NEW Plymouth Albion signing David Fisher says he is ‘loving the vibe’ at the National One club.
The 22-year-old forward only arrived at Brickfields on Monday, but has already been impressed by the set-up at the city side.
“It is fantastic here,” he said. “I’m loving the vibe. It very professional, but hard work.”
The former Natal Sharks Under-21 lock/flanker admitted he was ‘very excited’ to move to England.
“I was down in Durban playing under-21 and Vodacom level for the Sharks but my contract was not renewed,” said Fisher. “So my agent down in Durban managed to get hold of Graham Dawe in Plymouth and now I’m here to give it a shot.”
He added: “It’s been a dream of mine to play all over the world and get as much experience as I can and the UK is one of the top rugby nations in the world.”
Fisher believes English rugby is more open than the South African game.
“I think in South Africa it is a lot more tighter and physical,” he said. “But here in the UK they like to use more skill – getting the ball into space – but they also keep the physical side of things.”
Fisher, who stands at 6ft 3in and weighs in at more than 18 stone, hopes he can bring a bit of South African physicality to Albion.
“Hopefully, I can bring something new to the team,” he said. “I’m the only South African in the side so maybe I can bring something from South Africa to the UK and hopefully I can learn a lot from here to go forward in my rugby career.”
When asked what his strengths are, Fisher said: “I like to take the ball up a lot and also my defence and line-outs – I can be a jumper there. I also think I can bring a physical aspect to the game.”
Fisher admits he did not know a lot about Plymouth before he arrived and does not know too much about English club rugby outside the Premiership, although he says he is looking forward to find out about it.
“I just mainly know about the Premiership, but we are in National One so it is something to learn. I’m looking forward to it,” said Fisher.
He added: “I thought Plymouth was a small town but it’s proved me wrong,” he said. “It’s quite big and I’m enjoying myself here.
“I am settling in, but I’m still trying to learn all my team-mates names.”