Silly Season Transfer Rumours 22/23

And.....off you go.

Cautious optimism from Bath fans given Russell's behaviour history and he will have to deal with some pretty blunt SA coaches. He will though get on with Joe Maddocks our attack coach who is like minded.
Rumours are it is a done deal with his wife and newborn baby looking for a base and Bath University facilities being ideal for his wife.

I hadn't realised he is 31 but if he brings on Bailey who is ten years his junior then he will have done a good job.

Should be fun to watch with Spencer and Redpath either side and Lawrence or JJ further out, plus some ball carrying forwards. You really do need a test experienced flyhalf to have any consistent hope of being successful in the league.

Many Bath fans think the potential signing of Thomas du Toit could be just as an important signing with him and Stuart at TH being some combination to rotate.
I have said it before but that really must be the cap spent if it happens and can see a few players being let go to pay for it.

Bath certainly have the scope for slimming down the squad a bit more as there's still some players kicking around that you probably aren't getting value for money from. Putting their cap space to better use will help.

Warren Gatland, Scott Robertson, Steve Tandy, Ronan O'Gara, Brad Mooar and Steve Borthwick to Wales.

mikey_dragon wrote:Warren Gatland, Scott Robertson, Steve Tandy, Ronan O'Gara, Brad Mooar and Steve Borthwick to Wales.

Borthwick turned down the Lions because he felt it would not set the right tone. Can't see him leaving mid season. Can't see Tigers not demanding a lot of money if Wales convince him to move either.

Gatland's return seems likely but minus his pal Edwards I can't see it going as well.

Gatland will likely be interim coach which makes a lot of sense. Not sure what else but I think Pivac’s crew also need the chop. Borthwick, Robertson and ROG are the most appealing, whilst the others seem like jobs for the boys all over again.

mikey_dragon wrote:Gatland will likely be interim coach which makes a lot of sense. Not sure what else but I think Pivac’s crew also need the chop. Borthwick, Robertson and ROG are the most appealing, whilst the others seem like jobs for the boys all over again.

Borthwick, Robertson and O'Gara is the alleged shortlist for England so plenty of competition there. All three are under contract and not sure what level of interest there will be with coaching Wales.

Most people would rather coach Wales than England, especially kiwi coaches.

mikey_dragon wrote:Most people would rather coach Wales than England, especially kiwi coaches.

Wales tendency to hire Kiwi coaches previously owes more to Wales willingness to hire non-Welsh coaches a lot sooner than England who insisted on hiring English until Eddie. Presumably Wales will have to go foreign again as there's no real outstanding option at home should Pivac be shown the door.

That being said I suspect of those three that Borthwick will only leave Leicester for England. O'Gara will only leave La Rochelle for a chance at winning the world cup (mid season, in the summer post world cup when his contract is up, 2024, might be a different story). Robertson now he might fancy a short term move but is surely in a battle Vs Schmidt for the AB top job post world cup. Pivac out and Robertson in with a get out for the AB job might just steal a march on his other potential suitors and get him in quick.

I'm not seeing Borthwick to Wales at all.....it just doesn't add up. As Sam says, even the England job has to be at the right time for him.

Most people would rather coach Wales than England, especially kiwi coaches.

I can't agree with that Mikey. England is still a big big draw due to the huge player pool and funding, I honestly think this is seen as one the top jobs.

Wales obviously have a history of NZ coaches, but more due to the fact of a lack of options at home I would suggest. I'm not sure the current state of the regions, players on the verge of retirement and lack of talent coming through would be that appealing tbh.

Not having a pop at Wales at all here, but it's a real transition period coming up post WC. It will take a brave coach to take that on.

I'm mightily relieved that Gatland would prefer to coach Wales tbh.

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

Most people would rather coach Wales than England, especially kiwi coaches.

I can't agree with that Mikey. England is still a big big draw due to the huge player pool and funding, I honestly think this is seen as one the top jobs.

This is a massive wum

mikey_dragon wrote:

Sgt_Pooly wrote:

Most people would rather coach Wales than England, especially kiwi coaches.

I can't agree with that Mikey. England is still a big big draw due to the huge player pool and funding, I honestly think this is seen as one the top jobs.  

This is a massive wum

I'm too grumpy to WUM Mikey.

England are the biggest draw in the NH for a coach....they are the most successful NH side in the World Cup.......they have a huge player pool to delve in to (the quality of which is another topic). A coach coming in would probably be the highest paid in the world along with a budget that would trump every other nation (France might have something to say on this these days).

The England job will always be a big one, even when we're rubbish....which we are currently.

Any coach worth is salt would be looking at that England side thinking he could do a better job than Jones with the resources available.

Bath being linked to Will Rowlands now.

mikey_dragon wrote:Bath being linked to Will Rowlands now.

Isn't there some sort of freeze on regional contracts?

Quinn Roux is leaving Bath to head back to Ireland and Attwood isn't getting any younger so makes sense for them.

Bath can feic right off.

No contracts are being renewed or agreed because of the situation. It has been described as a freeze and embargo. There could be a bit of an exodus and this is an early sign, the WRU need to pull their fingers out from their bum holes and sort it out. Absolute piss take.

Rowlands was in the directors box at Bath at the weekend apparently.

Rowlands has signed for Racing according to the daily heil.

Just read that. He should still be available for the World Cup, I think. After that he’s probably happy to end his playing career in France. He was a bit unknown when he come over the bridge but has developed into a top player. One of the first names on Wales’ team sheet.

Unknown how? You were bigging him up before he moved when you found out he wasn't wanted by England and had Welsh ancestry.

I only started bigging him up when he was first selected for Wales, along with Tompkins. Prior to that I’d heard of neither. When I started watching more Premiership rugby Rowlands was consistently excellent for Wasps and has been for Wales since becoming a starter. He’s better than any lock forward in England bar David Ribbans.

mikey_dragon wrote:I only started bigging him up when he was first selected for Wales, along with Tompkins. Prior to that I’d heard of neither. When I started watching more Premiership rugby Rowlands was consistently excellent for Wasps and has been for Wales since becoming a starter. He’s better than any lock forward in England bar David Ribbans.

He certainly took a step up from being a squad man to being something in his final Prem Season. That being said he'd still not have an England cap if he'd stayed in the Prem. The move to Dragons was good for him, have him a guaranteed start and plenty of international rugby. He came to peak form late in his career, he's unlikely to make another world cup so makes sense to play this one and then take the cash.

He shouldn’t play the RWC. I don’t blame him looking after themselves, but the pro teams shouldn’t know vote to allow him to play (as I have read can happen), they should leave it as he can’t play, to highlight the point how ludicrous it is that they can’t re-sign the players they want.

mikey_dragon wrote:I only started bigging him up when he was first selected for Wales, along with Tompkins. Prior to that I’d heard of neither. When I started watching more Premiership rugby Rowlands was consistently excellent for Wasps and has been for Wales since becoming a starter. He’s better than any lock forward in England bar David Ribbans.

Er no.

mikey_dragon wrote:I only started bigging him up when he was first selected for Wales, along with Tompkins. Prior to that I’d heard of neither. When I started watching more Premiership rugby Rowlands was consistently excellent for Wasps and has been for Wales since becoming a starter. He’s better than any lock forward in England bar David Ribbans.

Rowlands is a good lock, but I don't think he's hugely improved since he moved across. He goes about his work and always puts a shift in. The issue we have in England is that players like these don't really get a shot as we always have "the next big thing" (Martin, Chessum, Coles.....etc) when in reality, somebody like Rowlands would do a good job. I'd agree with Mikey, I'd compare him somewhat to Ribbans....but certainly behind Itoje in terms of quality. I'd probably take him over Hill is very disappointing at Int level.

Marchant and LCD confirmed as France bound. Guess the latter had seen the writing on the wall from Jones.

Marchant

No 7&1/2 wrote:Marchant and LCD confirmed as France bound. Guess the latter had seen the writing on the wall from Jones.

Seen the writing on the wall from the coach who will move on at the same time Marchant does? More likely he fancied the change of scenery and a nice pay rise. He knows he's young enough to come back two years on and try for the world cup after next. He had a stint in NZ previously so he's not adverse to experiencing different environments.

Rowlands is confirmed as leaving Dragons at the end of the season. Not sure who the destination is yet, likely to be Racing or Bath I guess.

mikey_dragon wrote:Rowlands is confirmed as leaving Dragons at the end of the season. Not sure who the destination is yet, likely to be Racing or Bath I guess.

Fairly certain that it is Racing but nothing confirmed.

No Jake Ball, Rowlands, Cory Hill or AWJ in the coming months then. I guess we'll be fast-tracking Jenkins and Tshiunza, thanks Rob Baxter.

mikey_dragon wrote:No Jake Ball, Rowlands, Cory Hill or AWJ in the coming months then. I guess we'll be fast-tracking Jenkins and Tshiunza, thanks Rob Baxter.

I hope they both go as second rows, Im not a fan of the old hybrid - Itoje has less impact when he plays 6.

Owen Williams has joined Ospreys, acting as injury cover.

mikey_dragon wrote:Owen Williams has joined Ospreys, acting as injury cover.

Oh the irony.

Max Llewelyn has signed for an unnamed English club, anyone know which one?

mikey_dragon wrote:Max Llewelyn has signed for an unnamed English club, anyone know which one?

No idea yet but Dillon Lewis is rumoured to be following him to play in England.

Moriarty's name was mentioned too.

Lewis is a solid player, and I have crtiicsed him in the past but this year he's been very good. He would have been an important player for Cardiff over the next few seasons. I bet they had high hopes for Llewelyn too, probably would have been first choice with Mason Grady at some point.

mikey_dragon wrote:Moriarty's name was mentioned too.

Lewis is a solid player, and I have crtiicsed him in the past but this year he's been very good. He would have been an important player for Cardiff over the next few seasons. I bet they had high hopes for Llewelyn too, probably would have been first choice with Mason Grady at some point.

Lewis has benefitted hugely from Francis's drop in form & has become a very useful scrummager.

Possibly helped by the law changes, as that is why people think Francis is struggling (I think)?

RiscaGame wrote:Possibly helped by the law changes, as that is why people think Francis is struggling (I think)?

I agree, I tend to think the same happened with Rob Evan.

I'm guessing a lot of the Welsh based players are weighing up their options with no financial security being offered by the Regions and WRU. The likes of Glaws, Bristol and Bath must be pretty tempting in particular given the proximity back to Wales and home.

Jamie Blamire signs a new two year contract.

Great signing as I thought he'd be away.

I think this gives more substance to McGuigan going to Exeter next season, as Blamire will go first choice and we'll have Fletcher and Smith coming through and Maddison a very useful back up squad member.

In a way ould be good for Falcons as Blamire looks to be a stronger scrummager which has tended to be an area of weakness previously. He's still plenty mobile so could take on the carrying responsibility.

If he can improve the core skills like LCD did...then he will be very good. The thing with Blamire that few actually know is that his handling is very good indeed...he could be a link man in the way Mako and Sinkler are used.

Walder is playing a few of the kids who can carry...Lockwood, Pepper efc.
Actually I'm quietly happy with what Walder is doing...there's seems to be very positive reports coming out of KP...

Falcons only issue appears to be consistency really. When they turn up they are very good when they don't they're dreadful. McGuigan would be a bigger earner, freeing up his salary at a time when there's a lot of good players available could help Falcons going into next season. Grab some extra quality in the tight five, for instance West is oddly still available or Stooke (think his Bristol deal is only short term). Would really add a lot.

I think the consistency will happen but it'll take time.

I have real hope for the kids we have coming through innthr front 5...Cade, Brantingham, Fletcher, Coulston efc...

We also will be moving on quite a few of rhe old guard in the summer I would think...so a chance to bring in a bit more quality.

Rumours up here that McGuigan is off to Gloucester from next week immediate effect....

Surely not....

Looking a done deal...off this week. And Will Stuart going there aswell

Wow effective immediately, this must be response to Singleton's surgery on a lower leg injury. Even so there must have been either a serious bust up behind the scenes at Falcons or there's one or two Walder is desperate to bring in for the betterment of the squad.

Geordie wrote:Looking a done deal...off this week. And Will Stuart going there aswell

Stuart and Balmain would be a couple of very solid tighthead options for Glaws.