Skelding played on loan at Launceston last season

Plymouth Albion have signed lock Tom Skelding from local rivals Exeter Chiefs on a year-long deal.

Skelding was at the Chiefs for two years, but had a spell on loan with Launceston last season after falling out of favour at Exeter.

The 27-year-old told BBC Radio Devon he was frustrated by limited opportunities at Sandy Park.

He said: "You train all week and then don't get to actually play, so you're more of a bag man than a star."

The prospect of regular first-team rugby at Albion was a major draw.

"What I'm really looking forward to is doing all of the training and evaluation of the opposition and then actually getting to put it into operation," he said.

With two weeks of pre-season training already completed, Skelding is getting a handle on his new role at the club.

He said: "Training has been hard but fair and I'm getting on really well with all of the players and the coaches.

"I think [coach] Graham [Dawe] wants me to come along and run the line-out, try and take control of the restart and just be abrasive in the old-fashioned Albion way."

Skelding now faces the prospect of playing in two Devon-derby's next season, going head-to-head with his former club.

"There'll be a bit of an added edge when Chiefs return," Skelding said.

"But I've played against former teams before and you just concentrate on the task in hand really and try not to worry about any personal battles."

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