Leinster land two Super signatures

[TRF_Cymro]

Leinster have announced the signing of Sharks lock Steven Sykes, Crusaders fly-half Matt Berquist and Connacht tighthead prop Jamie Hagan.

Both Sykes and Berquist (who chipped in with a late conversion) came up against each other in Sunday's Super Rugby clash in Twickenham.

Sykes and Hagan have signed three-year contracts while Berquist has has agreed a one-year deal with a further option to extend.

Hagan, from Balbriggan, will return to the province of his birth this summer.

26-year-old Sykes has established himself as one of South Africa's premier second row forwards in recent years but being uncapped by the Springboks means it is possible that he could qualify to play for Ireland at the end of his three year contract.

The former South Africa U19 and Emerging Springbok player is determined to play top level rugby and he believes that moving abroad is the right decision for him, both in the short and long-term.

"For me I believe it is a good career and personal move - I want to play international rugby and it would be a fantastic honour to play for Ireland as well if it came about. Before any of that though I am really excited to play for Leinster," said Sykes, who stand 1.98m tall and weighs 115kgs.

Sykes has been an ever-present in the Sharks' line-up in recent seasons. Deciding to leave King's Park has certainly not been an easy decision for him. Speaking about his move he said he did not want to leave Sharks supporters with any doubts about his passion for the 2010 Currie Cup Champions.

"Of course it was not an easy decision to make, I don't for one second want anyone to think I am unhappy here or unhappy at the Sharks," he said.

"I love the Sharks! I have played over 130 games for the Union and loved every minute of it. However I believe that it will be very good for my rugby to make the move and I am looking forward to the experience of playing in European conditions week-in and week-out, learning about their way of playing - which I think will suit me.

23-year-old former Leinster and Ireland Youths prop Hagan has played 23 times for Connacht in all competitions so far this season and 46 (including 13 in the Amlin Challenge Cup) games in total since his move from Leinster in 2009. A former Leinster Academy graduate who was educated in Gormanston College, he weighs in at 125kg and stands tall at 1.90m.

"I am delighted to be heading back home to Leinster and I am looking forward to the new challenges that I will face. Everyone in Connacht (particularly Eric Elwood and Dan McFarland) has been very good to me over the last few years and I'm looking forward to pushing on from my experience in Galway to make an impact when I return to Leinster in the summer," said Hagan.

27-year-old Waipukurau-born Berquist joined the Canterbury Crusaders in 2010 having also played for Hawke's Bay, Otago and Auckland. An accurate goal-kicker, he made his provincial debut in 2003 and has since gone on to play 67 times at provincial level, with a further 21 caps to date at Super 14/15 level.

"I have always been keen to test myself in Europe and the Magners League and Heineken Cup competitions will certainly provide a real challenge," he said.

"Leinster have a strong reputation in New Zealand and I am excited by the opportunity to test myself in a new environment."

Commenting on the moves, Leinster Coach Joe Schmidt added: "Jamie's desire to return to the province of his birth after an impressive spell with Connacht over the last few years is another important acquisition for the panel. Our coaching team have been impressed by the level of his performances again this year and we believe that he has the potential to improve even further.

"Matt has been understudy to Dan Carter at the Crusaders this year, which limits any player's game time a little, but he has proven quality and experience in the NPC and Super 15 and he will provide further competition for our established and up-and-coming out-halves."

http://www.planet-rugby.co.uk/story/0,25883,16024_6839172,00.html​

 

[lynam1104]

by the sounds of it the two SH players sound good and now we have Hagan he will hopefully stand a chance of getting the green no. 3 after the WC.

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Hagan is destined to be Mike Ross' successor for Ireland I feel. Hopefully he gets a decent bit of game time for Leinster.

 

[Logorrhea]

Sykes will replace Strauss as the Leinster project player. Berquist will cover the world cup, and offer a real alternative to Sexton. Hagan will replace Stan.

Good moves all round. Hope to see more before the start of next season given the names we are losing.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

A 23 year old prop on the up (Hagan) replaces a 32 year old coming off an injury (Wright). A 26 year old second row (Sykes) on the up replaces a 34 year old coming to the end of his career (Hines). A 27 year old backup flyhalf (Berquist) replaces a 32 year old who has been injured all season (Berne). These are three sensible signings in my view.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Sykes deserves a chance to show what he can in Europe. He might not be the most famous lock South Africa has produced lately but he is fairly good having formed a partnership for years with Johann Muller (Now Ulster).

 

[King_D'Arcy]

A 23 year old prop on the up (Hagan) replaces a 32 year old coming off an injury (Wright). A 26 year old second row (Sykes) on the up replaces a 34 year old coming to the end of his career (Hines). A 27 year old backup flyhalf (Berquist) replaces a 32 year old who has been injured all season (Berne). These are three sensible signings in my view.

I would've liked to see someone like McKinley get a bit more game time next season though...

 

[Peat]

They're no John Afoas tbh

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I would've liked to see someone like McKinley get a bit more game time next season though...

He still might. I presume one of Madigan or McKinley is off elsewhere- for the sake of argument say it's Madigan. Sexton is going to the World Cup. Berquist starts a lot of games in his absence and McKinley is the bench/30 minute option.

 

[Feicarsinn]

A bigger name second row would have been nice, but all of the Kiwi's and Saffa's have their arrangements in place for after the WC. After that I can't really complain.

 

[TRF_Ezequiel]

Sykes is a good one to have... I think he is underrated

 

[Feicarsinn]

Well sure, I'll give the guy a chance, but we're looking looking to compete as once of the top 4 teams in Europe, we've got to be looking to grab top quality internationals if we're to be able to compete with the likes of Toulouse, Leicester, Clermont etc.

Is he going to be as good as Nathan Hines? Big shoes to fill!

 

[Darwin]

Berquist is a really good buy in my opinion. He's not a strong runner, but he does control the game reasonably well, and kicks well both for position and for goal. As such I think his style of play would suit a more structured form of rugby, which I presume (perhaps naively?) Leinster would play, rather than the more unstructured style of play common in Super Rugby.

 

[King_D'Arcy]

Berquist is a really good buy in my opinion. He's not a strong runner, but he does control the game reasonably well, and kicks well both for position and for goal. As such I think his style of play would suit a more structured form of rugby, which I presume (perhaps naively?) Leinster would play, rather than the more open style of play common in Super Rugby.

Yeah you're right. You were naive to pressume that

 

[Feicarsinn]

Berquist is a really good buy in my opinion. He's not a strong runner, but he does control the game reasonably well, and kicks well both for position and for goal. As such I think his style of play would suit a more structured form of rugby, which I presume (perhaps naively?) Leinster would play, rather than the more unstructured style of play common in Super Rugby.

Quite naive I'm afraid. Leinster have a tradition of being one of the best running teams this side of the equator and under Joe Schmidt we've returned nicely to that style. We play a quick, pacey game with the likes of Heaslip, SOB and a whole host of strong runners in the backline feeding off one of the most creative tens in world rugby at the mo.

Not tooting my own horn, but we do like to play an attractive brand of rugby. Here's our Heineken Cup highlights from the year if yah don't believe me :

Round 1, Leinster v Racing Metro (RDS, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsYcFuzE8_0

Round 2, Saracens v Leinster (Wembley Stadium, London):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTbVoGm8k7U

Round 3, Clermont v Leinster (Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, Montferrand):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L0iFxCf02o

Round 4, Leinster v Clermont (Aviva Stadium, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B20Lggt_Rf4

Round 5, Leinster v Saracens (RDS, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fQpERmboUY

Round 6, Racing Metro v Leinster (Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn8GupE1R9I

 

[coonor]

I would have liked to have seen a proven top quality lock at Leinster but I have watched Sykes play and the Sharks have always had a strong set peice so I'm sure he will be solid. To be honest we could do with another option at second as O'Donohue is crap and Cullen and possibly Toner could be off to the world cup. Hagen was always bound to come to Leinster and I have high hopes for him as It would be great to really develop a young tighthead into an international class player. Berquist is a good back up for Sexton and fly half was always going to be a position hard to fill as most young internationals fly halves are already playing in their country and are ready for the World Cup.

 

[Darwin]

Quite naive I'm afraid. Leinster have a tradition of being one of the best running teams this side of the equator and under Joe Schmidt we've returned nicely to that style. We play a quick, pacey game with the likes of Heaslip, SOB and a whole host of strong runners in the backline feeding off one of the most creative tens in world rugby at the mo.

Not tooting my own horn, but we do like to play an attractive brand of rugby. Here's our Heineken Cup highlights from the year if yah don't believe me :

Round 1, Leinster v Racing Metro (RDS, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YsYcFuzE8_0

Round 2, Saracens v Leinster (Wembley Stadium, London):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mTbVoGm8k7U

Round 3, Clermont v Leinster (Parc des Sports Marcel Michelin, Montferrand):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-L0iFxCf02o

Round 4, Leinster v Clermont (Aviva Stadium, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B20Lggt_Rf4

Round 5, Leinster v Saracens (RDS, Dublin):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6fQpERmboUY

Round 6, Racing Metro v Leinster (Stade Yves-du-Manoir, Colombes):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bn8GupE1R9I

Yeah you're right. You were naive to pressume that

Well in that case I stand corrected!

I take back my statement about Berquist being a good buy as well - he is probably one of the only New Zealand first-five that doesn't suit an un-structured style of play... He's possibly the least creative first-five in NZ rugby.

btw I'm enjoying watching the vids as well - Leinster certainly can play some good rugby!

 

[coonor]

I some ways I am glad that Berquist is structured and less creative because it allows us to have more then one game style and I think he could be used well in games that are tight.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

In short, so far this is the business Leinster have done in the transfer market:
In: Sean Cronin, Steven Sykes, Jamie Hagan, Matt Berquist
Out: Ben Prescott, Clint Newland, Stewart Maguire, Stan Wright, Mariano Galarza, Nathan Hines, Niall Morris

The most striking aspect of that is the major retooling going on in the tight five since the new coach took over. Cronin, Sykes, Hagan and Heinke van der Merwe have all been signed since Joe Schmidt took over. Simon Shawe, Aaron Dundon and the rubbish Ed O'Donoghue have been brought in by Schmidt too. Richardt Strauss was a bit part player under Michael Cheika who has become the top hooker under Schmidt. Factor in the retirement of John Fogarty, Ronan McCormack and Trevor Hogan (not to mention Bernard Jackman and Mal O'Kelly packing it in 10 months ago) along with the departures I've listed above and you've got a massive turnover in the prop, hooker and second row stocks.

 

[Kiwiwomble]

Well in that case I stand corrected!

I take back my statement about Berquist being a good buy as well - he is probably one of the only New Zealand first-five that doesn't suit an un-structured style of play... He's possibly the least creative first-five in NZ rugby.

btw I'm enjoying watching the vids as well - Leinster certainly can play some good rugby!

I have to agree, although in general he is a "good" first five he most certainly didn't suit the type of rugby otago needed to play whilst he was here. He plays like a mid field general...but without the firepower behind him whilst with otago

Leinster will have to be carefull who they play around him for him to fire