Wednesday Afternoon Round Up

Academy star Adams signs first-team 

Warriors have indicated their commitment to developing young talent at Sixways with Academy winger Josh Adams signing a first-team deal. 

The 21-year-old joined the Academy from Llanelli Scarlets in the summer of 2015, and impressed for Worcester Cavaliers while also enjoying stints at Cinderford RFC and Nottingham Rugby.

Head Coach Carl Hogg said: "We're delighted that Josh has committed his future to the Club after really putting his hand up in the early stages of this season. 

"We have been resourceful in our recruitment strategy by identifying young players from elsewhere so they can utilise the infrastructure at Sixways to excel as a player."

The winger was handed his Warriors debut in September after coming off the bench against Bath Rugby in the Aviva Premiership, and has gone on to make six appearances, which included his maiden try for the Club in Russia against Enisei-STM.

Bath bring in Allinson on loan

Bath have signed Darren Allinson on a short-term loan from Championship side London Irish, the club announced today (Wednesday).

The scrum-half comes in after having made over 120 appearances to date for the Exiles, and will join up with the West Country side this week.

Todd Blackadder, Director of Rugby at Bath, is looking forward to Allinson arriving: “Darren is a strong player, and he’ll bring a fresh outlook to the squad.

"We’re a bit light at scrum-half due to the November internationals and injury, we wanted to bring someone in to the half-backs with a bit of experience, and Darren fits that bill really well.” 

Sean Reidy extends with Ulster

Ulster Rugby has today confirmed that Sean Reidy has signed a three-year contract extension, keeping him at Kingspan Stadium until the summer of 2020.

The New Zealand born back row star joined Ulster from Counties Manukau in 2014 and made his debut for the club in November of that year in the 23-6 win over Newport Gwent Dragons.

Reidy is Irish-qualified through his grandfather and he made his international debut during Ireland's summer tour of South Africa back in June.

Force release Ben Tapuai

The Western Force can confirm that Ben Tapuai has been released from his contract a year early to continue his career with English club, Bath Rugby.

Western Force Head Coach, Dave Wessels said: “Bath made a fantastic offer to Ben and that provided an opportunity to free up some money in the salary cap for us to explore a few other options, so it was of mutual benefit for both parties."

The 27-year-old departs Australian rugby with 78 Super Rugby caps to his name including 12 for the Force in his single season with the Western Australian club, scoring 22 points including four tries and a conversion.

The Western Force will announce the final player names for the 2017 squad in the weeks to come.

Peikrishvili signs for Cardiff Blues

Cardiff Blues have bolstered their pack with the signing of Georgian tight-head prop Anton Peikrishvili.
 

Peikrishvili has previously enjoyed stints at Agen, Castres, Brive and Bayonne, playing in both the Top 14 and European Champions Cup.

The 23-cap international has already arrived in the Welsh capital after signing from Ulster and is available for selection for the remainder of the season.