It's one area where they've done fairly well over the last 10 years. Brett Wilkinson is a solid loosehead who'd do a good job for most European teams. Before him, Ray Hogan was a very good scrummager before injury ruined his career. Ronan Loughney is okay at loosehead (but despite what people say, he's a terrible tighthead). Denis Buckley looks like he has the talent to earn a living from the game. On the other side, Stephen Knoop and Jamie Hagan both earned moves to Leinster based on their form for Connacht. Knoop had massive injury problems while with Leinster while Hagan is struggling much like Mike Ross struggled in his first season with Leinster. He'll come good yet. They also gave Tony Buckle his head in the pro game. At hooker they developed Jerry Flannery, John Fogarty, Bernard Jackman and Sean Cronin. For a team with a small budget, that's a strong record of player development.
Pity the pillock didn't think that while England coach.
Also, Antonie Claassen from Brive, Christophe Samson from Toulon, Mihai Lazar from Aix, Piula Faasalele from La Rochelle, and Brice Dulin from Agen.
Yep, I always liked Sonny. Not the most skilled centre, but a tough boy who played his heart out every time for Wales. Never feared lack of commitment from Sonny. Top bloke off the field.
