The rumour mill

ScarletSpiderman wrote:

pioden gorllewin wrote:Leicester Mercury reporter Martin Crowson stating in todays paper that Tigers are after Owen Williams as stand off for next season. Gutted if true, thought he'd push priestland for the starting spot for next season.

The Scarlets are going to have to pull out of the LV= Cup from now on as it is getting to be a bit of a joke now, we have a kid play well for us in it, and then before the season even finishes they get poached by the Jeff side that they helped beat.

That said I wonder how much game time Owen would have got at PYS next season, as we have Priestland as exepected first choice, and then Jordan Williams, Gareth Owen and now Steve Shingler to cover (plus Aled Thomas, if he stays, and Dan Newton too).

How many times has it happened now?

Nathan - second time we have lost a young fly half that way. Steve Shingler shone against London Irish, at the MadStad a few years ago, and now it looks like Owen Williams is following in his footsteps. It's just a bit of a p!$$er as we try to use the competition to blood new youngsters, but if they do come on and shine, we are nowhere near in the postion to keep hold of them if a larger (and more attractive) club come a knocking.

ScarletSpiderman wrote:Nathan - second time we have lost a young fly half that way. Steve Shingler shone against London Irish, at the MadStad a few years ago, and now it looks like Owen Williams is following in his footsteps. It's just a bit of a p!$$er as we try to use the competition to blood new youngsters, but if they do come on and shine, we are nowhere near in the postion to keep hold of them if a larger (and more attractive) club come a knocking.

yeah i see what you mean, it's the same for all clubs though including the larger ones.

Dragons have signed Richie Rees apparently,

Great signing for them, I would have loved to see him back at the Blues though

Posted on twitter today:

Tom Hamilton @tomESPNscrum
Sounds like Max Lahiff is leaving London Irish at the end of the season - Super Rugby is his destination with Reds and Rebels keen #Rugby

Max Lahiff's development was one of the main reasons London Irish fans weren't too disappointed about losing Alex Corbisiero. So if that happens it'll be pretty unfortunate for them.

mawhis wrote:Posted on twitter today:

Tom Hamilton @tomESPNscrum
Sounds like Max Lahiff is leaving London Irish at the end of the season - Super Rugby is his destination with Reds and Rebels keen #Rugby

does he have southern hemisphere connections?

LondonTiger wrote:

mawhis wrote:Posted on twitter today:

Tom Hamilton @tomESPNscrum
Sounds like Max Lahiff is leaving London Irish at the end of the season - Super Rugby is his destination with Reds and Rebels keen #Rugby

does he have southern hemisphere connections?

He is australian qualified (according to The Rugby Paper), but I'm not sure how.

Will be a real shame for us if he goes, but you can't blame the lad as he is Aus qualified, and probably stands more chance of an international career with them than with England.

I guess that must be via parents?

I didn't see the Tigers signing of Owen Williams coming. That's a loss, I think he is better than Shingler and Thomas. It certainly is a position of some depth (10 and 15) but there isn't really a Scarlet who is standing out in front further than the competitors.

Sounds like the rebels have signed Lahiff. I wish him the best of luck out in Aus.

Bad move for him. He's going to be under the cosh an awful lot in that pack, if he thought that this season was tough at LI then the Rebels will be worse. Maybe he'll be able to swing a move to a better franchise after a year or two and he is far more likely to get an international callup.

This is probably a symptom of English strength in depth. Three years ago he would have had a decent chance of an England cap. Now he's behind Corbs, Marler and Vunipola, with Corbisero the oldest of the 3 at only 24, and there are plenty of younger TH's coming through (for instance Harrison at Sale is going well, and a kid called Boyce at Leeds sounds very exciting).

Brookes could still come good, Balmain is coming through nicely at Tigers as are Sinkler at Quins and Wilson at Falcons. A couple of years and Cole might actually face competition for his shirt.

Ozzy3213 wrote:Sounds like the rebels have signed Lahiff. I wish him the best of luck out in Aus.

There was some talk of Oz trying to poach him for their national team if i remember. It will absolutely be a loss to us English if this happens I believe. I know we have decent strength in depth at LH, but he has HUGE potential. Immensely strong, a very powerful carrier and a decent scrummager. If his fitness improves he'll be a nailed on international. Was really hoping he'd push Marler, Corbs and Vunipola all the way. Real shame, but I've been supportive of players coming here and playing for us so for consistency, best of luck to him.

DaveM wrote:This is probably a symptom of English strength in depth. Three years ago he would have had a decent chance of an England cap. Now he's behind Corbs, Marler and Vunipola, with Corbisero the oldest of the 3 at only 24, and there are plenty of younger TH's coming through (for instance Harrison at Sale is going well, and a kid called Boyce at Leeds sounds very exciting).

It's a shame, i think he would have been right up there and we'd have benefited from the competition. I think he would have been an England international, and a very good one. Given the lack of depth, he'll almost certainly get Aussie caps. If he feels a draw to them, good on him and best of luck...just not against us eh :-)

DaveM wrote:This is probably a symptom of English strength in depth. Three years ago he would have had a decent chance of an England cap. Now he's behind Corbs, Marler and Vunipola, with Corbisero the oldest of the 3 at only 24, and there are plenty of younger TH's coming through (for instance Harrison at Sale is going well, and a kid called Boyce at Leeds sounds very exciting).

When I said TH I obviously mean LH........

There are plenty of TH's coming through though, as Sam as.

Hood83 wrote:It's a shame, i think he would have been right up there and we'd have benefited from the competition. I think he would have been an England international, and a very good one. Given the lack of depth, he'll almost certainly get Aussie caps. If he feels a draw to them, good on him and best of luck...just not against us eh :-)

I think the academies are prducing so much talent that England are going to see more and more players playing for other international sides. He was unlikely to get a chance with England given the competition. Someone will have to fix his binding problem, but he is strong like Vunipola is.

How cheeky of those dastardly Aussies...sending their props over to learn to prop correctly then taking them back...

pioden gorllewin wrote:Leicester Mercury reporter Martin Crowson stating in todays paper that Tigers are after Owen Williams as stand off for next season. Gutted if true, thought he'd push priestland for the starting spot for next season.

This has now been confirmed.

DaveM wrote:

Hood83 wrote:It's a shame, i think he would have been right up there and we'd have benefited from the competition. I think he would have been an England international, and a very good one. Given the lack of depth, he'll almost certainly get Aussie caps. If he feels a draw to them, good on him and best of luck...just not against us eh :-)

I think the academies are prducing so much talent that England are going to see more and more players playing for other international sides. He was unlikely to get a chance with England given the competition. Someone will have to fix his binding problem, but he is strong like Vunipola is.

Of all the young LH pretenders he looked to me like the most naturally strong. His carrying is less dynamic than Vunipola but he always takes about 3 guys with him. He has that sort of very good static strength like, I hate to say it, Easter.

GeordieFalcon wrote:How cheeky of those dastardly Aussies...sending their props over to learn to prop correctly then taking them back...

Lahiff was born in London.

Williams confirmed to Tigers.

Barclay, Watson (or retain Lewington) and either a new contract for Brookes or an experienced backup tighthead (ala farmer White). Please. That would set us up nicely for next season.

I am reasonably comfortable with what we have at TH even if Castro goes.

Mind if Castro, bobo and Brookes all leave we could be looking a little light at the start of the season when with Ayerza away we would have little behind Cole, Balmain and Mulipola.

To my mind we need six props of AP quality. Ayerza, Cole, Balmain, Mulipola, Brookes and Stankovitch would do for next season if Castro left. If Castro stayed I'd probably let Stanko go as he's really not recovered well from that shoulder injury.

We've got some good props in the academy but they are only 18ish. Bower and Harris are probably off as well.

Tigers are apparently looking at Fabio Staibano, as a stand-in to back up Cole, Mulipola and Balmain.

Aye he looks the most likely candidate. Not really thrilled by that as a potential signing but tightheads aren't readily available (the cheap ones anyway).

So long as he is cheap, willing to sit out for a fair while and can push, he's fine by me.

He didn't show much pushing ability at Wasps hence why I'm not so thrilled.

DaveM wrote:

Hood83 wrote:It's a shame, i think he would have been right up there and we'd have benefited from the competition. I think he would have been an England international, and a very good one. Given the lack of depth, he'll almost certainly get Aussie caps. If he feels a draw to them, good on him and best of luck...just not against us eh :-)

I think the academies are prducing so much talent that England are going to see more and more players playing for other international sides. He was unlikely to get a chance with England given the competition. Someone will have to fix his binding problem, but he is strong like Vunipola is.

Yeah maybe so. I'd hope they keep churning them out! The concern is that props for example sometimes take a while to emerge. I think someone like Lahiff actually has stronger foundations for that position than someone like Marler. So we may see him develop past him but play for Oz. Not much we can do, in a way it would be nice to be seen as an exporter of talent for a change!

Am i right in thinking Garvey's going to Bath? Really not convinced by Gold and Ford there at the moment. But they're putting together a helluva squad.

I heard Joseph and Garvey to Bath, Gibson and Watson to Tigers.

With Lahiff and Corbs off as well it's not looking good for LI next season.

Exeter have announced they've signed an international but didn't name who?

Ceri Sweeney.

http://www.thisisexeter.co.uk/Exeter-Chiefs-sign-fly-half-Ceri-Sweeney/story-18366374-detail/story.html

formerly known as Sam wrote:I heard Joseph and Garvey to Bath, Gibson and Watson to Tigers.

With Lahiff and Corbs off as well it's not looking good for LI next season.

Disappointing, the Bath pack may give the backs a platform but I wanted to see Joseph go to a team playing decent rugby like Quins. If Gold can't make something will this squad he's building then it'll be on him. Yeah, LI look in trouble to me. I still think the biggest issue for the Prem is the poor standard of coaching.

Gibson to Tigers is a done deal, but the last information that I had (about 2 weeks ago) was that Garvey and JJ had not yet signed for anyone else.

Hood83 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:I heard Joseph and Garvey to Bath, Gibson and Watson to Tigers.

With Lahiff and Corbs off as well it's not looking good for LI next season.

Disappointing, the Bath pack may give the backs a platform but I wanted to see Joseph go to a team playing decent rugby like Quins. If Gold can't make something will this squad he's building then it'll be on him. Yeah, LI look in trouble to me. I still think the biggest issue for the Prem is the poor standard of coaching.

Agree to a point, but then what can you do about it? Coaches as far as i'm aware have no formal career path or educational establishment, they simply complete the relevant qualifications, gain experience where they can and work from there. It seems a lot more "old school" in its approach then the modern micro managing and career pathways that players have.

Adam Powell to falcons confirmed..immediate effect..

Odd timing given that Sarries are still playing on several fronts and with Farrell already injured and Barritt playing in hard fought internationals. They might need him as squad cover.

I think he'll do well at the Falcons alongside Fitzpatrick that should be a well balanced pairing.

We signed him months ago apparently Sam, but agreed to loan him straight back to them to cover the lv's...now they're out of that he joins us.

yappysnap wrote:

Hood83 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:I heard Joseph and Garvey to Bath, Gibson and Watson to Tigers.

With Lahiff and Corbs off as well it's not looking good for LI next season.

Disappointing, the Bath pack may give the backs a platform but I wanted to see Joseph go to a team playing decent rugby like Quins. If Gold can't make something will this squad he's building then it'll be on him. Yeah, LI look in trouble to me. I still think the biggest issue for the Prem is the poor standard of coaching.

Agree to a point, but then what can you do about it? Coaches as far as i'm aware have no formal career path or educational establishment, they simply complete the relevant qualifications, gain experience where they can and work from there. It seems a lot more "old school" in its approach then the modern micro managing and career pathways that players have.

Probably not much, get a load of Kiwis in for a start though perhaps? I'm not sure chopping and changing all the time would be helpful, but i'd like to see clubs look a little further afield at all the options.

Hood83 wrote:

yappysnap wrote:

Hood83 wrote:

formerly known as Sam wrote:I heard Joseph and Garvey to Bath, Gibson and Watson to Tigers.

With Lahiff and Corbs off as well it's not looking good for LI next season.

Disappointing, the Bath pack may give the backs a platform but I wanted to see Joseph go to a team playing decent rugby like Quins. If Gold can't make something will this squad he's building then it'll be on him. Yeah, LI look in trouble to me. I still think the biggest issue for the Prem is the poor standard of coaching.

Agree to a point, but then what can you do about it? Coaches as far as i'm aware have no formal career path or educational establishment, they simply complete the relevant qualifications, gain experience where they can and work from there. It seems a lot more "old school" in its approach then the modern micro managing and career pathways that players have.

Probably not much, get a load of Kiwis in for a start though perhaps? I'm not sure chopping and changing all the time would be helpful, but i'd like to see clubs look a little further afield at all the options.

Some of the best coaches IMO are those who come from the clubs themselves.

Dean Richards - Director Of Rugby
Peter Russell - Head Coach
Peter Wells - Forward Coach
Graham Steadman - Defence Coach
Micky Ward - Scrum Coach

Dont have a problem with the standard of coaches in the Championship

Is Paul Grayson looking for a job still?
I saw him in the crowd down at the Stoop when Quins played Wasps in the Prem, and it got me wondering if he was talking to either party.

i think owen williams would have had a chance of a welsh call up with in the next year or two if stayed at scarlets but the move to the tigers could be the breaking of him such a big club with so much pressure he should have done the same as ford and got well away from the tigers because its only going to dampen his growth as a player

GeordieFalcon wrote:Dean Richards - Director Of Rugby
Peter Russell - Head Coach
Peter Wells - Forward Coach
Graham Steadman - Defence Coach
Micky Ward - Scrum Coach

Dont have a problem with the standard of coaches in the Championship

I have a massive problem with a retired Irish American boxer teaching scrummaging

welshboii15 wrote:i think owen williams would have had a chance of a welsh call up with in the next year or two if stayed at scarlets but the move to the tigers could be the breaking of him such a big club with so much pressure he should have done the same as ford and got well away from the tigers because its only going to dampen his growth as a player

Most likely the Leicester move will actually speed up his involvement with the Welsh squad, to cap him and ensure he can't jump ship. Yes I am that cynical.

Tom May supposed to be signing for London Welsh regardless of if they stay up or not. Allegedly turned down a 1 year deal at Leicester () as the LW move gives him more time to pursue other interests outside playing, which is understandable as he is now 34. Was offered an additional year at Saints as well.

http://www.northamptonchron.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/saints/saints-centre-may-turns-down-tigers-to-sign-for-welsh-1-4887293

Also rumours on the Saints forum of a move for Topsy Ojo, seen nothing anywhere else so it could just be wishful thinking as he seems to be rated by a few on there.

They'd have to buy Topsy out of his contract as he has another year on it I believe. I would be surprised to see him go to Saints.