Exeter Chiefs express their desire to sign ACT Brumbies scrum half Patrick Phibbs – Rugby News
Sandy Park based English Rugby Union club, Exeter Cheifs, has expressed their interest in signing Australian born scrum half, Patrick Phibbs. Officials at the club have confirmed their reports of their desire to acquire the talented Phibbs on a short-term
deal in a statement released on their website on Monday, August 29.
Officials confirmed that the possible joining of Phibbs will strengthen their scrum half resources ahead of their 2011/12 Aviva Premiership and European competitions.
The Chiefs currently have only two scrum halves at their disposable. They are also without the services of their Samoan international scrum half Junior Poluleuligaga, who is currently on national duty to represent his country in the 2011 Rugby World Cup
(RWC) tournament.
Phibbs is expected to be offer a two-month deal which will allow the Chiefs to cover their spot left vacant due to unavailability of Poluleuligaga.
Exeter Chiefs head coach, Rob Baxter, has termed Phibbs as the perfect replacement for the Poluleuligaga. He added that Phibbs skills, abilities and experience make him the most suitable player for the club. He said, “As soon as we found out Junior was going
to the World Cup we went into the market and straight away this was the one (Phibbs) that stood out for us to go for.”
Baxter further added that the addition of Phibbs to the Chiefs squad will provide them enough cover during the 2011 RWC. The Chiefs are still waiting on the recovery of one of their injured scrum half Rob Coote.
Baxter added that he is unsure about his final return date. In the absence of the duo of Coote and Poluleuligaga, Chiefs were utilising the services of their scrum half pair of Hayden Thomas and Kevin Barrett.
However, Thomas sustained an injury during the Chiefs weekend encounter against the Scarlets. Thomas came off the field in the 18th minute of the game.
Baxter has expressed his hopes that Phibbs visa issues will be addressed at their earliest and he will be able to join the rest of the squad in the middle of the next week. He added, “Pat is keen to come to the UK and he was getting married which would mean
he doesn’t count as a foreigner. We’ll know where we stand with his visa on Monday.”
Phibbs made his Super Rugby debut for the Brumbies in 2005 and so far has made 36 appearances for them. Previously, he also had a brief stint with the Saracens.
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