THE Cornish Pirates are showing no sign of letting up in their quest to bolster their ranks for next season's promotion push in National League One.

Samoan winger Aliinu'u Koko and Canadian scrum-half Ed Fairhurst are the latest names to have been recruited by coach Jim McKay, who is clearly looking for an improvement on this season's fifth place finish.

The arrival of both Koko and Fairhurst takes the list of new additions at the Cornish club to ten and comes hot on the heels of last week's capture of Ollie Thomas and Nathan Kemp.

Both newcomers arrive with a tried-and-tested rugby CV already behind them, Koko - who stands at 6ft tall and weighs in at over 16½ stone - made his debut for Samoa against New Zealand in 1993 and has previously played club rugby for Wellington Lions (NZ), Viadana (Italy) and more recently in the French Championnat Top 14 for Montpellier.

A close friend of current Pirate Iva Motusaga, whom he played with earlier in his career, 33-year-old Koko admits he cannot wait to get his first taste of English rugby. He said: "From what I hear, the club have played with great passion to deliver some fine results this year and there is also a family orientated atmosphere, which is important."

Like Koko, Fairhurst - who arrives in the Duchy from Celtic League side Cardiff Blues - is looking forward to tackling the very best in English rugby's second tier.

An international colleague of current Pirate Stan McKeen, the 26-year-old has so far amassed 34 caps for his country, as well as playing in the 2002 Commonwealth Games and the 2003 World Cup in Australia.

"I am impressed by the progress the Cornish Pirates have made," said Fairhurst, a product of St Michael's University School in Victoria, who stands at 6ft tall and weighs in at 14 stone 8lbs. "The great promise they have shown made my decision to join very easy."

Certainly Pirattes coach McKay is delighted to have the two experienced backs on board for next season, the Australian said: "These are two very good signings for us and I'm sure they will bring a lot to the team. They are both very experienced and have played some excellent rugby in their careers.

"Myself and Dicky Evans have been working hard bringing in new players for next year, but all of them I'm sure will add something to the squad. We recognise that other clubs in the division are looking to progress, so we don't want to get left behind. We want to bring quality players to Cornwall and to keep the Pirates moving forward."

Of the two new signings, McKay added: "Ed is a current Canadian international and he comes highly recommended by Stan. He has a very good work culture, has good skills and he wants to develop his game further. As for Ali, he has been a professional rugby player for some time and has great experienced within the game. He will offer us a real physical presence on the wing, as well as another potential scoring option."