Transfers for next season (including transfer rumours!)

thomond2006

Losing Laidlaw is a disaster for Edinburgh. There's no chance of them being able to recruit a player close to his quality.

Edit: Although, going by this thread the Edinburgh fans don't seem too miffed: http://www.edinburghgunners.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6495&start=15

Buer

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He'll be replacing Freddie Burns. Not sure what they're going to do at 9!

Did Laidlaw not speak openly in the past of his preference for playing 9?

irishbucsfan

Buer wrote: »

Did Laidlaw not speak openly in the past of his preference for playing 9?

I'm not sure, but my preference is for him to play 9. He's much better there.

razorblunt

thomond2006 wrote: »

Losing Laidlaw is a disaster for Edinburgh. There's no chance of them being able to recruit a player close to his quality.

Edit: Although, going by this thread the Edinburgh fans don't seem too miffed: http://www.edinburghgunners.org.uk/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=6495&start=15

I don't think it is too much of a disaster, they'll miss his calming influence though, folk here are happy with the prospect of Grayson Hart and Leonard running 9 and 10 so that's calmed them somewhat.
It's also seen as a good opportunity for Laidlaw to bolster his pension fund. Hope he has more luck than Rory Lawson down there.

former legend

So Wales and Lions prop Adam Jones could be moving to the Dragons (of all people) next season, according to Wales Online. He's been targetted by the WRU for a central contract and could nominate Dragons as his region.

Also in Wales, Matt Morgan will not be kept on by Ospreys. That's bananas, he could turn out to be a great player.

CatFromHue

Is that Morgan the outhalf?

thomond2006

Connacht should try to sign Morgan. Seriously!

Cardiff and Scarlets already have established starters so that leaves the Dragons really. I'd say he'll go to Dragons or a low level Premiership club.

irishbucsfan

Morgan has always been a bit overrated by posters on here. He's not as good as advertised, but he could be a goid backup for a premiership side, Gloucester might be a good fit I think.

LeeroyJones

Confirmation of Hudson to Bristol along with O'Connell

http://www.leinsterrugby.ie/news/11558.php#.Uxc4e_l_tHU

They look well equipped for promotion so hopefully regular Prem Rugby for the lads next season

former legend

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Morgan has always been a bit overrated by posters on here. He's not as good as advertised, but he could be a goid backup for a premiership side, Gloucester might be a good fit I think.

I think that's a bit harsh, the guy is still only 21 and has never had regular first-team rugby so there is still massive room for development in his game. There was talk of Leicester and Northampton being interested but apparently Dragons is the most likely.

CatFromHue

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Morgan has always been a bit overrated by posters on here. He's not as good as advertised, but he could be a goid backup for a premiership side, Gloucester might be a good fit I think.

He'll be 22 in April so he's still got a good bit of developing to do.

If he does go to the Dragons and so does Adam Jones then with Lee Byrne and Aled Brew coming back they could well be the 2nd best team in Wales.

JohnFalstaff

thomond2006 wrote: »

Connacht should try to sign Morgan. Seriously!

Could compliment our Welsh scrum-half nicely!

Buer

Genuinely disappointed to see JOC moving on but I can't blame him. He's 4th choice. He is a guy that could be first choice elsewhere in Ireland. Hopefully he stands out at Bristol and gets a look in at a province.

It's essential Bristol get promoted though or else the move could be a disaster.

thomond2006

Morgan has gone to Bristol: http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/26448128

They're spending big, they better get promoted!

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

Jesus the Rabo is taking some hit with this Welsh and Scottish exodus

justsomebloke

From a development point of view they are some good signings as they're all young enough players that could take them places.

damianmcr

Only seen Morgan play once a few weeks ago but he tortured the Ulster defence. He looked fantastic.

thomond2006

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

Jesus the Rabo is taking some hit with this Welsh and Scottish exodus

The only hope for its dwindling competitiveness is the race for Europe.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

Jesus the Rabo is taking some hit with this Welsh and Scottish exodus

the welsh and scottish exodus and the irish "not taking it seriously":rolleyes:

Hagz

Bristol have also signed Jack Lam. Serious acquisitions.

jacothelad

Hagz wrote: »

Bristol have also signed Jack Lam. Serious acquisitions.

...and Matthew Morgan.

Hagz

jacothelad wrote: »

...and Matthew Morgan.

…and Jack O'Connell.

accidentprone1

Hagz wrote: »

…and Jack O'Connell.

...and my axe.

[Jackass]

thomond2006 wrote: »

The only hope for its dwindling competitiveness is the race for Europe.

Even this season it's evident how much the competitiveness in the league is dropping off. More or less 7 of the 12 teams in the league are absolutely useless, with teams like Cardiff on the steepest downward curve, and whilst Ospreys can still just about be considered a decent team, in 2 seasons if not next season they'll be another joke shop. It's a terrible situation. Looking at the league table this season already shows the massive gulf between the top 5 and everyone else.

All that will be left will be Leinster, Munster, Ulster & Glasgow + 8 mediocre and barely sustainable entities.

.ak

Morgan reminds me of Madigan a lot. Fantastic rugby player but lacks the ability to step back and think a few phases ahead and control the game. The AP is the prime place for him to learn that.

Bristol signing some quality fringe players. You'd have to assume joc and Hudson were cheap, relatively speaking.

astonaidan

[Jackass] wrote: »

Even this season it's evident how much the competitiveness in the league is dropping off. More or less 7 of the 12 teams in the league are absolutely useless, with teams like Cardiff on the steepest downward curve, and whilst Ospreys can still just about be considered a decent team, in 2 seasons if not next season they'll be another joke shop. It's a terrible situation. Looking at the league table this season already shows the massive gulf between the top 5 and everyone else.

All that will be left will be Leinster, Munster, Ulster & Glasgow + 8 mediocre and barely sustainable entities.

Uh the West will rise!! :mad:

hype101

Chris Farrell signed a 1 year deal with Grenoble.. What's surprising is that there is no indication that it's a loan deal.. The article signs off with "the length of the deal could see a return to the Province for Farrell in the not too distant future." Surely Ulster have some buy-back rights.. Most promising 12 in the country in my view.

http://www.newsletter.co.uk/sport/rugby/chris-farrell-to-leave-ulster-for-french-pastures-1-5907771?WT.mc_id=Outbrain_text&obref=obinsite

thomond2006

Unless Ulster have agreed to release Farrell early from a contract then they won't have a buy-back clause. By the looks of it Farrell was a free agent and could sign with anyone.

CatFromHue

[Jackass] wrote: »

Even this season it's evident how much the competitiveness in the league is dropping off. More or less 7 of the 12 teams in the league are absolutely useless, with teams like Cardiff on the steepest downward curve, and whilst Ospreys can still just about be considered a decent team, in 2 seasons if not next season they'll be another joke shop. It's a terrible situation. Looking at the league table this season already shows the massive gulf between the top 5 and everyone else.

All that will be left will be Leinster, Munster, Ulster & Glasgow + 8 mediocre and barely sustainable entities.

I think there's always been a divide between the big teams and the not so big teams. Take for example:

11/12 6pts between 6th and 7th and then 13 between 7th and 8th
10/11 11pts between 6th and 7th
09/10 there was no big gaps really
08/09 12pts between 4th and 5th
07/08 7pts between 5th and 6th
06/07 there was no big gaps

So I'd say we've always had a top 4 or 5 teams each season since 07/08 which have been a good bit stronger than the rest.

I think the Rabo fairs fairly well in this aspect compared to other leagues. Take the Aviva Premiership

11/12 10pts between 5th and 6th
10/11 9pts between 2nd and 3rd and 8pts between 5th and 6th
09/10 8pts between 3rd and 4th
08/09 there was no big gaps
07/08 7pts between 7th and 8th and then 15 between 8th and 9th
06/07 8pts between 5th and 6th

pickarooney

thomond2006 wrote: »

The only hope for its dwindling competitiveness is the race for Europe.

The Rabo should take the 6th SA franchise and an Argentina club side. There'd be some great away days.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

Sad thing is I prefer watching the rabo to the T14 and premiership

Hagz

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

Sad thing is I prefer watching the rabo to the T14 and premiership

Personally I'd rather watch two premiership sides like London Irish and Harlequins against each other in the premiership rather than Ospreys v Glasgow.

I don't watch any NH club rugby unless there's Irish sides involved or unless it's the Heineken Cup. In contrast, I enjoy watching Super rugby from time to time.

Tox56

Hagz wrote: »

Personally I'd rather watch two premiership sides like London Irish and Harlequins against each other in the premiership rather than Ospreys v Glasgow.

I don't watch any NH club rugby unless there's Irish sides involved or unless it's the Heineken Cup. In contrast, I enjoy watching Super rugby from time to time.

In contrast? Maybe I'm taking you up wrong but if you're comparing Super Rugby to the NH leagues I don't think it's really fair. I'd say Super Rugby has more in common with the Heineken Cup than with Rabo/AP/Top 14.

Hagz

Yeh true enough. Although I don't think I'd watch Heineken Cup rugby if there weren't Irish sides involved. Not for the reason that the standard would obviously dip without the Irish clubs. But this isn't relevant to the thread topic.

matthew8

Aviva Premiership can be a bit similar to the Rabo to be honest. Sarries and Northampton dominate and any game between teams towards the bottom of the table is pretty poor. Usually you get a relegation battle too but this year it's a joke. Worcester losing every single game (they seem a bit unlucky but they fade in the final 20 so often) means any game for London Irish, Newcastle or Gloucester feels sort of empty as whatever they do they won't make top level European rugby or get relegated.

Top 14 by contrast is great I think. It gets a bad reputation when people see Racing, Castres and Oyonnax seemingly walk around the pitch but whenever the pitch is decent you generally see a good game. Obviously Toulon/Clermont are nice to watch but you'd be surprised at teams like Bordeaux (very pleasant to watch) and even Brive despite not being expansive at all always put up a good show when given the prime time game. And every game is a big game this year. You can see how much even denying a bonus point to the other team means to the players and fans. You nearly always get 80 minutes of teams feeling they have something to play for and really going at it.

pickarooney

matthew8 wrote: »

You nearly always get 80 minutes of teams feeling they have something to play for and really going at it.

I can't help feeling an away win would be more than a once in a blue moon occurence if that were really the case.

former legend

Alexis Palission is in 'advanced' negotiations with Toulouse. He's got very little game time with Toulon but Toulouse aren't short of back-three players either...

connachta

pickarooney wrote: »

The Rabo should take the 6th SA franchise and an Argentina club side. There'd be some great away days.

1000% agree

With Edimburgh, Connacht , Cardiff, Scarlets, Treviso and Zebre in big trouble this and next year, that's now half of the pro 12 separated from the other half by a deeper and deeper gap

On the long term prospect, Pro 12 will burst for a simple economic reason : Ireland, Wales and Scotland markets put together are barely 15 Millions, with Italy still to build a real Rugby tradition next to football

To save our talents and history in the highest level, Unions HAVE TO begin thoughts/tractations to mix the teams with bigger-market rivals

two hypothesis

n°1 Association with French or English rugby : two pools of 12 each, 6 Celts/ita / 6 Eng/FR each, final stages (play off, and down possibly)

n°2 Association with the rest of the world primary South Africa (no jet lag which is not that bad despite of the distance) : two pools of 10 each with 6 Celts/Ita / 3 S-A /1 invited (Italian Roumanian or Russian champion(s), Argentina Province, resuscitated Sottish Borders or Welsh Valley Ravens... the idea is rotation of the two invited teams to remain attractive)

CatFromHue

I wouldn't be as full of doom and gloom myself.

Edinburgh seem to be recruiting well (I think) and are also getting their act together on the pitch this season too, granted they are losing Laidlaw. I know Lanelli are losing Johnathon Davies but I didn't think anyone else was leaving and I thought they'd signed Regan King for next season as a replacement. There's the potential that they'll actually be stronger next season so.

Connacht will be better next season I think. The young/inexperienced players from this season (Henshaw, Marmion and Ronaldson for example) will be better next season

Cardiff and Treviso I dunno really and Zebre are steadily improving (though I'm not sure if this is to do with other teams getting worse but 3 wins and a draw already this season is a big improvement on last season).

thomond2006

former legend wrote: »

Alexis Palission is in 'advanced' negotiations with Toulouse. He's got very little game time with Toulon but Toulouse aren't short of back-three players either...

Palisson got an injury in November and his gametime was pretty sparse before that despite Habana getting injured as well. Toulon's Fijian winger from the academy Josua Tuisova has also been getting matches ahead of Palisson while Drew Mitchell was finding his feet as soon as Palisson got hurt. Toulon have huge depth in the back three so there was always going to be a few departures this summer.

It looks like Hosea Gear is activating a release clause to go home to challenge for a RWC spot so Palisson would be a straight swap for him at Toulouse.

thomond2006

Freddy staying at Toulon for another year: http://www.rctoulon.com/en/news/article/frederic-michalak-prolonge/

ssaye2

Voosloo to Toulon too

thomond2006

ssaye2 wrote: »

Voosloo to Toulon too

He's been great for Clermont but they needed to reduce the age profile of their squad.

.ak

thomond2006 wrote: »

He's been great for Clermont but they needed to reduce the age profile of their squad.

... And Toulon needed to increase theirs.

thomond2006

.ak wrote: »

... And Toulon needed to increase theirs.

Well from an experience standpoint they are losing Van Niekerk and Danie Rossouw while Juan Smith has yet to commit to a contract extension. Masoe will miss at least the start of next season if he makes it back at all.

justsomebloke

Flood confirmed to toulose http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/

former legend

Alberto de Marchi confirmed by Sale Sharks.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/26644425

Could be a great signing.

blackdog1

former legend wrote: »

Alberto de Marchi confirmed by Sale Sharks.
http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/rugby-union/26644425

Could be a great signing.

As I tighthead so you'd wonder why when he's playing so well as a loosehead

thomond2006

Ospreys' Tom Isaacs leaving for Gloucester.

Kirk Van Houten

Ryan Jones to Bristol.