RUSSELL Earnshaw has injected some gas into his Bees squad with the acquisition of former Bedford flier Ian Davey.

The speedy 24-year-old, who ran the 100 metres for his county as a youngster, has signed until the end of the season from Spanish outfit El Salvador.

A desire to return home compelled the Bristol-based wing to move back to the UK and he has opted for a deal at Damson Park.

Having watched Sunday’s drab 18-12 British & Irish Cup defeat to Ayr from the stands, Davey could make his debut from the bench at Llandovery this weekend.

And Earnshaw is delighted to have secured the services of a player with genuine pace and proven Championship pedigree.

“It’s a good signing for us,” the director of rugby said.

“He will add real gas for us out wide, can play both full- back and wing and will be good cover when Simon Hunt goes away with the Sevens.

“It would have been a bit unfair to have thrown him in on Sunday but he’ll train with us this week and he’ll probably be one of a few players who come off the bench next weekend.”

In fact, Davey held his first training session with his new team-mates on Sunday morning and with his proven track record he could be an outstanding signing for Bees.

Having come through the Bath academy – and played ten times for the Premiership outfit – he made the switch to Goldington Road in search of more game time.

His first season at Blues went well as he bagged 14 tries in 19 games as Mike Rayer’s men finished third in what was National One. His second year, however, was undermined by injuries and while he still scored seven times, including four in one game against Bees, his appearances became more and more sporadic.

That prompted a move to Spain where he spent most of this season playing full-back but wanted to return home for family reasons.

Like most people at Damson Park, however, Davey will not have enjoyed what he saw against Ayr.

Earnshaw opted against the benefits of selectoral continuity and shuffled his team for what on the face of it was a low-stakes cup match.

However, difficult conditions and unfamiliar combinations meant Bees struggled for rhythm against a dogged Ayr side.

Earnshaw stood by his line-up, though. “I wanted to pick a side that was good enough to win and on the balance of play it definitely was good enough to win,” he said.

“We just did not execute some key decisions. They came out in the second half with a kicking game and living off our mistakes.

“We wanted to win and I wanted us to be pragmatic to do that but we also wanted to try to show how we can play and practise some things too.

“In that respect it was a useful exercise because, especially in the backs, we found out some things about guys.”

Crucially, Bees did not pick up any injuries and they were also able to give rare appearances to fringe players.

And utility forward Ross Noonan was able to make his first start of the season after recovering from ankle ligament surgery.

Experienced back-rower Mark Hopley played for the first time since tearing his hamstring in September.