Aled Brew signs for Biarritz

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/16970655

Aled Brew has joined the exodus of players out of Rodney Parade after it was reported he will leave Newport Gwent Dragons for Biarritz.
The Welsh region had hoped that the Wales wing, 25, would sign a new deal when his current contract expires at the end of the season.
But Brew has opted to head to France, having also been linked with Perpignan.
Brew has been overlooked for Wales' Six Nations squad but won his eighth cap in his sole appearance at the World Cup.
The presence of Shane Williams and the emergence of George North, Leigh Halfpenny and Alex Cuthbert has restricted his opportunities in the Wales jersey.
Brew's decision to sign a two-year deal with Biarritz comes within a week of fly-half Jason Tovey confirming he was leaving the Dragons at the end of the season to join Cardiff Blues.
The Newport-based region will also be losing Luke Charteris in June, with the Wales lock heavily linked with a move to Perpignan.
Charteris' move to the Catalan club is expected to be unaffected by the coaching shake-up at the club, which follows the sacking of Jacques Delmas as coach in November.
Delmas, who took over in July, paid the price for a poor start to the season that saw Perpignan languishing in ninth place in France's Top 14 Championship after 10 games.
Defeat to the Dragons in the Amlin Challenge Cup was deemed to be the final straw.
Marc Delpoux, current coach of Bordeaux-Begles and a former Perpignan captain, will take over at the end of the season.

Not quite sure which story is correct from the BBC because a few days ago they said he'd resigned with the Dragons, but either way he's off to Biarritz now apparently.

got to feel for the dragons supporters, they deserve better from their board of directors (whoever runs the club)

western fail are also reporting that leicester tigers are after martyn thomas.

if we get demoted to development region (officially) thats the death of the region, part of me wishes faletau hadnt resigned now, the kid was truly wasted in our squad even before our better players started leaving

I don't think the board etc... Are really to blame, it's just reality. The opportunity to play in a big French club in the south of France and to get payed good money is a pretty big pull and the fact that Gatland doesn't rate him are huge reasons to leave.
I can't really see how the Dragons management could have tempted him to stay. The same goes with Tovey

More bad news then for Drags fans and the rest of us.
Not good.

It's a vicious circle. The board show no ambition.. You would think with the loss of Charteris and Willis and Castle to injury (3 of our highest earners) there would be cash to offer players competitive contracts, but there's no real positivity that's coming out from the region in recent months and players are definitely looking to jump ship.
I've heard that Tovey has been told by the Welsh management that he needs to be playing HC rugby to be considered. In Brew's case he's come back from the WC and been playing well but in a losing team. He must be fuming to have fallen down the pecking order behind Cuthbert, Dibble and Grub.
You really have to worry for the Dragons. I for one will not be renewing my season ticket and know others that aren't too. I can regularly get my hands on freebies but have always wanted to pay to show my support. I find myself asking what are the board doing for the fans?? What's happening with the LV postponement. Any refunds? I doubt it very much. When is our Blues rearrangement?
It may have been Tongue in cheek, but Adam Hughes had a tweet from a fan saying that he was pleased to see the team flying to Belfast on Thursday. Hughes replied, the way things are going, we'll be car sharing before long. Let's hope he's just joking, but maybe the players know that this region is going down the pan.
As someone has posted. Delighted to see Lydiate and Toby doing us proud, but I wish those 2 were playing HC rugby and wouldn't blame them for leaving if French teams wanted to buy them out of their contracts.

Someone on the board needs to come out and tell the fans whats happening here, or they're going to be playing in front of an empty stadium for the rest of this season never mind next. Just days after we're told he's staying we're kicked in the teeth again.
We understand that we can't compete financially with the French clubs but there must be some money there hope they don't wait until after the season tickets go on sale before announcing we're a development region.
The board are doing themselves no favours by allowing rumours to circulate without offering any statement to the fans, even if its the 17 players out of contract at the end of the season are going, its better than the deafening silence from the board at the moment.
Totally disillusioned Dragon Fan

According to the SW Argus. The dragons were confident of holding onto Brew, but Biarritz have come back with an offer that blows the Dragons out of the water. So he's off!
Love that the Argus also says that the Dragons are desperate for experience. We were desperate for experience before we lost Willis, Castle, Brew, Tovey and Charteris.
Wonder how many more will now turn their back?

At a time when Welsh rugby is on a real high. The national team is in great shape, the Scarlets are producing players for fun, the Blues may be heading back to the Arms park and in quarters of HC and the Ospreys are doing well in the Rabo and also have a lot of talent starting games and the one with the big nose is off too! The only good news out of RP is that finally my credit card season ticket effort is finally ready. Only 6 months late! Amateur just amateur!!

Hazell seems to be blaming Brew's agent for leaving :

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17004844

manofgwent wrote:According to the SW Argus. The dragons were confident of holding onto Brew, but Biarritz have come back with an offer that blows the Dragons out of the water. So he's off!
Love that the Argus also says that the Dragons are desperate for experience. We were desperate for experience before we lost Willis, Castle, Brew, Tovey and Charteris.
Wonder how many more will now turn their back?

At a time when Welsh rugby is on a real high. The national team is in great shape, the Scarlets are producing players for fun, the Blues may be heading back to the Arms park and in quarters of HC and the Ospreys are doing well in the Rabo and also have a lot of talent starting games and the one with the big nose is off too! The only good news out of RP is that finally my credit card season ticket effort is finally ready. Only 6 months late! Amateur just amateur!!

Incredible, but a one-off surely? Cardiff Blues have been late issuing season tickets before, but never that late.

Here's the latest on the Brew saga. His agent is to blame, apparently.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17004844

MOG - I think most of us fans are really awaiting for some sort of information to come from the board. Even if it is just a statement of intent. Probably the worst year I have been a Dragons Supporter and over the last 6 years that's quite an achievement!

It all makes our good finish to last season and the real optimism of the quality of rugby we were playing, and our players getting Wales call-ups on the back of it, seem more and more distant.

Newport wont have any players left at this rate

Maybe they should start signing Canadians and South Africans like they did 10 years ago

Jimmy - You seem to be relishing in the whole demise of the Dragons. Do love when things fail or do you think Newport are were the only team to sign foreign players?

Impossible Standards wrote:Jimmy - You seem to be relishing in the whole demise of the Dragons. Do love when things fail or do you think Newport are were the only team to sign foreign players?

The Newport comment was just a bit of banter. I have nothing personal against the Dragons but what makes them so special? North Wales doesnt have a region. Neither does the Valleys...but all of a sudden some Newport superclub is soooooo important to cause. The current "regional" setup deserves to be in demise

The Dragons, Blues and Ospreys are shedding players to cut costs, at this rate we will have 4 more semi pro teams that can join the premiership except they are already playing in that league.

I suspect the French high pay will come to an end at some point as they will find out they are paying well over the odds for average players from other countries. Wales has been milked by average SH players causing pay issues with our budgets and players.

Here's the latest on the Brew saga. His agent is to blame, apparently.

Wonder if he has the same agent as Billy Twelvetrees, "yeah, that seems like a fair offer. He'll be staying" on the Monday and on the Wednesday, "actually I've been talking with his other club and they've agreed to increase your offer by 50% and guarentee him a starting spot so he's off. Laters".

Moving to France will do Brew good anyway. Newport are going nowhere. Biarritz will offer him a good paycheck and top class rugby every week

Jimmy - As much as I hate to see him go, I agree with you. He's been over looked a number of times for Wales, and now the Dragons won't even be able to offer him HC rugby. Good luck to him!

I agree. I don't blame anyone for leaving. I fear there will be more to follow too.

Jimmy.
Mate you've had your say in the past. I think it's wrong that there is no region in the valleys, not necessarily north Wales though. To us Dragons fan, what is going on at our region is critical to us. I mean you're still bleating about the demise of the Warriors. I agree that what went on there stunk but this is a different argument. As I've said to you before if you want to debate how the valleys don't have a region start up your own thread and stop talking garbage about Newport and south Africans. It's boring and not relevant.

It's awful to see this exodus, but remember the Ospreys went through a similar thing last season.

We lost a group of players like Lee Bryne, Mike Phillips and James Hook, and came back fine this season.

It's not as if the Dragons can get relegated, all it means is they will need to give a chance to young players in the academy, or have a look for a few loan signings in other regions.

The Dragons should have a fair bit of budget to play with and there are many young Welsh players who are desperate for a chance to have a go in professional rugby, I will still go to Rodney Parade to see them next season. Best crowd, best stadium, best region to be honest.

Alyn I see your point, but the comparison is very different. The O's were still left with A Jones, Bennett, Hibbard, Ian Evans, Ryan Jones, AWJ, JT, Webb, Biggar, Shane, Bowe, Bishop and a crop of young talent. The Ospreys Were in the HC and will be next year.
The Dragons will be left with Toby and Danny as our only 2 internationals. Along with that we have over the hill players, cast offs and some young talent. We are next to bottom in the Rabo, we will be in the Amlin again and also for the forthcoming years unless we get investment.

The problem is that good welsh players, I.e. internationals or nearly internationals, won't come to us because we're not in the HC. The national coaches are saying that they have to play HC, which I can sort of understand, but on the other hand if teams like Perpignan play in the Amlin and their players such as Nicolas Mas go on to be first choice internationals then welsh players playing in the Amlin should be OK too!

Any way I digress. The point is that as long as welsh players do not want to come to us then we're only ever going to be playing up and coming players or those who don't make the grade elsewhere. Fans don't want to see unknown players. They want to see stars. We won't grow the region without stars

Spot on Griff. Couldnt agree more. You didn't digress. That point is so valid. Tovey's been told he must be playing HC rugby to get into the welsh squad. I don't see him doing that with the indispensable Faletau and Lydiate. What if the Blues were in the Amlin next year. Would the Welsh management be saying the same to Lloyd Williams and Cuthbert??
The only players the Dragons will attract are players that the other regions are releasing. I'm a Dragons fan that is becoming more and more disillusioned with not only my region, but Welsh rugby in general. We have 2 players in the Welsh squad. One more than Sale!!!

Griff wrote:as long as welsh players do not want to come to us then we're only ever going to be playing up and coming players

And if these up-and-coming players have the WRU / Welsh management whispering in their ears that they need to be playing Heineken Cup rugby to get selected for Wales, then we're going to see players who we've given the opportunity to play Pro 12 rugby, who we've brought on, poached by other regions. And if it turns out to be true that regions will get extra money based on how many Welsh internationals they have, we won't get a penny for producing these players - that money will go to the regions who've poached them from us.

How can that possibly be fair?

And if these up-and-coming players have the WRU / Welsh management whispering in their ears that they need to be playing Heineken Cup rugby to get selected for Wales, then we're going to see players who we've given the opportunity to play Pro 12 rugby, who we've brought on, poached by other regions. And if it turns out to be true that regions will get extra money based on how many Welsh internationals they have, we won't get a penny for producing these players - that money will go to the regions who've poached them from us.

How can that possibly be fair?

It's not. And if we do become a development region and never have a chance to grow as a region in Gwent then the WRU will never get another penny off me. Not for shirts, tickets, anything.

And MOG makes an excellent point about if the Blues or Scarlets don't make it next year will they say the same thing. I really am trying not to jump the gun on this whole issue but the signs are not looking good. Also if players need to be playing HC rugby to get in the Wales squad why did they invite Lewis Evans in after his performance against USAP. Also Tovey has been called up to train but got injured in camp.

You're looking at it too simply.
I think they want to see Tovey test himself in the HC. They're probably not sure if he has was it takes at the moment so maybe him playing with the backline that the Blues have will really show what hes got. Plus the Blues have been crying out for a good flyhalf for a very long time.
Imo the reason its not the same with guys like Lydiate and Faletau is because they're already established internationals and first choice, they've got nothing to prove while Tovey does. Lloyd Williams and Cuthbert have already shown they have what it takes at the highest level.

I don't see why they have to be playing HC rugby.

It's only 6 games a year at the end of the day.

Also a lot of the players heading for France or England won't be getting any HC rugby either. Hook is playing Amlin Cup rugby at Perpignan. Mike Phillips is at Bayonne who are also playing in the Amlin, is he going to get dropped?? Don't think so.

In fact if you list the sides in the Amlin like the 2 above, Stade, Toulon, Wasps, Exeter, Brive, NGD, etc then it surely isn't a bad competition. Especially if you top your group and get through where you have 3 Hc sides dropping down.

I think Brew has chased the money again. The Dragons rescued him twice from the Ospreys and Blues where he was getting nowhere fast and they gave him the opportunity to play professional rugby and earn some more Wales caps, and I think he could be in for a shock in France.

Go Wales
I'm sure the welsh management do want to see him test himself, but the Dragons still played Perpignan and Exeter in the Amlin. We're only talking about 6 or 7 games a year. Other than that, the fixtures are exactly the same including Munster, Leinster and ulster. All great opposition. Not to mention the derby games where Tovey has had some blinders.
I think what annoys Dragons fans is that the Welsh management want to see potential internationals playing in the HC, so how on earth will the Dragons ever qualify again if our players leave because they know that they're bettering theirwelsh prospects by going elsewhere. We will never be allowed to build a team.
The last time I checked there were 4 regions. All on a level playing field. I mean the welsh management may want players to play in the HC, but the regions have failed miserably in Europe. If the Dragons got out of their Amlin pool, we'd be in the same position as the Scarlets!!!

It's the usual, the welsh team are doing well, the WRU are selling tickets so who cares about that region in Geent and how poor attendances are? The better the national side do, the worse things will get for the Dragons.

manofgwent wrote:The better the national side do, the worse things will get for the Dragons.

I don't think that's true at all, MOG. But I agree with your point that the four regions should all be on a level playing field. We are providing the national side with players: one got man of the match on the weekend; another didn't miss a tackle throughout the World Cup. We may not be providing as many players as the other regions do, but cutting our funding and persuading our better players to leave is hardly going to help us improve on that!

doctornickolas wrote:I think Brew has chased the money again. The Dragons rescued him twice from the Ospreys and Blues where he was getting nowhere fast and they gave him the opportunity to play professional rugby and earn some more Wales caps, and I think he could be in for a shock in France.

Yeah undoubtedly he's chasing money, but I don't blame him for that. I don't think he'll be as effective in France though, but I do wish him well.

Luckless I just feel that the true regional fan knows why attendances are poor, hates the kick off times, and thinks the Rabo is a poor competition. If Wales win another grand slam, all this will be overlooked because the national team is successful and Wales sell out. Yes this is the end goal and That's what everybody wants to see. Yet when we go back to the regional game, attendances will be awful, there's no european success and we're left watching the Rabo and the LV. The product beneath the national team is awful.
On the Dragons. I find it a joke that we only have 1 more player in the welsh squad than Sale!! Soon we'll have nobody in the welsh squad and when this becomes the case I just wonder how many fans from
Gwent will become completely disillusioned with welsh rugby?

On Brew. Maybe he's gone for the cash, but when he comes back from the WC and a left winger in front of him retires and he then doesn't make the squad, he must feel like sticking 2 fingers up and getting out of Wales. When I heard Rob Howley's interview on Radio Wales at half time in the Blues v Racing game, he made my blood boil. Talking about Cuthbert and Harry Robinson.

Wales do have a feeder region. It's called the Blues!! Join them and you're in. Simples!!

Brew leaving had little to do with the Dragons and everything to do with Gatland.
Brew wanted a run in the Wales team now Shane has retired, but Gatland seems to think Cuthbert and 18 year old Harry Robinson are better players.

I think Brew just realised staying in Wales and competing for the Welsh shirt was a waste of his time so he took the money. Lets be hoinest Brew has never really had a big contract he bounced between most of the regions simply trying to find a starting place and it is only at the Dragons he has started to get that.

Brew is no loss to the national team but a big loss for the Dragons, I believe he is best suited to the Dragons as they tend to play around him, when he went back to the Ospreys after his first stint at the Dragons he was clueless like he is for Wales.

I wish him luck, I suspect he will be on the bench and return to Newport if he lasts two years.

I agree with virtually all alun and alyn's comments. I do think that Brew never really got a fair chance with Wales and I do think that French rugby will suit his style. Brew's a confidence player. At the Ospreys and Blues, he was a bit part player. He needs regular rugby and you may question his ability at international level, but if he can be a first reamer at Biarritz, he could be great for them.
I also agree that the boy deserves a big contract and wish him well and I also agree that the welsh management haven't helped the dragons by picking Cuthbert, dibble and Grub ahead of him!

I think he'll go very well in Biarritz.

Imagine a back 3 of Brew, Balshaw, Ngwenya. That looks pretty good!