Transfers for next season (including transfer rumours!)

neilmulvey

Gio Aplon to grenoble

Lot of welsh lads going to AP this year. Not great for the Pro12.

ssaye2

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,16024_9232747,00.html

Thought he would be centre but no

Burgess to backrow next season

neilmulvey

adam jones has announced his retirement with immediate effect.

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The dragons 2nd row adam jones, not the ospreys prop

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny

Johan Goosen to Racing.......replacement for Sexton (Rumoured)

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,3824_9234482,00.html

former legend

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny wrote: »

Johan Goosen to Racing.......replacement for Sexton (Rumoured)

I think that's been categorically shot down. Racing are losing Wiesnewski next season so a new fly-half is not a surprise.

conf101

former legend wrote: »

I think that's been categorically shot down. Racing are losing Wiesnewski next season so a new fly-half is not a surprise.

Yeah Sexton was interviewed on Game On on 2fm just after the France match and said he's definitely finishing out his contract with Racing.

thomond2006

With Sexton away with Ireland they need another quality outhalf.

errlloyd

How are his WC chances, he'd be mad to leave the year before if he has any hope of playing for SA.

justsomebloke

How good is he (I haven't seen him play)? But given he is only 21 surely is wouldn't be seen as he finished article yet so surely he would only be being looked at as an 'understudy' to a first choice OH i.e. wouldn't be replacing Sexton

matthew8

He's injured pretty much all the time so no one knows how good he is. Many were hoping he would replace Steyn for SA.

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience

He'll be warming the pine behind Sexton. Would he not be better of going to Toulon or Clermont where he would have a better chance of being first choice?

Not Playing Tiddlywinks Vinny

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

He'll be warming the pine behind Sexton. Would he not be better of going to Toulon or Clermont where he would have a better chance of being first choice?

Has been linked with the Bulls, Toulon and several Japanese sides according to PR

neilmulvey

http://www.planetrugby.com/story/0,25883,9818_9234589,00.html

yachvili to lyon

pickarooney

I vaguely remember some punter (Jones, Lenihan, one of those) had Goosen in his top 3 fly-halves on the planet a few months back.

edit: it was Woodward.

Woody1997

pickarooney wrote: »

I vaguely remember some punter (Jones, Lenihan, one of those) had Goosen in his top 3 fly-halves on the planet a few months back.

edit: it was Woodward.

Well that explains it...

CatFromHue

http://www.stuff.co.nz/sport/rugby/9873794/Jarrad-Hoeata-linked-to-Cardiff-Blues

Jared Hoeata to Cardiff?

He's started nearly every game for the Highlanders so far this season.

FrannoFan

Niall anett and Chris Farrell leaving ulster. Anett to Worcester and Farrell to Grenoble.

porterbelly

Farrell had an offer from Connacht

thomond2006

Ugo Monye spacecraft experience wrote: »

He'll be warming the pine behind Sexton. Would he not be better of going to Toulon or Clermont where he would have a better chance of being first choice?

Clermont have James and Delany, while Toulon will have Michalak (who's been excellent in his last two matches at 10!) and Giteau. With Sexton playing with Ireland they need another option to rotate.

its_phil

thomond2006 wrote: »

Clermont have James and Delany, while Toulon will have Michalak (who's been excellent in his last two matches at 10!) and Giteau. With Sexton playing with Ireland they need another option to rotate.

Michalak was quality from the highlights I saw last night

thomond2006

Raphael Lakafia going to Stade Francais in the summer from Biarritz. Not a bad backup player to Parisse! Damien Traille has already signed for his home club Pau.

Swiwi.

Hugh Pyle leaving the Rebels for an as yet undisclosed French club. He's a good lock, and unlucky not have played for Australia yet. Only 24. What with Mowen going as well, that RWC carrot is proving not so enticing for Aussie footballers.

Hagz

Aw what the hell. He was my dream signing for Leinster.

Kiwi_knock

Really shocked by it, has been the best player at the Rebels. He would have and should have made the Aussie squad for the summer games, he even could have made the starting team with the poor form of Horwill and Simmons. Shocked that he is turning down a chance to play at the World Cup. Will raise questions about Australia not playing players based abroad.

Swiwi.

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Really shocked by it, has been the best player at the Rebels. He would have and should have made the Aussie squad for the summer games, he even could have made the starting team with the poor form of Horwill and Simmons. Shocked that he is turning down a chance to play at the World Cup. Will raise questions about Australia not playing players based abroad.

Yeah, it was a crap decision not to select him last year. He's kind of Australia's equivalent of Devin Toner IMO, and we've seen how Dev has gone this season. I'm still getting over Mowen too, I mean him, Fardy & Hooper went pretty well in Autumn.

Kiwi_knock

Pyle was injured for the November Internationals so was unlucky there but really should have featured in the Lions series, Simmons and Douglas were not good enough. To be fair Simmons redeemed himself in November, but really there is no one guaranteed to start in the second row. Deans has shown he is not afraid to be cut throat so there is every chance that Horwill will be dropped so it is surprising that Pyle is not sticking around. Very disappointing to see but understandable from the player's point of view, hard to turn down that money when there is no guarantee they will get an offer again near the end of his career.

neilmulvey

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Pyle was injured for the November Internationals so was unlucky there but really should have featured in the Lions series, Simmons and Douglas were not good enough. To be fair Simmons redeemed himself in November, but really there is no one guaranteed to start in the second row. Deans has shown he is not afraid to be cut throat so there is every chance that Horwill will be dropped so it is surprising that Pyle is not sticking around. Very disappointing to see but understandable from the player's point of view, hard to turn down that money when there is no guarantee they will get an offer again near the end of his career.

Deans? you mean mckenzie?

Kiwi_knock

neilmulvey wrote: »

Deans? you mean mckenzie?

Yeah meant McKenzie, long day. Complete opposite to Deans.

WorldRugby99

I respect the countries-aus,nz,eng- who wont select outside their country-I think its important to keep all your best players playing in your country-if they have a strong desire to play for their country,they shouldnt mind staying in the country,even for a bit less money.And with the money in france at the moment picking one who goes there would just open the floodgates and there would be many aussies and kiwis playing overseas.And before you know it the top stars wont be playing in super rugby/domestically.
Im actually shocked with the WC only next year that players like mowen are actually turning it down for the french money.Mowen only made his debut last year-hes waited years for his chance and now he giving it all up for some extra cash(family reasons apparently-yet hes moving them presumably to the other side of the world with a new language?).He wont ever play in a world cup-rugbys pinnacle event.Carl hayman was the same-could have been a world cup winner-something always on his cv,tell the grandkids etc etc-yet chose the french money.I know its a short career,one injury away etc etc-but still-winning a world cup can give you that lucrative post playing career and make you a one of the greats of the game.I think its rather sad.

thomond2006

In fairness to Mowen he is 29 and he is cashing in when many top players aren't moving to Europe meaning he can demand more money. He probably wasn't making much before he made it at international level.

WorldRugby99

thomond2006 wrote: »

In fairness to Mowen he is 29 and he is cashing in when many top players aren't moving to Europe meaning he can demand more money. He probably wasn't making much before he made it at international level.

I know moneys important particularly if you married with young kids or a kid on the way but surely every rugby player wants to play for their country and dreams of winning world cups etc? Having waited years to get his chance and having won just a few caps I just find it incredible players would give it up. He could easily play in next years WCup then spent 2-3 good and profitable years with a french club.
We want to see the world best players at the world cup-its rather worrying if some players start putting cash before the wcup( there was obviously that problem at the last world cup when some pacific islanders were leaned on not to play by their clubs.)

Kiwi_knock

To be fair Mowen probably had doubts whether French clubs would still be interested in him after the WC, as it was not guaranteed that he would still be playing for Australia as the competition for the Aussie backrow is quite fierce. Last year could have been a once off for him, and with Palu and Higginbotham returning to fitness he could lose his Aussie place. His November tour was hardly outstanding. I can definitely understand his reasoning for leaving.

CatFromHue

I agree with Kiwi Knock, he was no cert for the RWC and the guys out injured when fit would be ahead of him.

It was a tough but ultimately smart decision if you ask me. You could say he retired from international rugby at the top!

Morf

CatFromHue wrote: »

I agree with Kiwi Knock, he was no cert for the RWC and the guys out injured when fit would be ahead of him.

It was a tough but ultimately smart decision if you ask me. You could say he retired from international rugby at the top!

15 weeks of fame?

. . . .

CatFromHue

Morf wrote: »

15 weeks of fame?

. . . .

I'd take it

aimee1

WorldRugby99 wrote: »

I respect the countries-aus,nz,eng- who wont select outside their country-I think its important to keep all your best players playing in your country-if they have a strong desire to play for their country,they shouldnt mind staying in the country,even for a bit less money.And with the money in france at the moment picking one who goes there would just open the floodgates and there would be many aussies and kiwis playing overseas.And before you know it the top stars wont be playing in super rugby/domestically.
Im actually shocked with the WC only next year that players like mowen are actually turning it down for the french money.Mowen only made his debut last year-hes waited years for his chance and now he giving it all up for some extra cash(family reasons apparently-yet hes moving them presumably to the other side of the world with a new language?).He wont ever play in a world cup-rugbys pinnacle event.Carl hayman was the same-could have been a world cup winner-something always on his cv,tell the grandkids etc etc-yet chose the french money.I know its a short career,one injury away etc etc-but still-winning a world cup can give you that lucrative post playing career and make you a one of the greats of the game.I think its rather sad.

I thought hayman spent a few seasons in england before going to france? Wages in SH are low by comparison to the money on offer in NH outside of a few big names. Could be wrong but the population of the tri nations countries combined is lower then the french population alone? Basic economics.

Yeah_Right

aimee1 wrote: »

I thought hayman spent a few seasons in england before going to france? Wages in SH are low by comparison to the money on offer in NH outside of a few big names. Could be wrong but the population of the tri nations countries combined is lower then the french population alone? Basic economics.

Yeah he did. He was at Newcastle. There was a big effort by the NZRFU to get him back for RWC 2011 but ultimately he decided to take the money in France.

razorblunt

Edinburgh lock Sean Cox is joining London Irish next season.
That's a big loss for Edinburgh, he was pretty much their pack leader and was always very vocal during games.

Swiwi.

Yeah_Right wrote: »

Yeah he did. He was at Newcastle. There was a big effort by the NZRFU to get him back for RWC 2011 but ultimately he decided to take the money in France.

He coulda' been a contender [for greatest AB TH prop], instead of a Toulonite, which is what he is - let's face it, Yeah_Right.

(with apologies to Marlon)

molloyjh

razorblunt wrote: »

Edinburgh lock Sean Cox is joining London Irish next season.
That's a big loss for Edinburgh, he was pretty much their pack leader and was always very vocal during games.

Yet another Pro12 player gone. How many players have moved from Pro12 sides to AP or T14 sides now in the last 2 seasons I wonder.

Morf

Swiwi. wrote: »

He coulda' been a contender [for greatest AB TH prop], instead of a Toulonite, which is what he is - let's face it, Yeah_Right.

(with apologies to Marlon)

Now all he has is the farm in NZ and quite a healthy bank balance . . .

hahashake

Morf wrote: »

Now all he has is the farm in NZ and quite a healthy bank balance . . .

To be fair, he could have had that if he stayed in NZ. Possibly a not as healthy bank balance but he still could have gone to France or Japan later in his career.

I think he opted for the less stressful choice after 07. He never was a guy who loved attention, positive or negative.

Yeah_Right

Swiwi. wrote: »

He coulda' been a contender [for greatest AB TH prop], instead of a Toulonite, which is what he is - let's face it, Yeah_Right.

(with apologies to Marlon)

If he had won a world cup I think he would have been our greatest TH. Now he has to settle for just being in the discussion.

And I know that hurts him more than anything. Whatever his bank account and various other achievements

pickarooney

aimee1 wrote: »

I thought hayman spent a few seasons in england before going to france? Wages in SH are low by comparison to the money on offer in NH outside of a few big names. Could be wrong but the population of the tri nations countries combined is lower then the french population alone? Basic economics.

SA has almost as many people as France but the percentage who would be rugby fans and have any disposable income would be rather low.

hahashake

pickarooney wrote: »

SA has almost as many people as France but the percentage who would be rugby fans and have any disposable income would be rather low.

I hate to bring up race but there are about 4.5 million White South Africans. It wouldn't be a stretch to say the majority of SA rugby fans are white, as far as I know football/soccer is much more popular in the coloured and black communities. Plus the Rand is ridiculously weak.

Swiwi.

hahashake wrote: »

To be fair, he could have had that if he stayed in NZ. Possibly a not as healthy bank balance but he still could have gone to France or Japan later in his career.

I think he opted for the less stressful choice after 07. He never was a guy who loved attention, positive or negative.

For what it's worth, one of the girls from my res at uni scored the man on a night out. He wasn't an AB then, though, so minimal bragging rights for the lady in Q.

CatFromHue

razorblunt wrote: »

Edinburgh lock Sean Cox is joining London Irish next season.
That's a big loss for Edinburgh, he was pretty much their pack leader and was always very vocal during games.

I don't know if he's been injured or what but he hasn't really played that much for them this season. The Rabo site has him down as 3+5 for this season and I think he only played in 2 HEC games.

errlloyd

Swiwi. wrote: »

For what it's worth, one of the girls from my res at uni scored the man on a night out. He wasn't an AB then, though, so minimal bragging rights for the lady in Q.

This made me laugh, not because of the story (although that's good) but because I mostly see you as a quite mature poster (probably because you're an expat which brings a level of maturity usually) and use of the word score just feels out of character.

Swiwi.

errlloyd wrote: »

This made me laugh, not because of the story (although that's good) but because I mostly see you as a quite mature poster (probably because you're an expat which brings a level of maturity usually) and use of the word score just feels out of character.

We all were young once...we are talking the late 90s here...

Molester Stallone

Swiwi. wrote: »

We all were young once...we are talking the late 90s here...

Late 90's? Quite spry for your age aren't you!