Cameron Shepherd rejected by Saints

Didn't see that one coming. Apparently the saints have cancelled their signing of Cameron Shepherd from the Western Force due to fitness concerns.

"We needed more certainty about his ability to handle the tough demands of our long season," director of rugby Jim Mallinder said.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19148227

I'm a Force supporter and think Saints have lost out on a fantastic player, but I'm sure their reasons must have been well justified.

What does this mean for Shepherd now? Will he stay in Aus or find another club in Europe? Oi Michael Bradley! Ya got any cash spare to bring Shepherd to Edinburgh?

Hmm that might leave Saints a little short at full back. Since Tonks left for Scotland they now only have Foden as a specialist 15. Diggin or Artymiev might well cover but they are really wingers and surely the Saints management remember only to vividly what happened against the Scarlets when Pisi had to cover full back!

Saints have a couple of classy young wingers on the way through so I wonder if one of those, probably Jamie Elliott might slip in to 15 with a bit of training.

Perhaps another signing is on the cards then.

Sam don't forget Saints will also lose Foden to England for chunks of the season as usual.

I would expect Diggin to cover but as you say they could do with reinforcements.

Yeah, I'd have thought they would dip into the market again. Shepherd wouldn't have been a particularly cheap signing so there should be some more wage budget kicking about. Unless of course they are happy to promote from within again, it was 2 or 3 years ago they signed Dusty Hare the Tigers academy scouting guru to help transform their academy so maybe he's unearthed a gem at 15.

Did Pisi step back to fullback for a few games last season, and I think Pisi Jnr can step in if needed too.

strange that everthing was signed and sealed, and they only had the medical now, or maybe not since they prob had a clause that he has to pass a medical at end of super xv before moving, don't want to sign a guy how breaks both legs in super xv only to have to pay him for a year.

Did Pisi step back to fullback for a few games last season

Yes, they were a disaster. He's not that great under the high ball. His younger brother may be better at 15 but he has no AP experience and is pretty young. Is Voyce still on the market? He would be an experienced 1 year stop gap.

Kingshu, I suspect they knew he had, had a long term niggle and wanted to make sure he was right at the end of the Super 15 season rather than risk signing him and then having the double cost of his wages and his medical bills.

Kingshu wrote:strange that everthing was signed and sealed, and they only had the medical now, or maybe not since they prob had a clause that he has to pass a medical at end of super xv before moving, don't want to sign a guy how breaks both legs in super xv only to have to pay him for a year.

I work for the NHS and we have a clause in our contract that it's only valid if we pass a medical assessment (even if it's after you've started). So I think you can bank on a rugby contract have something like that. Him coming over to be assessed would probably be harder due to him being in Australia.

bsando wrote:What does this mean for Shepherd now? Will he stay in Aus or find another club in Europe? Oi Michael Bradley! Ya got any cash spare to bring Shepherd to Edinburgh?

Hope not. We have Tom Brown hoping for a big season, and new signings Ben Atiga (NSQ) and Greg Tonks as cover. Not a player we need, particularly if his fitness isn't up to scratch.

Saints look like they really need cover at 15. Jim Thompson, just left Edinburgh and signed for London Scottish, would have been good and cheap cover. Silky runner and composed under the high ball.

If they had sufficient funds and LI could be persuaded (doubtful on both counts), Tom Homer would be an outstanding acquisition. Would allow Saints to use Ryan Lamb as a playmaker without having to rely on his (albeit improved) goal kicking, and give them a proper long boot from the back.

If they had sufficient funds and LI could be persuaded (doubtful on both counts), Tom Homer would be an outstanding acquisition

They managed to sign Waldouck from Wasps, though that says more about Wasps financial status than about the compensation package Saints were able to offer. Can't see LI taking the cash for Homer, he's a young talented player with the best points kicking skills in the country. They'd be mad to let him go.

If they were signing someone from another club then I imagine they'd have a look in the Championship. There's the ex-Falcon Manning kicking about, he should be cheap.

http://www.northamptonsaints.co.uk//news/6286.php?

Replacement already signed it seems.

Homer isn't worth it in my opinion unless they wanted to change their whole gameplan. He adds little except a decent boot from the tee.

That's a bit unfair. He seems decent in the tackle and has scored some cracking tries with the ball in hand. He's much much better kicking goals than other aspects but that's not all he offers.

Also with Geraghty coming back and not being the most reliable kicker, Homer takes that pressure off him, freeing him to play his game.

EDIT: But I agree he wouldn't be the best candidate for Saints or suit their style.

Maybe, I guess I just don't see him as that much of a threat at fb, yes he did finish some good attacks but in general i'd put most other prem 15's above him for attacking.

His kicking though as you say is near perfect and should take a huge amount of responsibility off Geraghty when he's playing. But he still lacks pace and the ability to conjure an attacking threat himself. I suppose it's all about the trade off for kicking over attacking threat, but then when you have Ojo, Geraghty, Joseph, Taniphacembou etc in that backline it becomes less of a concern.

Yeah, Homer is a limited player. Fantastic kicking option, but he doesn't add a very dangerous weapon to the Irish backline.

Artemyev has played full back for Russia and would add an overtly offensive option to the full back position for Northampton.

They won't be signing anybody before the start of the season apparently (End of the article):


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/19162782

Some harsh stuff about Tom Homer on here. Yes, he's not Christian Cullen, nor Ben Foden for that matter, but he is pretty quick and has plenty raw materials to work with to develop his attacking game. Josh Lewsey was a good example of a player who worked hard to improve his attacking game, and Mike Brown has certainly done so over the last few season. Add in Homer's kicking and I personally think he's going to be a very good 15 indeed. He also allows you to pick a proper playmaker at 10, so there could be a big net attacking benefit there.

funnyExiledScot wrote:Some harsh stuff about Tom Homer on here. Yes, he's not Christian Cullen, nor Ben Foden for that matter, but he is pretty quick and has plenty raw materials to work with to develop his attacking game. Josh Lewsey was a good example of a player who worked hard to improve his attacking game, and Mike Brown has certainly done so over the last few season. Add in Homer's kicking and I personally think he's going to be a very good 15 indeed. He also allows you to pick a proper playmaker at 10, so there could be a big net attacking benefit there.

Agree with that, it seems a little harsh to write off the attacking skills of a lad who is only just 22 and was last season's top points scorer. He might not have had quite the same running threat of someone like Foden but he offers more considered all round play. His kicking from hand for instance, is far better than Foden's. I feel people sometimes overlook what a useful tool a good boot can be for a fullback.

His try scoring record doesn't suffer that badly against the contenders for the England shirt either.

5 in 22 Tom Homer
7 in 22 Mike Brown
6 in 13 Ben Foden
3 in 23 Alex Goode
6 in 19 Jonny May
2 in 18 Nick Abendanon

I reckon there will be more from Homer with the ball in hand this season and will see him and Miller start to put pressure on the England incumbents. Happy Days.

https://www.606v2.com/t33726-sale-takes-a-chance-on-cameron-shepherd