SILLY SEASON TRANSFER RUMOURS 20/21

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GeordieFalcon wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:I think Schoeman has been injured for nearly all his time at Bath. Can play 10 and 15 though.

Chiefs look set to sign Leinster second row Dunne a 6ft8 122kg 21 year old for next season. Hasn't played this season yet due to an ankle injury. Replacement for one of the outgoing internationals it seems.

Just what we need!

At least your youngsters will get lots of game time.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Schrueder to Bath for next season confirmed

I'm guessing no tears shed there GF.

Nah not really. Hes not a bad player to be fair after a slow start, but ah not concerned by losing him.

On the Scotland thread already. Bradbury moves to Bristol

Good replacement for Hughes if Pat Lam can get the most out of him. Before this season, consistency even throughout a match was a problem and if he is able to keep to this season's standards, it is a good signing.

Edinburgh have Bill Mata due back next season and Muncaster is starting to demand selection. Haining and Kunavula are strong back-ups. Makes sense for all parties.

Tian Schoeman to Newcastle is apparently signed up and done deal, to be announced shortly. He has been very unlucky at Bath. That leaves Cipriani and Bailey, so Bath are being linked with Curwin Bosch FH with the Sharks and two caps in 2018.
There will be a lot of Afrikaan accents at the Rec next season.

Curwin Bosch is a tough recruit, he is a confidence player and his performances can go missing for weeks at a time, he isn't one that embraces contact either. They will have to manage him well to get the best out of him.

Old Man wrote:Curwin Bosch is a tough recruit, he is a confidence player and his performances can go missing for weeks at a time, he isn't one that embraces contact either. They will have to manage him well to get the best out of him.

That's not encouraging ! If he is coming, not sure if he would be in front of Bailey for selection and Bailey is only 20. Cipriani is unlikely to get another season but depends on who else comes in.
The injury disaster this season cannot be repeated again next season so Bath are looking to ensure there are enough bodies in key positions, FH being one of them and thus avoid asking 21 year old centres to play FH, which has happened this season.

Recwatcher16 wrote:

Old Man wrote:Curwin Bosch is a tough recruit, he is a confidence player and his performances can go missing for weeks at a time, he isn't one that embraces contact either. They will have to manage him well to get the best out of him.

That's not encouraging  ! If he is coming, not sure if he would be in front of Bailey for selection and Bailey is only 20. Cipriani is unlikely to get another season but depends on who else comes in.
The injury disaster this season cannot be repeated again next season so Bath are looking to ensure there are enough bodies in key positions, FH being one of them and thus avoid asking 21 year old centres to play FH, which has happened this season.

To be fair to the 21 year old centre he did a decent job.

Bath will be used to a contact shy flyhalf after working with Cipriani. Bosch has got some skills and a big boot plus pace. Can play 10 and 15. If Bath wanted to shore up the squad a bit then he's a good option and at 24 is prime age for further development.

Recwatcher16 wrote:Tian Schoeman to Newcastle is apparently signed up and done deal, to be announced shortly. He has been very unlucky at Bath. That leaves Cipriani and Bailey, so Bath are being linked with Curwin Bosch FH with the Sharks and two caps in 2018.
There will be a lot of Afrikaan accents at the Rec next season.

What's Schoeman like as an actual player if hes recovered from his injury?

A couple of Leinster players off to Exeter according to the BBC. Dunne I knew about but didn't know O'Loughlin was off. Very handy player I always thought.

Rumours of Worcester signing Langdon and Davidson to bolster their front row. Links seem tenuous and are apparently to do with the players following Worcester on social media.

Can't see anything on the Davison rumour Sam.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Can't see anything on the Davison rumour Sam.

Hope not. Worcester is generally where careers go to stall. As I said all sounded pretty tenuous.

On the unoffy the Worcester fans seem to be getting excited about all sorts of signings...

More people talking about Davison now....i wonder if there is some truth in it.

I see Fissler and Mr Nadolo have had a very heated debate on twitter....

GeordieFalcon wrote:I see Fissler and Mr Nadolo have had a very heated debate on twitter....

Fissler stated in TRP that he was back off to the SH due to family reasons. Nadolo didn't take that very well and has said his rumour is b*****ks. Wasn't happy that Fissler was peddling rumours about his family. Wasn't helped by Fissler asking if he was drunk as opposed to just apologising.

Yeah i saw it Sam.

Its come from somewhere though...has Mr Nadolos agents been talking ...tut tut....

The Sydney Morning Herald have run a much better written piece stating with quotes that Nadolo's representatives have had talks with the Reds. Also says the Tahs are keen but no talks have happened. Also that a move to Fiji Drua is unlikely at present for several reasons.

Rather different to Fissler's, "set to leave for Fijian Drua due to family reasons". Fissler has always been a thoroughly unlikable bloke but once upon a time did seem to have some contacts in rugby and broke a few stories years ago. In recent years he's just been peddling attention seeking fluff most the time with a terrible accuracy for them actually happening. My guess is to keep the column he needed to keep producing big stories. When the real stories he had dried up he started making stuff up, that naturally upset the players he made s***e up about, hence he lost the few contacts he had.

Nadolo's mentioned a few times on social media that his family have really struggled being away from Australia over the pandemic. He's extremely close with his mother, who was at the game on Saturday, who he's only seen something like once in 3 years. Fissler's report mentioning Drua with no link and no quotes makes me think he heard through interviews and social media about the family difficulties, put two and two together, then got idiocy as is usually the case with Fissler now. Nadolo was born in Fiji but moved to Australia at 3 months old, went to school at Nudgee and his family are Aussie based. I can only imagine that Fissler went, "hey this fella plays for Fiji so I should link him with the Fijian Drua then mention his family as context and not contact the player before going to press".

If Nadolo moved back to Australia for family reasons I couldn't fault him at all. He's been brilliant for Tigers in a brief time and is such a likable player. He'd be a huge loss. Yes he's 35, needs his workload managed now and is slower than he once was so exploitable in defence. He can still do things in attack few others can though. His finishing from close range and offloading are absolutely spectacular still.

It'd free up cap for a replacement but he'd take some replacing. I could see Tigers targeting a speedster rather than a crash ball winger if so. Maybe Radwan or Watson.

In other Tigers news I've heard the rumour from two different places now that Tigers have had talks with Matera about potentially buying him out of his Crusaders contract. Matera is a brilliant player and I'd love to see him at Tigers again but hearing that rumour twice really makes me worry about Marco van Staden. He's had a few concussions now and this is his second long injury break after concussion in 2 years.

I really hope Marco can return. He's an absolutely fantastic openside who's great in the carry and brutal in defence. If not for Kolisi being so excellent he might be a bit better known in international rugby.

MVS has been out a while now and no sight nor mention of him. Hope he's ok but you do fear the worse when we're being linked with Matera. Matera would be an ideal signing in that he covers both 6, 7 and 8 or could in our system.

Tigers announce the signing of Jed Walsh, brother of Exeter's Jack Walsh, from the NSW academy. USA born but Aussie raised flyhalf is EQ.

Other rumours are that Tigers have done a deal with Phil Cockanasiga and Anthony Watson is a possible target after Bath failed to meet his demands.

Be a shame for LI to lose Phil Cockanasiga given Hepetema is off at the end of the season ...

Looks like Nathan Hughes is heading to Clermont. Rokoduguni is off to Montauban by the looks of it as well.

Heaf wrote:Be a shame for LI to lose Phil Cockanasiga given Hepetema is off at the end of the season ...

Is he purely a 12 or has he played a bit of 13 and wing as well?

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Heaf wrote:Be a shame for LI to lose Phil Cockanasiga given Hepetema is off at the end of the season ...

Is he purely a 12 or has he played a bit of 13 and wing as well?

Mainly a 12, but no reason he couldn't play 13.

He's not had too many opportunities which is a shame given Hepetema is leaving. Mixed performances when he has, but there is clearly a bit of an X factor there

Has been doing well in ND1 with Rosslyn Park and more recently Esher (hat trick last weekend). Clip of him scoring a nice try for Rosslyn Park here

https://youtu.be/jKuoM2sFwDo?t=27

Wouldn't surprised me if it ends up being true, but then the rumour came from the Ruck, so wouldn't surprise me if it was complete rubbish.

Yeah with the Ruck you never know if it's true or whether it's garbage. He'd fit in with the type of centre we've seemed to err towards under Borthwick. Kelly, Porter, Scott all direct, defensively solid and with a bit of pace. PC's footwork would be a nice addition. Could be a good understudy to Scott and form a nice combination with Kelly going forward.

Official news is Toner will be retiring from Leinster at the end of the season. Hell of a servant for Leinster.

Elsewhere Bulls look set to lose Madosh to Bordeaux for next season. Heinz has been released by Worcester to go back to New Zealand. Teimana Harrison is leaving Northampton to go to AIX (Provence - Div 2).

I think I mentioned this one earlier as well but I think Rokoduguni is leaving Bath to join Montauban in Div 2 as well.

Lots of guys signing for French clubs at the end of their careers where even a season contract essentially turns into 3 years due to french employment laws around no longer working. They receive 2 years of government money based on current earnings when they become unemployed. France has therefore become the international rugby player retirement home for the world.

Ngatai has rejected an extension with Lyon. Heading to Leinster by all accounts.

Sale sign O'Flaherty from Chiefs.

Cracking signing that. I really rate O'Flaherty but he's one of those players a touch below international level so should be available most the year, is in his prime but has years left, really strong all round game.

O'Flaherty is 27, he's in his prime. Exeter will be gutted to lose him he's as you say KC just a step below international level and very consistent. With the kick chase and crossfield game Sale will no doubt have with Ford next season he'll slot right in. Sale have done well there to find a Solomona replacement.

Another go to player lost for Chiefs in the summer. Baxter is going to have to be scouring around for more unknown gems. Last summer's business didn't really work out for him with Francis moving on a big loss.

Chris Cloete to Bath. He's been good for Munster but a penalty magnet.

Looks like lots of S.Africa stars are heading home.....I can only think this is with next years World Cup in mind so they don't get over played and can prepare properly for it. Be interesting to see exactly how many players end up signing.

If they don’t return home, France or Scotland will take them.

mikey_dragon wrote:If they don’t return home, France or Scotland will take them.

The French league has limits on NFQ and Scottish clubs don't have bottomless pits of cash. Japan might take a couple but they have limits now as well.

Did I read correctly that Dave Attwood is going back to Bath on a two year deal...?

O'Flaherty to Sale....
And Exeter sign Hardwick...is that the former Tigers player?

Don't think it has been mentioned here, Glasgow's record cap holder Rob Harley is leaving at the end of the season.

Sounds like he will continue playing, presumably Japan or the US

profitius wrote:Chris Cloete to Bath. He's been good for Munster but a penalty magnet.

is this a strange one with Underhill already there? or is it because of his injury record they want consistent back-up.

personally I think he (Underhill) could do with a move to a better environment, but you could say that about all the Bath players who play for England.

GeordieFalcon wrote:Did I read correctly that Dave Attwood is going back to Bath on a two year deal...?

Yep, looks like it but how Bath thought they would survive with just three senior locks + William's this season was always a mystery and DA should never have left in the first place. Bristol waved a significantly bigger cheque at the time and is now surplus to requirements.
The upshot this season has been the emergence of 19 year old Matthew's who is a talent, although probably not big enough for senior test rugby.

The budget constraints across the league are really kicking in now. Expect there to be a few more who are shown the door due to budgets across all Prem teams and end up in France D2.

GeordieFalcon wrote:O'Flaherty to Sale....
And Exeter sign Hardwick...is that the former Tigers player?

It is the former Tiger. He's on trial there as Jack Walsh is heading towards an as yet unnamed Welsh region.

https://archive.ph/xUoJg

Sounds like things are going a bit rough down at Bristol.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

GeordieFalcon wrote:O'Flaherty to Sale....
And Exeter sign Hardwick...is that the former Tigers player?

It is the former Tiger. He's on trial there as Jack Walsh is heading towards an as yet unnamed Welsh region.

It's Ospreys.

Not been mentioned here but I saw a Tweet saying Ollie Leatherbarrow off to Exeter.

This lad was in our 2021 and 22 under 20s 6N team.

Leatherbarrow should fit in well at Chiefs, he was a menace for Scotland age groups. Wasn't he at Sale? Neither he nor his brother seem to have stayed their long though his older brother has only managed to go as far as Loughborough University so far.

Folio I assumed it would be Ospreys or Dragons. Ospreys makes sense given Myler is really not getting any younger.

If Bristol need to cut costs then you'd assume the WRU will be willing to help and look to bring Sheedy and Ioan Lloyd over the bridge and back to Wales. Which Welsh region needs a flyhalf most.

Yeah sounds like Bristol were trying to play clever and now realise they've messed up by releasing players too late to meet the cap. Can't imagine Lam has been having the best of times since signing that new contract! They had struggled to really replace the impact that Malins and Earl had last year and now they're going to have to unload more on the cheap. Will really test how good Lam is. May have been better jsut trying to hide it for several years then get a slap on the wrist

No 7&1/2 wrote:Yeah sounds like Bristol were trying to play clever and now realise they've messed up by releasing players too late to meet the cap. Can't imagine Lam has been having the best of times since signing that new contract! They had struggled to really replace the impact that Malins and Earl had last year and now they're going to have to unload more on the cheap. Will really test how good Lam is. May have been better jsut trying to hide it for several years then get a slap on the wrist

Even under the old rules the £600k rumoured overspend would have exceeded the slap on the wrist amount by nearly double. Unknown if offloading Attwood counts towards that rumoured amount or not.

You'd have thought the big names will be tied in so Lam will unloading squad players. Bristol are already top heavy in terms of big names so the gap between the top end players and the squad players is likely to be greater again next season.

I know. Just makes it a little odd that Bristol have done this accidentally even if trying to get an advantage.

Sounds as if they'll be getting a fine anyway as it sounds as if they are too late to meet next seasons cap; may have read that wrong? Not sure which would be worse for them in losing more squad filler or bigger names?

Bristol have been caught out with the contract periods for their squad. Bristol argued strongly against the cap reduction and that clubs should only spend within their means. They got outvoted by the other clubs, no doubt to give Landsdown a kicking.

Bath have offloaded over the last two seasons a significant number senior experienced players leaving a very lean 40 man squad and then got clobbered with injuries meaning several academy players have had considerable exposure this season. Bath had 29 players injured/covid/missing when Leinster showed up earlier this season.
The RFU have also got in on the act , as part of their ongoing agreement with the Premiership stating that there should be a minimum 15 EQ players for each fixture. Noticeable that the Bath recruitment for next season are nearly all EQ. Teams like Sale and LI will be next with their expensive overseas contingent.

I really hope Rob Harley finds a spot in France. He contemplated a move there before his last contract extension but decided to stay with the Weege for personal reasons. He is a fluent French speaker and "enjoys" reading French philosophy in its untranslated form for relaxation!
Bayonne are likely to gain promotion to T14 and have made some big name signings. Harley is exactly the kind of experienced pro that would add to their pack strength without breaking the bank.

Bristol's issues are for next season not this one. They have plenty of time to get under the cap if they can. This has been spotted by them, admittedly late on, not by the salary cap manager as well.

In short:

- When the cap reduction was announced clubs had a deadline to sign contracts so that those contracts would only have 75% of those wages count towards the cap

- Bristol signed a lot of players before that deadline on '2 plus 1' deals, meaning they were two year contracts with a potential third year

- For the 'plus 1' year of the deals they missed the deadline for 75% to count towards the cap so now have 25% extra cap spend for several contracts

- So now they have a rumoured 400k extra cap used up next season that they weren't planning on so are apparent looking to offload six players before next season

That on top of the cap reduction and potentially dropping to 1 marquee instead of 2 if Radrada or Piutau move on. They can't just buy players out either as that counts towards the cap. So they basically need contracts bought out by clubs outside the Premiership if they want to end contracts early. Or they need to offload players who they might've tried to keep for next season but hadn't yet agreed deals with - Attwood, Morahan, Frisch examples of this it seems.

It's been a tough season for Bristol already, next season won't get any easier now.