North Wales Crusaders swoop to sign amateur rugby union duo amid stalwart’s departure

Championship outfit North Wales Crusaders have signed Masi Clark and Maciu Nabogi from amateur rugby union side Rossendale RUFC.

Clark, whose official forename is Tomo, has experience in league as well as union having donned the shirts of both the Auckland Blues and New Zealand Warriors during his time Down Under as a junior.

The 20-year-old forward also featured three times in League 1 for Cornwall back in 2024, with all three of those games seeing him come off the bench.

Nabogi meanwhile has never registered any game time in the ‘professional’ tiers of the British rugby league pyramid.

Together, the pair had been plying their trade for Rossendale RUFC, who compete in the fourth tier of the British union pyramid in the National League 2 North following last season’s promotion.

But they have now both made the move to Colwyn Bay and linked up with Crusaders, that in the same week that ex-Super League stalwart Krisnan Inu became the new head coach of the Welsh club.

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North Wales Crusaders swoop to sign amateur rugby union duo amid stalwart’s departure

Inu replaced Dean Muir in the hotseat at the Eirias Stadium, and will take charge of his first game on Sunday afternoon at home against Whitehaven.

Clark and Nabogi have both been named in Cru’s initial 21-man squad for that Championship clash, so could both make their debuts.

They will definitely not be doing so alongside Chris Barratt though after fellow Championship outfit Rochdale Hornets paid a fee to snap the experienced forward up.

Barratt joined the Welsh club back in 2020 and had made 121 appearances in their colours across all competitions, including eight this season as he notched two tries.

The front-rower scored 32 tries for Crusaders in total, and as his exit was announced, he said: “I want to say a thankyou to everyone and particularly the fans at North Wales that made my time there enjoyable.

“As with everything, sometimes you need a change and new challenge to aim for.”