Delon Armitage joins Toulon

I'm sad to see him go, he was such a nice lad plus he was a great player to have in the Jeff.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/rugby-union/17726644

So long Delon you'll be missed by us Jeff fans.

With Homer coming through at Irish then I think his club side will be fine in that respect.

He's an extremely talented fullback though, such a shame he seems to have lost the plot. England should be vary of letting him slip from their sights, yes, Foden and Brown give them options at 15, but an on-form Armitage is a handy back-up to have.

Not particularly worried about him going at all. Brown has had a blinding season and worked on his weakness - pace.

Outside of him, we have May and Daly coming through, as well as Goode, Morgan, Abendanon all providing good back up options

That's the problem with English rugby and English rugby fans, so quick to just forget about players and move on.

When Armitage is playing well he is an excellent player, impossible to dispute that. Furthermore he's shown ample class and ability at international level. I think he's a loss for Irish personally. Sure, Homer is there to take up the mantle, but not even Homer's mum could pretend that he's as exciting an attacking runner as Delon Armitage.

Simply listing back-up options is one thing, but which of those guys is as good as Armitage? A couple have the potential to be, but behind Foden and Brown I'd say Armitage should be next, personal issues this season to one side.

Toulon is a good move for him I think. If he can rediscover his love of the game, get himself on the straight and narrow and get playing well again, then England should watch closely.

100% agree, he is a match winner.

Take the bits of Delon out where he does daft things and gets into trouble, and he has a better all round game than both Brown and Foden.

He will be a loss for Irish. Maybe less so for England, as there are other good options coming through, but I am gutted to see him go to be honest.

funnyExiledScot wrote:That's the problem with English rugby and English rugby fans, so quick to just forget about players and move on.

Why is that a problem? I'd say that our biggest problem in recent years has been a failure to let players go and replace them with unproven young talent. This is a case of a bloke who has been hopelessly out of form for the best part of 2 seasons and even when at the top of his game, wouldn't be assured of a place ahead of Foden. Not doubting his ability, but can't say we have missed him and I'd rather have May or Daly in there as 3rd choice and Brown deserves the back up slot for some huge improvements and massive consistency all season.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Take the bits of Delon out where he does daft things and gets into trouble, and he has a better all round game than both Brown and Foden.

He will be a loss for Irish. Maybe less so for England, as there are other good options coming through, but I am gutted to see him go to be honest.

Agree with you completely on that Pete. Hopefully he finds some form again in Toulon, as Steffon certainly has

Ozzy3213 wrote:Take the bits of Delon out where he does daft things and gets into trouble, and he has a better all round game than both Brown and Foden.

He will be a loss for Irish. Maybe less so for England, as there are other good options coming through, but I am gutted to see him go to be honest.

So thats most of this/last/any season then...

Let's not get into another slating Delon article, it has already been done, water under the bridge and all that

Bathite wrote:Let's not get into another slating Delon article, it has already been done, water under the bridge and all that

You yourself said:

"This is a case of a bloke who has been hopelessly out of form for the best part of 2 seasons and even when at the top of his game, wouldn't be assured of a place ahead of Foden. Not doubting his ability, but can't say we have missed him and I'd rather have May or Daly in there as 3rd choice"

I was merely reiterating that.

For what its worth, I've never rated him. Erratic form, erratic temperament and not the best FB in the country by a considerable margin.

I truly hope he regains his form over there and think it is a good thing for him to move away from the prem for a while. Hopefully a total change of scene will help him regain his form and overcome his discipline issues.

By the way Ozzy I feel even when Delon is on form that Foden is the better all round full back but then I would say that as a Saints fan

Both Foden and Brown offer more if we're honest.

In my opinion, Foden is arguable, but if all are on top form, there is no comparison between Armitage and Brown. Armitage is far better.

Shocker, Irish fan rates Irish player above Saints player and Saints fan rates Saints player over irish player!

Personally prefer Foden and have Brown and Armitage at the same level (although I'd say Brown's form now is better than anything I've seen from Armitage). Also would have preferred Morgan over Armitage except for all those injuries he's had. All personal opinion though.

No real surprise though. The fact he counts as a 'French' player according to their new rules means he's worth his weight in gold to Toulon, who are massively short.

Also Irish have got 17/18 year old Watson coming through as well as Homer. I can see him getting more time next season.

Rugby is now a professional game, there can be no room for idiot's like Armitage.

No doubting his capability and skill, just a gap between the ears. Good luck at Toulon, look at what happened to Henson.

I'm a LI fan since before I had a choice and I've clicked "Maybe if he wasn't such a ...."

Used to be a huge, huge fan of him. Ability wise, he is an outstanding player and whether Foden could deal with an on-form Armitage - I'm not sure.

To the OP saying he's such a nice guy off the field, he's a troubled guy. Nice guy, I think not.

Hopefully he'll sort his demons out at Toulon, Stef has been incredible out there and is a joy to watch playing fu*k all over the pitch.

Good luck to him, LI should have a nice bit of wage budget free too.

T.

but if all are on top form, there is no comparison between Armitage and Brown. Armitage is far better.

Ozzy, its all personal opinion...because i think Brown is way ahead of Armitage....

Rugby is now a professional game, there can be no room for idiot's like Armitage.

Whilst i agree to a degree...i still hope that professional rugby doesnt rid us of the great characters (comedians or bad boys) in the game to be replaced by robot zombies like snooker players....with the personality of a dead slug....

Anyone remember that league fan on 606? Was it 'famous' something? He hated Armitage. Thought he was good defensively, good kicker but shocking at running it back.

He just hated Rugby Union....unless a player had came from league....

Maybe on equal form (both at their best) Delon is better than Brown. But he hasn't been at his best for club or country for a while now and Mike's form is at literally his very beat ever, so the point is moot. Currently Brown is a better player than Armitage. If Delon gets his form and head in shape in France, then he may well be better and that's great for England. But right now Brown is, IMO which is biased, really pushing Foden

Famous impresario or something like that?

GeordieFalcon wrote:He just hated Rugby Union....unless a player had came from league....

No he didn't. He got frustrated with some of poor skills in union (which we seem to seeing more and more off) and then he pushed it for the WUM of it. A bit like GreyGhost and few other WUM, a few gems amongst the usual Poopie they spew out.

Famous Impresario, that's the puppy.

Oh yes he did...

Famous Impressario came out on the last week of the old 606 as a huge Union fan and an even bigger WUM. Had to doff my cap to the fella for keeping it up for all those years. Turned out to be a nice chap.

I'm a little sad to see him go, although not surprised at all. I'm a quins fan, and even I think on his day he's better than Brown (probably by a margin) and Foden (better kicking game).

Interesting though. I reckon we put together an England team currently playing in France that is pretty close to being a good as the current England team!