NEW ZEALANDER Pat Fifita could play a part as Malton & Norton RUFC aim to ring in the new year with an important win.

The three-quarter, who has arrived at The Gannock having played rugby for Teachers Eastern in Auckland, will be at least on the bench as the Ryedale side host Middlesbrough in North One East.

He joins an outfit hoping to welcome back a series of players following the Christmas break – including second row Richard Webster – and club spokesman Bill Laidler reckons the additions should be enough to see Malton past the Teessiders.

The pair are tenth and 11th respectively in the table and, although relegation looks unlikely for either side, Malton are keen to avenge a 36-25 defeat earlier in the season and start a move further up the table.

“It would be nice to move away from the bottom two,” he said. “We should have a few players back and we may have an addition in Pat Fifita.

“He has come from New Zealand. He’s a three-quarter and he may start on the bench. We have brought him over through contacts and he will certainly see this season out and next.

“We played Middlesbrough early in the season and we lost but we were 20 points up at one stage and threw it away. They seem to have fallen off a little bit and we hope to win before facing Beverley, which will be a very hard game.

“The Christmas break may have come at the right time for us.”

Pocklington resume their league campaign with a tough task on the road at North One East leaders Beverley.

Pock go into the East Yorkshire derby on the back of a 21-3 friendly defeat at Driffield last weekend.