RUGBY: Taunton Titans welcome two top players (From Somerset County Gazette)

RUGBY: Taunton Titans welcome two top players

2:00pm Thursday 28th June 2012 in Sport

TWO towering, athletic frames of Luke Plummer and Joel Conlon reported at Hyde Park on Tuesday as the newly formed Taunton Titans squad assembled to begin pre-season training.

The 22-year-old Plummer, at 6ft 5ins tall and over 105kgs, is the one of the first of the new faces to join head coach Tony Yapp's Titans for the coming season.

Yapp told the County Gazette: “He's certainly a big, strong lad. With his size it might be easy to initially mistake him as a forward, but he's quick and creative too, and in fact plays at centre or wing.”

Once a member of the Welsh 7s training squad, Plummer played senior rugby at Newport andNewport Gwent Dragons.

He was singled out by Rugby World magazine in 2008 as the young player of the month while a member of the Gloucester A training squad.

A rib injury kept him out of action at the end of last season, and now recovered, Yapp swooped to sign him for the Titans.

Plummer said: “When I first met with Tony I was impressed with his plans for the team’s training, fitness regime and skill development.

“I’m looking forward to making an impact."

Taunton-raised Joel Conlon also joins Titans this week on a season-long loan from Exeter Chiefs.

Yapp added: “I'm especially pleased to have Joel back with us this year.

“He still lives a few hundred yards from the club, and came through our youth system before moving to Ivybridge College, where he earned his England Under-18 honours and now a contract with the Chiefs academy.

“Exeter see national league rugby as the right level for Joel to develop further at this stage in his career.

“It's a win-win all round, Joel gets regular game time and the Titans get a quality player who is a likely star in the making.

“Luke and Joel are two talented players that we've been watching for some time now, and will be joined by some other new faces to be announced shortly.

“It’s already shaping up to be an exciting season for the Titans.”

n Taunton Titans’ first home league fixture, against Redruth, is on Saturday, September 1 and not August 4 as previously reported.