in France having played with Villeneuve.
Prior to this spell in France the brothers played their rugby at Halifax Panthers and Curtis will now spend the next month at the LEL Arena with no recall clause.
Haven head coach Jonty Gorley said: “It’s good to get Curtis in for a month because at this moment we haven’t got a specialist number nine available, so to have him in is a godsend to us.
“Curtis will be the eighth hooker I’ve used this year and I put a little bit of how we are playing this season down to not having a settled spine to the team.
“Curtis comes with a good pedigree, he’s played a lot of championship, Elite 1 in France and has had a few caps for Wales too, so he’s got plenty of experience in his position at this level, which will only benefit us.
“He’s got stuck into a defensive session ton Tuesday night in his first run with us and looked like he doesn’t mind that side of the game, so it all bodes well for us having a specialist nine in the squad again.”
Director Ashley Kilpatrick, a member of the club’s football committee, said: “It’s great to be able to bring a hooker in when we need one.
“Curtis is a Welsh international who has played Championship rugby for Halifax, League One at Newcastle, plus a stint over in the Elite 1 competition in France so he has varied experience.
“Having spoken to him he’s looking forward to getting started with us and is keen to show what he can do.
“He’s coming for a month and we would like to thank Gary McFarland and Gary Murdock at Workington for helping us with this one. Both have been a massive help and very professional with how it’s been handled. Hopefully we can all work together again in the future.”
Town obviously feel they have enough hookers on the books with Evan Simon, Matty Henson, Dec O’Donnell (due back from loan spell with Oldham), Marcus O’Brien and Curtis’ twin Connor Davies.
A Town spokesman said: “Curtis was given the opportunity of getting some consistent game time, which he was keen to pursue. He goes out on loan with our best wishes.”
