NBJ FOURTH TO BE NAMED

Matt Ford confirmed Dane Nikolaj Busk Jakobsen would partner reserve rocket Nico Covatti for the Poole Pirates 2019 SGB Premiership title defence.

Busk Jakobsen, 24, joins Covatti, number one Jack Holder and Brady Kurtz as the fourth name on the Pirates’ team sheet for the new campaign, with the Dorset club’s whole septet set to be confirmed before Christmas.

Busk Jakobsen, who comes in on a 4.39 average, performed well for Rye House against the Pirates last term, knocking in 6+1 at Rye House Stadium in May, before the club’s sad demise saw their results expunged.

Ford said: “Nikolaj rode last year for Rye House and while Chris Harris’s new average worked against us once Rye’s results were expunged, Nikolaj’s has worked in our favour as it would have been around 1.5 points higher.

“People will recall him knocking in a very useful score for Rye House against us and he guested fairly regularly for Leicester and scored well, too. I’m very pleased to be welcoming Nikolaj, who is backed by David Howe. David has two decades of experience behind him in the UK and he is looking after Nikolaj both home and abroad.
“Having David around is a massive plus for Nikolaj and us. Nikolaj has signed again for Berwick this year and comes also with the support of Bjarne Pedersen, who confirmed he is improving rapidly. He has a big future in the sport and at 4.39 I believe we have two very strong reserves in Nikolaj and Nico Covatti.”

Busk Jakobsen’s place in the Poole one-to-seven means no return for Frederik Jakobsen, who starred during the Pirates’ 2018 title win having come into the team in mid-season.

Ford added: “There’s always an amount of sadness in letting people go and even though Frederik only came in mid-season, it is a shame that I couldn’t fit him in for 2019. With Frederik, there were one of two other things that impacted on the club deciding not to use him this season and it shouldn’t come as a surprise to people when I mention the fact we are still searching for a new main sponsor was one of those things. One or two other club sponsors are also unable to help us in 2019 which, again, has impacted on some of my team-building decisions, but you have to work with the cards you are dealt.”