LOAN DUO SIGN
Gloucester launch raid on Pirates to land pair to cover for international absences,
GLOUCESTER Rugby have signed two of the stand-out players from Championship side Cornish Pirates to bolster their squad in key positions ahead of the impending 2020/21 Gallagher Premiership season.
The Cherry and Whites have added prop Jay Tyack and full-back Kyle Moyle on short-term loan deals until January when the postponed Championship is due to resume.
Moyle, 27, is a product of Penzance & Newlyn’s youth section, playing with the likes of England internationals Luke Cowan-dickie and Jack Nowell during his development and has been a mainstay in the Pirates side since making his debut in 2012.
Impressing mainly from full-back, Moyle is also more than capable on the wing too, playing more than 130 games for the Pirates.
His scintillating running earned him a spot in the Rugby Paper’s Championship Dream Team.
Tyack, 24, a loose-head prop by trade, is highly regarded by the Pirates.
His career began with Truro RFC, before going on to represent Cornwall, and England at age-grade level.
Tyack has also aided his development with a period in National One with Birmingham Moseley and side Chinnor in National Two, as well as playing in New Zealand in 2015.
Both players have joined up with the Gloucester squad with immediate effect as head coach George Skivington prepares his side to face Leicester Tigers at Welford Road in the first game of the new season which starts on November 21.
Gloucester are looking a little thin in the backfield due to international callups with wingers Jonny May and Ollie Thorley away with England and newly capped Louis Rees-zammit in action with Wales.
Both Thorley, 24, and Rees-zammit, 19, made their international debuts recently, with the former coming off the bench in England’s 34-5 victory over Italy in Rome to claim the 2020 Six Nations title.
The previous weekend, Rees-zammit came off the bench in Wales’ 38-21 defeat to France in Paris.
All three men, plus scrum half Willi Heinz and hooker Jack Singleton look set to miss the first three rounds of the new Premiership season with the Autumn Nations Cup coinciding with the domestic competition, with Gloucester facing Tigers, Wasps and Harlequins.
The internationals will return in time for the opening round of the Heineken Champions Cup, with the Cherry and Whites drawn against Ulster and Lyon.
Discussing the loan deals, Cornish Pirates’ joint head coach Gavin Cattle said: “With no start date confirmed for the Championship season we felt this was a deserved and great opportunity for Kyle to test himself at the highest level.
“He has been a stand-out player in the Championship for a number of seasons and has inevitably been a huge influence on our team’s performance.
As for 24-year-old prop forward Tyack, fellow joint coach Alan Paver said: “The loan arrangement clearly provides a great opportunity for a young front-rower such as Jay.
“He has developed immensely since his return to the club, which from my perspective it is always good to witness, and to also now gain experience involved with a Premiership team will inevitably benefit him and the Cornish Pirates still further when we start playing again.”
He has been a stand-out player in the Championship for a number of seasons and has inevitably been a huge influence on our team’s performance
Pirates’ joint head coach Gavin Cattle on Gloucester’s loan signing Kyle Moyle