Yeandle heads for the Pirates

By Mark Stevens

Exeter Chiefs hooker Jack Yeandle has today agreed to join Championship outfit Cornish Pirates on dual registered forms for the 2012/13 season.

Signed in the summer by head coach Rob Baxter from Doncaster Knights, the Exeter-born forward follows club-mates Dave Ewers, Sam Hill and Jack Nowell in making the seasonal move to the Mennaye Field.

Already this term the 22-year-old has featured for the Chiefs in their pre-season friendly against the Pirates, as well as starting both Aviva Premiership A League fixtures for the Exeter Braves against Bath United and Saracens Storm.

As is the case with dual registered players, should Yeandle be needed for playing duty with either the Chiefs or Braves, they will have first call on his services.

The move, however, is one which is sure to benefit not only the Chiefs and the Pirates, but also Yeandle who hopes to get some valuable game time under his belt.

"I'm looking forward to going down to the Pirates," he said. "As they have shown over the last two years, the Pirates are a top quality Championship side and they have some very good players in their squad.

"It's a chance for me to get some more game time under my belt and help give the Pirates a bit of a boost. As the likes of Dave Ewers and Sam Hill have shown last season, they've used the experience of playing down there as a stepping stone to get into the first team here at Exeter."

As one of eight summer signings made by the Chiefs, Yeandle admits he has settled in nicely to life at Sandy Park.

"I've settled in well and the boys have been really inviting," he said. "The Chiefs is a great place to be and the whole set-up here is very professional. Personally, I'm loving it and I've already learnt so much in such a short space of time from the coaches and the boys around me."

And whilst Yeandle is excited about his move, Pirates head head coach Ian Davies has spoken of his delight at bolstering his squad. He said: “"I was first aware of Jack while he was studying at UWIC, but as we already had three hookers in the squad we could not follow up our interest.

"Subsequently, when Dave Ward informed us he was signing at Quins I again spoke to Jack, but he had already signed with the Exeter Chiefs. With his background history, I am obviously delighted that we are now able to dual register Jack for this coming season, He has proven himself a strong physical presence both in the set-piece and open play, so he is a welcome addition to our squad and we look forward to seeing him a Pirates shirt."