Agulla out and Benjamin in

http://www.thisisleicestershire.co.uk/Leicester-Tigers-swoop-Worcester-winger-Miles/story-14323272-detail/story.html

Sh!te, was hoping he was coming to Barf...

No offence bathmad but with both Saints and Tigers looking at Benjamin.....

Bath could still sign Ashton for the right price.

Excellent signing for Tigers though. They really are smart with their signings. Would fit in very well in my opinion.

Saints can't be pleased though.

Hmm personally I thought he'd be replacing Hamilton. Hamilton's form this season has been pretty dodgey and I'm suprised he still has another year after this on his contract.

Shame about Agulla as he has been playing well but I suppose if he is going to miss so much of the season then he might not be worth it. Ayerza is worth keeping as he is pretty much irreplaceable (outside of spending silly money) but Benjamin should be a cracking signing and should give our back three a much needed pace injection. Now if only we can get Tait fit...

What if he makes the England squad (theres a wing spot wide open) thats another one of your squad gone....

Cracking signing though...

Great signing Tigers. Our back line for next season when Tait is back from injury is shaping up to be pretty awesome...

Benjamin is exactly the sort of guy Tigers have bene crying out ofr in their back 3 since Varndell had his crisis.
Well down the England pecking ord er too.

I know a lot of people have been raging about Agulla this season but I still see him as a pedestrian fullback masquerading as a decent club winger. Tigers have another 2 seasons at least to squeeze out of Murphy ( if he can avoid serious injuries), Hamilton has suffered form wise but was a class signing on a reasonable wage, and they also have little man Tait ( again assuming he can stay in one piece for more than 2 games). It gives them 3 options on a par with Agulla covering the fullback-cum-wing role plus Morris if they get really short. Of those Agulla is the one who would go missing for internationals.
They only have Tuillagi as high quality out and out winger.

If its a case of balancing the books under the cap its a very good piece of business. A shame for Agulla who was certainly a better signing than Amorsino. I guess a few more Argentinians will start dissapearing from the European leagues if they are required for the 4 nations. The main reason they were signed in the first place was their availability.

If they can beat Saints to his signature I see it as a very positive move, itll also serve as notice to Tuilagi that he needs to try for 80 minutes of every game if he wants to stay undropable.

Shame about Agulla, but yes a fast wingewr is just what we need.

A great signing if you can get him, real pace,I would think half the AP will be after his signature.

Although as Geordie says, with a move to Leicester, you wouldnt bet against him coming into the EPS...

Tigers have needed a speedster for ages and this is just the signing. Agulla has never been anything more then average unfortunately, if you'd wanted and Argentine winger Camacho was free.

Brilliant signing and I can only assume they're keeping the limp Hamilton till Tait hits some form and then Tait can take his spot.

Agree with Peter that it might make the Lazy One decide to actually play for a full 80

Is Lee Robinson still at Tigers? Now he really is a waste of space I dont know why we ever signed him he is just an absolute lump.

Agulla has played well since his time at tigers but I would have to agree he is just a good club winger and lacks the pace or guile to be a real quality finisher. His ability to stay on his feet and bounce off players is outstanding though.

I think Robinson was a short term squad filler style signing who the coaches took a gamble on because he was cheap. To be fair he's never played in a Tigers team that was going forward he's always been in the LV Cup development teams that tend to lose.

We are retaining quite a few back three options at present and with Forsyth and Lewington coming through with a real speed merchant Tahir El Mahdi in the academy we might let a few go in order to ease the strain on the salary cap. Currently we have;

Tait, Murphy, Morris, Hamilton, Alesana Tuilagi, Agulla, Robinson. With Matt Smith offering additional cover. We could jettison three of those and use the academy boys plus Benjamin as replacements. Looks like Agulla is on his way at the end of this season and Robinson will probabley go as well. Hamilton to follow the season after.

Sam,

Id guess Hamiltons retention would depend on him getting back the promise he showed the previous seasons and what Tait shows in coming back form injury and satying fit enough to actually string a few games together. Someone will have to replace Murphy as first choice fullback.

Any reason why you thinkl He'd be out the door before Morris other than pay grade?

Hamilton took a long time deciding whether to stay at Tigers last time his contract was up for renewal with the iminent arrival of a child being the deciding factor against moving away. There was interested from back home and across the channel last time depending on whether he wanted to be back amongst the family or getting a pay day. I think he'll choose one or the other when his contract is up. I thought his contract was up this summer but it appears he has another year. I'd expect him to go after that, NZ is his home and a pension top up via France may tempt him.

Then again Morris only signed a two year deal and may well scarper back to Ireland if one of the provinces offer him regular first team rugby so nothing is certain. Though with Geordan not getting any younger and Tigers no nearer to finding a suitabley awesome replacement Cockerill may well have his scouts scouring the world for a full back.

I can see Benjamin being a big hit at Leicester in the future, very sharp off the mark and a good finisher. Complements Tuilagi nicely on the opposite wing.

If Leicester ever have a fully fit squad, they'll be quite a force. I was really impressed with Ed Slater and Kitchener the other day, that's some real depth they have there (especially seeing as Mafi was drafted to play 6, and Parling and Deacon were out), and Ben Woods made a strong cameo.

As for fullback, when he returns I'd like to see Matt Tait deployed there. Think he could do a really good job from 15.

As for fullback, when he returns I'd like to see Matt Tait deployed there. Think he could do a really good job from 15..

That was the idea when he signed. Start him on the wing, when he's up to speed rotate with Geordan. Not quite worked out like that though as Tait has done some serious damage to his groin.

Slater has really come on this season, he looked a bit of a liability last year in defence but has stopped trying to be clever and has taken the physical enforcer thing to heart. Great hands for a big man, there are international centres with worse and he has decent footwork and pace. A bit more time learning from Louis 'Coal Face' Deacon and he should be a very good second row. Kitchener is developing nicely and seems to be being molded into the Parling/Kay esque hard working and athletic lineout lock. Both are nice and young so should be the bed rock of the Tigers front five for many years yet.

Rate Benjamin and hoped he would sign for Saints. Great pace and runs good lines but also big enough to run some crash ball as well. Also always looked good in defense. Can see him making the full England squad if he plays to his potential in the HK with the Tigers next year.

formerly known as Sam wrote:
Slater has really come on this season, he looked a bit of a liability last year in defence but has stopped trying to be clever and has taken the physical enforcer thing to heart. Great hands for a big man, there are international centres with worse and he has decent footwork and pace. A bit more time learning from Louis 'Coal Face' Deacon and he should be a very good second row. Kitchener is developing nicely and seems to be being molded into the Parling/Kay esque hard working and athletic lineout lock. Both are nice and young so should be the bed rock of the Tigers front five for many years yet.

Slater looked very impressive against Sale, the best I've seen him play. Always seemed to give away too many pens when I saw him last year but has definite potential. Like you say if he keeps learning from Deacon and continues to progress at the same rate then international recognition may come sooner rather later.

What a good signing. As a left wing you might well find him heading to the EPS quite soon though. When combined with a fit Tait the Tigers' back 3 will look unusually spritely.

It's been reported by the mercury that we may be losing A. Tuilagi as the tigers can't compete with the money the Japanese are offering.

So this could be a replacement for him.

Yeah I heard about that on the radio this morning Nathan. Bad news for Tigers if he goes but who can blame him for wanting to top up his pension pot with a year or two in Japan where they are paying French style wages for big names. He could be on a contract bigger than Castro's at Tigers which would be good money.

There's reports that Smith the Aussie flanker is earning US$1million a season. That level of cash is well out of the realms of Tigers.

Jacques FOurie is on even more than that! Best played player in the world apparently, along with De Preez out there as well

This probably deserves a thread of its own, but do people think that long term the Japanese league will become a major destination and not just for topping up the pension pot?

Fourie is literally earning millions for his time there, quite a hard offer to turn down!

Millions of US dollars and 1 million US dollars is roughly £640k so not so far off the big money French contracts. That puts Japan joint top of the pecking order when it comes to signing up players. No wonder so many SH stars are heading that way. Closer to their home countries, I don't think the Japanese season clashes with the Super 15 and the money is massive!