Pertemps
Bees have signed Ireland A prop Tom Court on loan from Ulster until the end
of the season.The 26-year-old former shot putter arrived in the Midlands last night, he will train with the Bees this week and is in line to make his debut in the EDF Energy National Trophy quarter-final at Newbury next Saturday
Court, who was once one of Australia's leading shot-putters, only converted to rugby three years ago but he has since made impressive progress playing for Manawatu provincial side in New Zealand and for Queensland Reds in last season's Super-14 competition.
He joined Ulster last May and was immediately called up by Ireland A for last summer's Churchill Cup in Canada.
He made `three appearances for Ulster in the Magners League in September but his first team opportunities have since been limited. Ulster now want Court to gain valuable first team experience with the Bees in National One and will be monitoring his progress during the rest of the season.
"They have asked us to send over DVDs of our games so that they can see how Tom is going," said Steve Williams, the Bees' director of rugby. "He hasn't played a great deal of rugby but he's an athlete and Ulster rate him very highly."
The arrival of Court should help to ease the Bees' front-row difficulties which forced them to bring former England prop Mark Linnett out of retirement and to take Neil Fowkes on loan from Nottingham. Fowkes, who has since been recalled by Nottingham, was cup-tied for the National Trophy.