Silly Season Transfer Rumours 23/24

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I need rumours.....and I need them now!

mikey_dragon wrote:No way...

Is the coaching restructure you allude to also happening?

TBH Mikey I have no idea, everything is being kept under wraps but I have heard we may have an DoR style appointment coming in but then again if we can't find the money to pay Williams off, how can we fund a DoR?

Oakdene wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:No way...

Is the coaching restructure you allude to also happening?

TBH Mikey I have no idea, everything is being kept under wraps but I have heard we may have an DoR style appointment coming in but then again if we can't find the money to pay Williams off, how can we fund a DoR?

No clue. This jobs for mates thing going on at the WRU and Scarlets is embarrassing for everyone tbh. Look at how Phil Davies and Byron Hayward were shipped around for role to role, failing at every single one of them before finally getting out. They haven't learnt from that? Also to nail them down (Williams, Peel and Phillips at the WRU) onto long-term contracts in spite of their 'work', and then have to either keep them on or pay them a lump sum... amateur, embarrassing behaviour. So glad I no longer invest in tickets and merchandise.

Also forgot to add, is Marnus van der Merwe still keen? I know he's signed but he could change his mind, he was selected for the Springboks alignment camp too.

Craig now with the Scotland team, might he get lured back? Lousi and Fifita supposedly on 400K each now but already confirmed as leaving, Stef Thomas and Wyn Jones rumoured to be off - seems like an opportunity for a rebuild which I think is needed.

mikey_dragon wrote:Also forgot to add, is Marnus van der Merwe still keen? I know he's signed but he could change his mind, he was selected for the Springboks alignment camp too.

Craig now with the Scotland team, might he get lured back? Lousi and Fifita supposedly on 400K each now but already confirmed as leaving, Stef Thomas and Wyn Jones rumoured to be off - seems like an opportunity for a rebuild which I think is needed.

Yes he has been interviewed since being announced in the "alignment" camp as looking forward to coming to PYS.

Huw Jones being courted by Montpellier apparently.

It would be a good payday for him, though it is not entirely clear if he is out of contract at the end of this session.

BigGee wrote:Huw Jones being courted by Montpellier apparently.

It would be a good payday for him, though it is not entirely clear if he is out of contract at the end of this session.

And despite all the speculation, he signs on at the Warriors for another couple of years.

Glasgow are managing to hang onto their star players, which can only be a good thing!

OHC has confirmed the Wales link, not sure if he’s been capped by England A recently - I think he’s good player.

Corniel Van Zyl going to Cardiff as forwards coach. Seems like a good appointment.

Cardiff really look like they're sorting themselves out. Must be nice to have any sort of defence coach anyway.

mikey_dragon wrote:OHC has confirmed the Wales link, not sure if he’s been capped by England A recently - I think he’s good player.

It would be another two years before he's eligible and he's already said Wales is the back up option. It might happen but I'd imagine Wales won't be that desperate for wingers.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

mikey_dragon wrote:OHC has confirmed the Wales link, not sure if he’s been capped by England A recently - I think he’s good player.

It would be another two years before he's eligible and he's already said Wales is the back up option. It might happen but I'd imagine Wales won't be that desperate for wingers.

We're a bit desperate now tbh, with no LRZ and IF-W we are starting to look quite thin in that position. Josh Adams is getting picked regardless of form too, and he's in bad form. Hopefully we see more of Giles and Rosser involved in the near future, two that have the pace required for this level. I'd love it if OHC came over; big, strong and fast winger that scores tries - not sure why Borthwick doesn't pick him.

OHC has had a niggly injury and a bit of iffy form this season. His last Prem outing was much better mind and having moved to a team who's attack coach has been unavailable for most of the season hasn't helped.

Sam Spink formerly of Wasps and currently at the Western Force is rumoured to be returning home to London and with Sarries the most likely destination.

Read on X earlier from Rugby Pass (I think)that Glos are eyeing up either Gareth Anscombe or Billy Burns as Adam Hastings replacement .

Also saw on Sale FB group that Cobus Weise away at end of the season back to SA which is a blow.

Can you guys recommend a good X or Facebook account/group for getting rugby rumours ?

Neil Fissler seems to be the one where a lot of rumours permeate from.

Speaking of which Wade to Gloucester.

Jonny McNicholl has left the Scarlets with immediate effect to head back to New Zealand.

I think Billy Burns is off to Munster having turned down Glaws. Glaws are apparently scratching round a bit as they wanted to keep Hastings but talks broke down and Glasgow swooped in. I imagine the nature of the reduction in Hastings wages considering the amount of time off through injury was probably a sticking point.

Sale are losing Weise but have already agreed to bring in a replacement South African lock Roets I think his name was.

Tigers liked with Cabous Eloff (24 South African born playing for Rebels) and Izaia Perese (26 has some Wallabies caps). Matt Scott likely looking for a final payday elsewhere as he's now 33 and Cronin on the LH heading back to Munster whilst another LH van Wyk is put of contract in the summer.

No 7&1/2 wrote:Neil Fissler seems to be the one where a lot of rumours permeate from.

For every "rumour" he gets right there seems to be a lot of what you could call client journalism. (In my pinion anyway)
Also get the feeling a good few professionals don't particularly like the man. Well that's the rumour I hear anyway

carpet baboon wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Neil Fissler seems to be the one where a lot of rumours permeate from.

For every "rumour" he gets right there seems to be a lot of what you could call client journalism. (In my pinion anyway)
Also get the feeling a good few professionals don't particularly like the man. Well that's the rumour I hear anyway

He has to get the information from somewhere. I don't think he's always been particularly rigourous in checking his sources either which annoys some of the pros he writes rumours about.

Well if we want only rumours that come off just read the news!

formerly known as Sam wrote:I think Billy Burns is off to Munster having turned down Glaws. Glaws are apparently scratching round a bit as they wanted to keep Hastings but talks broke down and Glasgow swooped in. I imagine the nature of the reduction in Hastings wages considering the amount of time off through injury was probably a sticking point.

Sale are losing Weise but have already agreed to bring in a replacement South African lock Roets I think his name was.

Tigers liked with Cabous Eloff (24 South African born playing for Rebels) and Izaia Perese (26 has some Wallabies caps). Matt Scott likely looking for a final payday elsewhere as he's now 33 and Cronin on the LH heading back to Munster whilst another LH van Wyk is put of contract in the summer.

Could we see Matt Scott moving back to Scotland to sign for one of Edinburgh or Glasgow?

Oh and in reply to the last post above from @No 7 and 1/2, it's all rumours not just the ones that come off so I will check out this Neil Fissler geezers X account and likely follow him .

As a Tigers fan I'd love to keep Scott for another year or two. He's developed into a rock solid defensive 13 who runs hard lines. Very different to his earlier game as a 12 but it suits the modern game well.

Many Tigers fans disagree but I actually feel that Guy Porter might be best on the wing rather than centre. He's always been a bit iffy at 13 defensively, especially with positioning and staying aligned. Whilst his lack of a significant passing game means he can be limited at 12, although he's really useful there due to how strong he is in contact. Whereas I really like what little I've seen of him on the wing. He's strong out there defensively, breaks one on one tackles against many wingers and is decent under a high ball.

I'd be really happy if Tigers looked to use Porter as winger and keep Scott as a centre. There are rumours that Porter fancies being back home in Oz for personal reasons though. We'll see what happens.

king_carlos wrote:As a Tigers fan I'd love to keep Scott for another year or two. He's developed into a rock solid defensive 13 who runs hard lines. Very different to his earlier game as a 12 but it suits the modern game well.

Many Tigers fans disagree but I actually feel that Guy Porter might be best on the wing rather than centre. He's always been a bit iffy at 13 defensively, especially with positioning and staying aligned. Whilst his lack of a significant passing game means he can be limited at 12, although he's really useful there due to how strong he is in contact. Whereas I really like what little I've seen of him on the wing. He's strong out there defensively, breaks one on one tackles against many wingers and is decent under a high ball.

I'd be really happy if Tigers looked to use Porter as winger and keep Scott as a centre. There are rumours that Porter fancies being back home in Oz for personal reasons though. We'll see what happens.

We'll see, the Porter rumours seem to stem from a break he took to Australia over Christmas whilst he was ineligible to play due to concussion protocols.

I would like to see him have another go on the wing with a bit of freedom to come in and not stay on the wing. He's one that does play better with more freedom.

Scott has been a solid player for Tigers, really good addition to the squad but I wouldn't hold it against him if he went to Japan or ProD2 for a final pay day.

https://www.rugbypass.com/news/fissler-confidential-bath-hunt-all-blacks-as-sarries-lose-another-10/

Rumours round up

Losing Pepper, Brantingham AND Johnson would be a big kick in the teeth.

Brantingham confirmed to Saracens...for next season.

Sorry Geordie, that's the first kick in the teeth then.

Apparently Pepper is a done deal aswell...

Good luck to Brantingham though...hes real potential and should flourish at Saracens. Only bodes well for England.

formerly known as Sam wrote:https://www.rugbypass.com/news/fissler-confidential-bath-hunt-all-blacks-as-sarries-lose-another-10/

Rumours round up

Jonny May to Sarries could be a good move but surely a massive blow to Gloucester who are already losing top players such as Rees-Zammit to another sport and Adam Hastings back to Scotland.

Bears losing Magnus Bradbury will also be a huge blow imho.

Don't think Hastings is a loss. He's been mainly injured or recovering from injury and is one of the biggest earners at the club, rarely ever in his top form. Charlie Atkinson with Carreras at 15 could be a great option for them and the combined cost about the same as Hastings. Anscombe coming in on a one year deal as a bit of a punt, again probably in a fraction of the wedge Hastings was taking home.

May would be a blow but given his age and need to move on sooner rather than later wouldn't be that big a loss.

I'm intrigued to see if Christian Wade will end up at Gloucester, as indicated by 7 1/2 recently.

https://www.ruck.co.uk/christian-wade-set-for-premiership-returns-international-recall-is-on-the-cards/

Carre back to Saracens too. Have I missed something about Vunipola or is Brantingham off to be second back up at loosehead?

No 7&1/2 wrote:Carre back to Saracens too. Have I missed something about Vunipola or is Brantingham off to be second back up at loosehead?

If Mako has retired from Internationals he might be reducing his club playing time as well. Or he's off somewhere that we haven't yet heard about.

Mr Bounce wrote:

No 7&1/2 wrote:Carre back to Saracens too. Have I missed something about Vunipola or is Brantingham off to be second back up at loosehead?

If Mako has retired from Internationals he might be reducing his club playing time as well. Or he's off somewhere that we haven't yet heard about.

Rumours Tom West only signed on a one year deal so he could be off, ideally back to Tigers.

Mako is 33, 34 next season so might be wanting to play a bit less. Adams-Hale is also likely off as he's had injury issues.

Hope Carre isn't back there as third choice otherwise what's the point. He has been effectively cast aside in the Wales set-up despite his good form, so maybe he doesn't care.

Titi Lamositele to Quins is good work. Quality TH who carries hard.

Eroni Mawi has developed into a fantastic LH and many Sarries fans think he'll be their first choice over Mako for KO games this season. Injuries and so many games have caught up with Mako. General expectation from Sarries fans is that he'll stay in more of a player-coach capacity or move on.

Carre is a talented ball carrier but rarely looks fit to me. I'd expect him to be 3rd choice behind Mawi and Brantingham whilst the Sarries staff try to get him fit. Similar to Skelton when he first arrived really.

Titi Lamositele is a good signing but as he's got big shoes to fill coming in for Will Collier.

Cronin, Simmonds and Whiteley renew with Tigers. One of the three is good news the other two meh.

Bristol teasing a signing from Falcons, sorry Geordie.

formerly known as Sam wrote:Cronin, Simmonds and Whiteley renew with Tigers. One of the three is good news the other two meh.

Bristol teasing a signing from Falcons, sorry Geordie.

Who ??

Is that not Pepper...bath and Bristol were fighting for him but thought hed signed for Bath.

Geordie wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Cronin, Simmonds and Whiteley renew with Tigers. One of the three is good news the other two meh.

Bristol teasing a signing from Falcons, sorry Geordie.

Who ??

Is that not Pepper...bath and Bristol were fighting for him but thought hed signed for Bath.

https://twitter.com/RugbyInsideLine/status/1765470962131067371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1765470962131067371%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

This season, my wife is apparently looking to transfer all of our money into a pointless house extension.

She claims it is just a rumour, but I'm not so sure.

formerly known as Sam wrote:

Geordie wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Cronin, Simmonds and Whiteley renew with Tigers. One of the three is good news the other two meh.

Bristol teasing a signing from Falcons, sorry Geordie.

Who ??

Is that not Pepper...bath and Bristol were fighting for him but thought hed signed for Bath.

https://twitter.com/RugbyInsideLine/status/1765470962131067371?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1765470962131067371%7Ctwgr%5E%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=

Hhmmm not really giving much away.
....Other than Pepper to Bath is also a done deal.

Apparently fissler has linked us to Sale 23 year old outside centre Connor Doherty...so that means we're signing a tight head prop from Doncaster...ha ha

Mark Atkinson has retired. His knee just hasn't recovered, and he's been advised to call it a day. He was one of the oldest players to get a debut England cap.

Manu leaving sale as apparently they can't afford him

Feel for Atkinson, good player at his peak. Hopefully his knee is good enough that he can enjoy life post rugby.

Manu going to France rumours doing the rounds when contract negotiation is taking place. What a surprise!

formerly known as Sam wrote:Feel for Atkinson, good player at his peak. Hopefully his knee is good enough that he can enjoy life post rugby.

Manu going to France rumours doing the rounds when contract negotiation is taking place. What a surprise!

Did I dream it or did I read Bristol may be interested in Manu?

Oakdene wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:Feel for Atkinson, good player at his peak. Hopefully his knee is good enough that he can enjoy life post rugby.

Manu going to France rumours doing the rounds when contract negotiation is taking place. What a surprise!

Did I dream it or did I read Bristol may be interested in Manu?

that would be hilarious if true. They do love to sign big names and then struggle for depth. Given their options in the centres I'm not sure he's required unless someone is leaving.

Matt Scott to Edinburgh gathering pace on the Tigers offy.

I was hoping Tigers would keep Scott but I did hear in Edinburgh that he was moving back up here, though might just move on from playing. He's got a law degree already I believe. It'd be good if he stayed in the game a couple of years yet. He's been rock solid for Tigers.

Tigers are linked with Izaia Perese which would be a good signing.

Ross Moloney is strongly linked with Bath, he would be a very nice signing for them. very good player.

Given Antoine Frisch has been called up to the France squad it seems likely that he will leave Munster at some point. Shame, in my view he is a very good player. Also a bit of a surprise as he has said he always wanted to play for Ireland.

Waisea Nayacalevu supposedly signing for Sale on a 1 + 1 year deal as a replacement for Manu.