Silly season transfer rumours III...

First topic message reminder :

Previous seasonal silliness:
https://www.606v2.com/t57129-silly-season-transfer-rumours
https://www.606v2.com/t58562-silly-season-transfer-rumours-continued


The place to confirm rumours, deny them, or viciously start new ones of your own.

I'd rather we didn't go after Webber tbh.

I'm not sure if Hawkins has ever started an AP game for us, he's been a huge disappointment. I could see McGuigan going to Munster, not so sure about another AP side. Brookes is a good pal apparently so he's probably not got the greatest opinion of Leicester.

There are a lot of if buts and maybes but if the AP is ring fenced to 14 teams with Bristol and Leeds added to the current group then Webber might fancy a return to is home club in Yorkshire.

I was going to say that he might fancy a return to Wasps. Given that many the guys he shared a dressing room with are gone, coaches have changed and the ground moved to Coventry there probably isn't the connections I was thinking of there though! Still he would be a decent fit with Festuccia likely retiring, Johnson just converted to hooker and Shervington not a starter for where Wasps are aiming to be.

Problem is that Johnson can do everything Webber can do, but better. Except for his throwing in, which is terrible. Unfortunately for Webber his throwing's been poor too so that's not really a plus point for him either.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I'd rather we didn't go after Webber tbh.

I'm not sure if Hawkins has ever started an AP game for us, he's been a huge disappointment. I could see McGuigan going to Munster, not so sure about another AP side. Brookes is a good pal apparently so he's probably not got the greatest opinion of Leicester.

Hawkins never truly recovered from his arm being hyper-extended/broken elbow. When it happened he was playing really well for Tigers, looked a very solid AP hooker who would have been an asset to most squads. Sadly that injury ended his season and he struggled for game time with Tigers the season after if I remember correctly.

He just never looked the same player after that injury.

yappysnap wrote:Problem is that Johnson can do everything Webber can do, but better. Except for his throwing in, which is terrible. Unfortunately for Webber his throwing's been poor too so that's not really a plus point for him either.

If they want to keep developing and competing in ERCC as well as the AP then they need another hooker of better quality that Shervington to rotate Johnson with. I'd argue that Webber is much better in the scrum than Johnson currently as well. It's one of the few areas where his unnecessary barrel works to his advantage it seems.

At his best he'd be a good fit for Wasps. He's excellent around the fringes in defence where he is one of the bigger hitters England had available to them. He also carried well and had goods hands around contact o move the ball. Sadly he seems to have gone a long way down hill from the time when a fair few fans fancied him starting for England.

Bathman_in_London wrote:Mafi is just until the end of the season so I guess he is injury cover.

More interestingly, Bath are said to be signing Jack Walker, the highly rated Leeds and England u20's hooker.

It's a done deal apparently. He's a real prospect - the hookier equivalent of Paul Hill. 'Yorkshire' have a great academy, with plenty of representation in the initial England u20 squad.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I'd rather we didn't go after Webber tbh.

I'm not sure if Hawkins has ever started an AP game for us, he's been a huge disappointment. I could see McGuigan going to Munster, not so sure about another AP side. Brookes is a good pal apparently so he's probably not got the greatest opinion of Leicester.

To be honest Sgt I wasn't impressed by McGuigan when he came down to WR. When our fourth hive hooker comprehensively out plays you it doesn't look good. Added to that we have a Bok hooker on trial who at 17 stone and 24 years old already has Super and Top 14 rugby experience. Think he's a more likely signing. McGuigan would learn a lot at Munster.

Course Yorkshire have a great academy DaveM those counties produce re majority of our Olympians, it's like the ideal breeding ground for athletes.

formerly known as Sam wrote:
Course Yorkshire have a great academy DaveM those counties produce re majority of our Olympians, it's like the ideal breeding ground for athletes.

A bigger than usual batch this year though. Also Worcester Warriors are well represented, which is unusual I think. How's the Tiger's academy going? Any signs of a turnaround there?

yappysnap wrote:Problem is that Johnson can do everything Webber can do, but better. Except for his throwing in, which is terrible. Unfortunately for Webber his throwing's been poor too so that's not really a plus point for him either.

To be fair to Ash up until the Sarries game his throwing has been excellent. A lot of the problems against Sarries was due to Itoje disrupting our catchers.

DaveM wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:
Course Yorkshire have a great academy DaveM those counties produce re majority of our Olympians, it's like the ideal breeding ground for athletes.

A bigger than usual batch this year though. Also Worcester Warriors are well represented, which is unusual I think. How's the Tiger's academy going? Any signs of a turnaround there?

Problem has been in recent year managing the transition between academy and first team. We seem to be doing that little better this season with a couple of academy boys making debuts and a couple more making the bench. MOC seemed to be the biggest problem there though Cockers is conservative he does like to throw the occasional youngster in once they've paid their dues.

Scrum half Ben White made his debut at 16 he's one to watch as he's also been getting A league games. Paolo Odwugu is a winger that lit up pre season and is featuring for the A league and has been on the bench at the start of the season. He's 18. There's a couple more besides. The one most Tigers fans are keeping an eye on is Jacob Umaga the 17 year old fly half, a real talent with famous relations. Add to that a lock, prop and the next Tuilagi (plays 8) and there's a few. Hopefully we'll also see Bryant given a go at 12 before the end of this season he's got an incredible passing game.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:I'd rather we didn't go after Webber tbh.

I'm not sure if Hawkins has ever started an AP game for us, he's been a huge disappointment. I could see McGuigan going to Munster, not so sure about another AP side. Brookes is a good pal apparently so he's probably not got the greatest opinion of Leicester.

To be honest Sgt I wasn't impressed by McGuigan when he came down to WR. When our fourth hive hooker comprehensively out plays you it doesn't look good. Added to that we have a Bok hooker on trial who at 17 stone and 24 years old already has Super and Top 14 rugby experience. Think he's a more likely signing. McGuigan would learn a lot at Munster.

Course Yorkshire have a great academy DaveM those counties produce re majority of our Olympians, it's like the ideal breeding ground for athletes.

Well your No 1 hooked didn't outplay him when he came on

That's obviously just one game, but he's improving. He's loose work and offloading are very strong, as is his scrummaging. He's far from the finished product but I hope he doesn't move.

Our number 1 hooker may want to forget his lineout throwing that day. Especially given Thacker was hitting the tail with ease. McGuigan was lucky not to have a few more of his throws called crooked as well. Score one for the little un I suppose.

McGuigan has a lot of potential he should look carefully at his next step and development. Staying at Falcons and playing every week may well be the best thing for him. If Falcons were showing signs of improving it would be a no brainer. I'm not sure moving to be an understudy in a competitive squad like Tigers would help him. Munster would be a gamble given their in transition and their head coach may change.

[quote="DaveM"]

formerly known as Sam wrote: How's the Tiger's academy going? Any signs of a turnaround there?

We keep churning out a couple of starters for the U20s and U18s each year - and we have never produced more than that. The issue is that they are not kicking on into the first team (at least not at Leicester). With few "posh" schools in our catchment area we tend not to have many England U16 players coming to us, so always playing catch up there.

The problem really has been our failure to integrate these players into the first team.

Rumours on the ospreys forum that they're in discussions with JJ Engelbrecht and that AWJ re-signs now that Webb has

I suspect a few Bok internationals are waiting to see who the new Bok coach is and what his take on foreign based players is.

Apparently L'equip are claiming that Halfpenny has penned a new contract at Toulon, and Will Greenwood has tweeted that Halfpenny has signed for the Scarlets. That said he was seen at PYS having talks the other week.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

DaveM wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:
Course Yorkshire have a great academy DaveM those counties produce re majority of our Olympians, it's like the ideal breeding ground for athletes.

A bigger than usual batch this year though. Also Worcester Warriors are well represented, which is unusual I think. How's the Tiger's academy going? Any signs of a turnaround there?

Problem has been in recent year managing the transition between academy and first team. We seem to be doing that little better this season with a couple of academy boys making debuts and a couple more making the bench. MOC seemed to be the biggest problem there though Cockers is conservative he does like to throw the occasional youngster in once they've paid their dues.

Scrum half Ben White made his debut at 16 he's one to watch as he's also been getting A league games. Paolo Odwugu is a winger that lit up pre season and is featuring for the A league and has been on the bench at the start of the season. He's 18. There's a couple more besides. The one most Tigers fans are keeping an eye on is Jacob Umaga the 17 year old fly half, a real talent with famous relations. Add to that a lock, prop and the next Tuilagi  (plays 8) and there's a few. Hopefully we'll also see Bryant given a go at 12 before the end of this season he's got an incredible passing game.

Thanks. That all sounds quite promising.

ScarletSpiderman wrote:Apparently L'equip are claiming that Halfpenny has penned a new contract at Toulon, and Will Greenwood has tweeted that Halfpenny has signed for the Scarlets.  That said he was seen at PYS having talks the other week.

I hope the Scarlets start looking for some big ugly forwards rather than wasting their money on Halfpenny. No doubt about his ability but they have Sanjay (probably a better 15 than Halfpenny) also Steff Evans who is looking good. They also have Aled Thomas, McShingler and Gareth Owen who can play 15. On the other hand apart from Ball, they are struggling for good quality locks and at present they only have 3 fit back row players and have included 3 hookers in the squad for the Blues game.

How is Price doing at Scarlets? He got injured at an unfortunate time in his Tigers career. He always had potential.

Whats the crack with Ollie Devoto. Has he rejected a new contract at Bath.

Exeter favorites by all accounts?

Hasn't rejected it yet. But now free to speak to anyone and apparently Exeter have it in the bag

formerly known as Sam wrote:How is Price doing at Scarlets? He got injured at an unfortunate time in his Tigers career. He always had potential.

He still has potential by the looks of it. He's doing okay, but may also be part of the reason why the Scarlets usually get outmuscled up front. I think he'll get better, and if he really does harbour aspirations of playing for Wales then he faces stiff competition from 5 already established locks plus another three U20 graduates.

Edit. I guess that could be 6 locks if you include Dom Day. He's further off the radar than the others but did pretty well for Wales during his few caps.

Bathite wrote:Hasn't rejected it yet. But now free to speak to anyone and apparently Exeter have it in the bag

Slade still to be a 10/13 then, most people would like to see him at 12 for England.

That is the main problem with English rugby in my opinion, the England management have no control over where the players play, England need quality options at 12, the cupboard is bare, they have 13's in abundance. Perhaps central contacts are the answer.

The cupboard is hardly bare for 12s. We've seen Burrell, Eastmond, Devoto, Smith, Twelvetrees, Hill, Sloan, the young lad at Irish, Barritt and Mills all play 12 on a pretty regular basis. How is the cupboard bare? Would it be better to allow the England coaches to destroy the Chiefs back line in order to move Slade 12? Chiefs use a hard running option at 12 and then a second playmaker at 13 to bring their back three into the game and add width. Why should they change their game plan because the RFU say so?

If Devoto is heading to Chiefs then I would guess at least one of Steenson, Whitten or Campagnaro are heading elsewhere.

If Steenson heads back to Ireland then Slade will move to 10 with Devoto possibly featuring at 13 outside Hill.

I guess Slade would be a 12 option too if not injured.

Slade is an option anywhere in the midfield. He's a very gifted footballer who knows how to tackle. He's bigger than he looks as well. Very unfortunate injury for both the Chiefs and England.

Schalk Burger joining Saracens next season.

#whatsalarycap

Heck of a signing for Sarries though, and I'm a bit envious that they have one of my favourite all time players on their books. I can see Saracens becoming a powerhouse in Europe for years to come. Good news for England if they can continue to carry a few England starters in their squad. What salary cap indeed, expect Bath to announce another big signing soon.

Jesus. Schalk Burger?

Heck of a signing. I can't wait to watch him in the premiership.

I often forget he's only 32!!

Wonder if thats an indication that the next SA coach will pick overseas players?

BamBam wrote:Schalk Burger joining Saracens next season.

#whatsalarycap

Jacques Burger and Kelly Brown are retiring and reported to be off at the end of the season. That will free up plenty of cap. I'm all for salary cap cheat bashing but Sarries do seem to have their house in order at the moment.

Cudmore has reportedly signed for Glaws in a player/coach role.I'd be delighted if true as he'd add more grunt to the fast improving pack.

Yeah lots of Saracens bashing...but in their defence they do seem to be starting to filter through more of their academy lads now than maybe they have previously.

Jamie George,
Kruis
Jackson Wray
Tompkins
Goode
Farrell
Itoje
Fraser
etc

And I'm sure they have a few more coming through.
So maybe a few others will be leaving in the summer freeing up more salary cap.

McCall has previously said he wants to build a team that will stay together for years. Their 23 is near all EQ it's quite impressive. They don't play a particularly attractive brand of rugby but it's effective because they all buy into it. They will have to keep jettisoning the older players over the next couple of seasons in order to keep all the young players they are bringing through. Foundations look formidable though how they recruit at 10 will be quite telling as it's one area where they haven't produced or managed to find a gem to nurture since Farrell. Hodgson will only be fully appreciated next season .

HongKongCherry wrote:Cudmore has reportedly signed for Glaws in a player/coach role.I'd be delighted if true as he'd add more grunt to the fast improving pack.

Thought he had already signed for Quins?

Cudmore to Quins! That would be the first I've heard mention of this - would love it to be true though. He would certainly add grunt and spark to any pack he joins.

Just seen article that says James Johnston is leaving Wasps with immediate effect. Pursuing other options! Not sure if that means he is leaving rugby or looking for another club.

He was excellent for Quins, never really got going for Sarries and has not played or trained regularly with Wasps for 5mths apparently.
http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12551/10119774/samoa-prop-james-johnston-leaves-wasps

mikey_dragon wrote:

HongKongCherry wrote:Cudmore has reportedly signed for Glaws in a player/coach role.I'd be delighted if true as he'd add more grunt to the fast improving pack.

Thought he had already signed for Quins?

Gavin Mortimer, the France based rugby journo has suggested it is confirmed https://twitter.com/gavinmortimer7/status/684020442772934656

He does have quite a good track record on the rumour front.

Saracens have signed Schalk Burger:-

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/premiership/12081617/Saracens-splash-cash-with-signing-of-Schalk-Burger.html

I think it was Mortimer who originally said Cudmore to Quins...

Feel sorry for JJ, he made a poor decision and then bad luck hasn't helped him. Hope he goes well in what ever he does.

Charlie Matthews and Sam Twomey both re-sign with Quins. Both young lads from the academy who have performed well this season so everyone should be pleased all round there.

Francois Louw also re-signs with Bath until 2019. It's rare that I celebrate Bath signing world class players... However it's great to see that a genuinely World Class player is looking to stay in the Jeff for the long term. The end of the 2019 season will be the verge of his 34th birthday, as such he is likely committing the rest of top level career to Bath.

James Johnston has left Wasps.

http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12331/10119774/samoa-prop-james-johnston-leaves-wasps

Not clear if he is completely finished or not. If he has still got some gas in the tank as a decent tighthead, Glasgow (or any number of teams) should happily bid for him.

Hazel Sapling wrote:James Johnston has left Wasps.

http://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/news/12331/10119774/samoa-prop-james-johnston-leaves-wasps

Not clear if he is completely finished or not. If he has still got some gas in the tank as a decent tighthead, Glasgow (or any number of teams) should happily bid for him.

I saw some mention of Worcester

Worcester scrum looked much improved at the weekend though I'd have thought that would be ideal for him. A chance to play regularly and establish himself again. That or a jaunt to Japan?

JJ could be injury cover for PDJ

He's signed for Worcester

Not sure if this has been mentioned...and more international coaching but John Mitchell has been named the new USA head coach.

http://www.sport24.co.za/Rugby/john-mitchell-named-usa-coach-20160105

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/35248374

Morgan from Bristol to Cardiff

Anyone have any inclination of what Morgan was on at Bristol, and what he will be on at Cardiff?

No idea but I doubt he's on mega money. I suspect he left the Ospreys because he was promised first team rugby and a pay rise with additional on the condition of promotion. As he was a youngster who'd got as far as back up at the Ospreys I doubt he was on much there but Bristol do tend to pay prem wages in the Championship.