2023-2024 transfers

[Not Mike Brown's Sock]

Liam Williams back at sarries

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Ulster have signed Juarno Augustus on a 3 year deal

Saints have lost so much of their pack power the last two seasons

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

We're not far off from losing a whole pack now. If you count Loto at 5 that's a whole pack in 2 years!

1 Waller
2 Matavesi
3 Hill
4 Moon
5
6 Lawes
7 Ludlum
8 Augustus

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Ribbans as well, if you stretch to two seasons

I wonder why?
Is it money? I know Saints do better than most financially (can't remember if they make a profit or just break even?) is that because they pay below market rate?
Is the forwards coach a nightmare to work with?
Or just a coincidence?

 

[Don't Skip Leg Day]

Ribbans as well, if you stretch to two seasons

I wonder why?
Is it money? I know Saints do better than most financially (can't remember if they make a profit or just break even?) is that because they pay below market rate?
Is the forwards coach a nightmare to work with?
Or just a coincidence?

It's mostly our players getting offered massive wedge in France, there's no negatives in it for me other than us not choosing to pay over the odds for players.

I know we offered Lawes and Ludlum brilliant premiership offers but couldn't afford to keep them compared to what they were being offered abroad.

I also think we have enough young players to cover those leaving that really we'd have only kept most of those for another couple of seasons anyhow (bar Ludlum who I think would have stayed a lot longer).

1 Waller - retired
2 Matavesi - France
3 Hill - let go not needed
4 Moon - France
5 Ribbons - France
6 Lawes - France
7 Ludlum - France
8 Augustus - Ulster
19 Loto - back to Australia for the WC

The replacements for the players above also can't really be argued with in terms of quality apart from Lawes but he was never replaceable.

 

[Bluemoon]

Liam Williams back at sarries

Possibly paid per game? Still class when fit but injured more often than not now.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Ilona Maher has signed for Bristol for the rest of the season - that's huge for PWR (and Bristol, obv)

 

[Rinkadink]

Ilona Maher has signed for Bristol for the rest of the season - that's huge for PWR (and Bristol, obv)

Yeah, it's fantastic. Although the downside is only a 3 month contract and retention will be difficult given the restrictive salary cap in PWR.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

retention will be difficult given the restrictive salary cap in PWR

tbf - where else could she go? It's the only (i think?) fully pro women's league
Give her a contract with unlimited unpaid leave so she can go and do TV appearances or 7s tournaments or whatever and just have her play whenever she's got downtime and it'd still be a big boost

Though with that said I think she's said before that 7s is her first love, so I imagine this is more about wanting to playing the Women's World Cup, and then she'll go back to full time 7s after that

 

[Which Tyler]

It may only be 3 months, but that's a hell of a statement signing!

 

[Which Tyler]

tbf - where else could she go? It's the only (i think?) fully pro women's league

Isn't the Élite1 fully pro? Or is it a professional core, within semi-pro squads?
I think the talk was that Ireland are putting 4 fully pro regions together, but I don't know who they'd be playing, or how far along that path they are yet.

 

[TRF_Olyy]

Isn't the Élite1 fully pro?

I'm not sure, on a cursory google I couldn't find any English sites about it so was just looking through some French language ones (translated to English) - this one from last April is saying how it's semi-pro, but I think there was a shake up for this season?

 

[Which Tyler]

I'm not sure, on a cursory google I couldn't find any English sites about it so was just looking through some French language ones (translated to English) - this one from last April is saying how it's semi-pro, but I think there was a shake up for this season?

Chat GPT said the same - semi-pro, with some fully pro players (as in, paid by club, not just FFR).
But then, Canal have also got in on broadcasting it now - and with the FFR having the benefit of learning cooperation from the men's game, it could very easily be turning fully pro as we speak (well, type)