Hill continues to look down
May 08 2008
Bristol have continued their recruitment for next season by making a double raid on National League One.
Launceston scrum-half Sam Alford and Newbury fly-half Chris Ashwin have agreed terms with the Guinness Premiership club.
It continues Bristol boss Richard Hill's track record of signing players from the lower division, having previously landed the likes of Shaun Perry, Dan Ward-Smith and Tom Arscott.
Hill said: "Sam and Chris are young prospects who show potential for the future.
"They've both featured regularly for Launceston and Newbury in National League One, so they've gained some valuable experience at that level.
"Obviously, the Guinness Premiership is a step up, so they will be joining us for next season and we will see how they develop as the campaign progresses."
Meanwhile, London Irish have announced the signing of the Tongan international back row, Chris Hala'Ufia on a two-year contract. He will join the club for pre-season training in July.
With 20 international caps for his country Hala'Ufia will bring valuable experience of playing in this country and in Europe to the Exiles' back row. He is known as a strong-running number eight that can break tackles.
The 29-year-old, Tongan born forward joins after two seasons with Harlequins. Previously, he played for Rotherham and Grand Parma in Italy.
"As London Irish continues to progress to being a top European club we need players like Chris Hala'Ufia with a proven track record of competing in the Premiership and in Europe," said London Irish's Forwards Coach, Toby Booth.
"With the introduction of the ELVs next season dynamic ball carriers will be more important, Chris has shown what he can do in this regard and is an exciting prospect for us going forward."
Worcester Warriors have announced that rising back row star Matt Cox has signed a new one-year deal and committed his future to the club.
The back row, who has impressed in recent years in the Academy set-up and Guinness A League games, was one of the star performers for England U20 this season as they claimed the Six Nations crown.