Transfers rumours

[munstermuffin]

It is an all out battle snoopy. Don't buy the "best for Welsh rugby" media spun line, the sides are fighting for their own sides, it's beyond the stage of trying to help each other. The WRU are trying to get control of the regions and are actively hurting them in trying to achieve this, the RRW would now actively go against Club Wales as well and have said "there is no appetite to work with Roger Lewis". Warburton won't play for the Blues until this is sorted.

Bear in mind that Roger Lewis has made a lot of wacky statements/ideas in this mess, his awful new regions in North Wales and Pontypridd plan (which he refused to talk about on Scrum V), and the PWC report into the running of Welsh rugby said that the WRU could not afford central contracts and the regions needed the private investment to survive. Roger Lewis the individual is at the heart of this problem, the best thing for finding a solution would be for him to be removed. When the Irish were centrally contracting players they didn't compete with their own provinces for them, and no team runs a system that signs just 1 or 2.

In Ireland we never had private ownership so from start everything was in tandem. But just on your comment on WRU struggle regards money. Like if IRFU can survive while paying all pro players in Ireland how do WRU struggle when they have no wage bills like that etc.
Also would Cardiff not be able to release a statement that makes things clearer. Like surely they know if their funding is cut or terms

 

[IRISH RUGBY MAN]

David Smith - Toulon ---> Grenoble
William Whetton - Northland ---> Castres
Eric Escande - Montpellier ---> Clermont

 

[j'nuh]

Rugby Paper saying Miller has signed for Wasps and Gloucester are after Cipriani.
Both have a year left on their contracts, so I'm hoping it all BS, but both of them are pretty flush with cash from their sugar daddies atm, so who knows.

Not true. Gloucester just have a fantastic business model and are well supported so that we can pay to the cap without the need for a sugar daddy. Glos have been making profits in previous years even whilst paying to the salary cap.

Glos are after two fly-halves. TRP has Glos as being interested in Cipriani/Tom Heathcote as one. Fans on Shedweb are linking Sam Davies as the other.

 

[dullonien]

Not confirmed, but very likely. Word coming out is that Warburton only had 2 offers, one from Cardiff and one from the WRU. So much for the WRU "keeping players in Wales" argument, they are trying to compete and outbid the regions for players and wasting money as a result, likely money out of the regions funding. It's all part of Roger's plan to bring the regions under his control, and he found a suitable yes man to give him the big headline play he was looking for.

Appears that isn't true in the slightest with Derwyn Jones confirming £700k/y offers from Stade Francais and Toulon. He would have gone apparently if he didn't sign a central contract.

 

[ratsapprentice]

£700k??

I'm calling ******** on that one.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

I wouldn't worry about it Olyy - The Rugby Player are really going for random rumours at the moment. They also suggest that Sarries are in the hunt to sign Launchbury so I basically would rather that nothing they say is true.

Also both Miller and Launchbury would have to be bought out of their contracts

 

[Peat]

Rugby Paper saying Miller has signed for Wasps and Gloucester are after Cipriani.
Both have a year left on their contracts, so I'm hoping it all BS, but both of them are pretty flush with cash from their sugar daddies atm, so who knows.

I can get losing Thomas to his hometown club, but if you were to lose both Gaskell and Miller, local-ish lads who could be the heart and soul of the club going forwards, that'd strike me as pretty worrying. Something smells wrong when you can't inspire players like that to stay with you instead of going to Wasps of all places.

I wouldn't worry about it Olyy - The Rugby Player are really going for random rumours at the moment. They also suggest that Sarries are in the hunt to sign Launchbury so I basically would rather that nothing they say is true.

Also both Miller and Launchbury would have to be bought out of their contracts

Would make an alarming amount of sense. With Borthwick going Sarries are short a lock and Hargreaves/Botha aren't exactly top class either. They need someone and Launchbury is the best guy available not at a top end outfit already. I sincerely hope it's not going to happen.

I am rather confused about the number of rumours involving signing players in contract... although if I had the opportunity to sign Launchbury a year earlier, I would gleefully pay the extra cash.

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

instead of going to Wasps of all places.

I do not like your tone, sir!

 

[munstermuffin]

The bit your all missing is it's not 100% certain Sam will be playing with Cardiff due to political fallout. Any chance he ends up at Dragons who are part owned by WRU?

 

[Peat]

I do not like your tone, sir!

You'll like my edit less ^_^ Wasps are a decent set-up to be in right now but better than Sale? Only if there's something rotten going up on there. Everytime I see a categoric failure to keep hold of a club's best young talents for more than three minutes I start assuming something's up.

 

[ratsapprentice]

Dat London draw.

I'd probably want to leave the slums too!

 

[LeinsterMan (NotTigsMan)]

Yarde -----> Quins
Tikoirotuma --------> Quins
Fonua -----------> Tigers

 

[Mrs. Peter Quinn]

Not better than Sale, no. But I think you've got to acknowledge the other reasons why you might as a rugby player want a change away from Sale. If you're a young guy who has been in the burbs of Manchester most of his life and career, you'd surely be tempted by a change of scene especially with so many clubs clustered around London. It's not like guys who sign for Wasps have to live in High Wycombe!

As for the relative quality of the sides, much depends on us being able to keep the big name talent we have. I can see that Borthwicks retirement will have freed up lots of cash and not to mention squad space. However I'm hoping the club is building at a sufficient pace to satisfy the ambitions of some of our younger guys.

Some of our prospective signings are huge; Alapati Leiua is an genuinely world class player, and as the article points out the all-blacks were seriously sniffing around him until he declared for Samao. That says a lot. It's a sign of intent but also that there is some cash at Wasps after all - between $400 - $500k it is suggested for Leiua!
Bradley Davies is virtually confirmed.
Other rumours:
Priestland
Scott Williams
Ghiraldini
Cittadini
Miller
Gaskell

Now it's pretty blindingly obvious that not all those will happen but a few of them, perhaps.

Dreaming now:

1. Mullan
2.Ghiraldini
3. Cittadini
4. Launchbury
5. Davies / Myall
6. Johnson
7. Haskell
8. Jones

9. Simpson
10. Priestland
11. Varndell
12. Leiua ( I hear he can play in midfield )
13. Daly
14. Wade
15. Miller

Um, hello!

 

[psychic duck]

£700k??

I'm calling ******** on that one.

+1

That doesn't add up. I find it hard to believe Toulon valued an injury prone player who they would miss for internationals worth double Carl Hayman and easily the most expensive in the world. http://www.espn.co.uk/france-top-14-2013-14/rugby/story/194183.html

And especially when you consider last month Boudjellal publicly said that Warburton had priced himself out of demand in France. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/ru...-but-move-for-Sam-Warburton-is-ruled-out.html

Then you consider Toulon already have tonnes of flankers and added Gorgodze to them a while ago it seems even further from the truth. As for Stade, there's no indication they have that money in the first place after their recent financial problems, money spent on new stadium and lack of any of the highest paid Top 14 players.

Considering all that, someone somewhere is almost certainly spinning some sort of half truth to the press. He was probably offered to Toulon at that highly inflated price that they knew would be refused and claiming it was an offer. Yesterday it was reported he only had 2 offers. http://www.theguardian.com/sport/2014/jan/25/wales-sam-warburton-welsh-rugby-union-central-contract

Someone is bull****ting. And considering the highly fanciful nature of the "£700k" offer and the previous Boudjellal remarks, I think this is the WRU trying to spin a lie to the media.

Appears that isn't true in the slightest with Derwyn Jones confirming £700k/y offers from Stade Francais and Toulon. He would have gone apparently if he didn't sign a central contract.

See above, dullonien. You appear to be a very easy target for the Western Mail spin. First giving credence to an Andy Howell article and now a scarcely believable figure to that line.

 

[ratsapprentice]

I don't doubt that he was offered contracts (as opposed to being shopped out by his agent) but that figure is ludicrous.

 

[munstermuffin]

Also find it hard to believe Warburton is better value to Toulon than Halfpenny. Regardless I think Armitage is a lot better 7 in that place anyway. And as everyone says Warburton struggles to stay fit playing in Pro12 so doubt his body would have a hope in Top14.

 

[dullonien]

See above, dullonien. You appear to be a very easy target for the Western Mail spin. First giving credence to an Andy Howell article and now a scarcely believable figure to that line.

We've got no other information. His agent has stated that there were offers amounting to double what the WRU are paying from two teams in France and that Warbs refused both to stay in Wales and hopefully stay at the Cardiff Blues. Whether that figure adds up to £700k is debatable, but from what I've heard his central contract is worth over £300k, so it wouldn't be far off. Now that the contract has been signed, why would he by lying?

You're very quick to dismiss everything, but so far the only things you've in-putted to this story is rumour and speculation. Surely information from Warburton's own agent has more validity!

 

[ratsapprentice]

As has been pointed out £700k is more than £110k more than Wilkinson is earning and some £250k more than Dusautoir.

It's just a completely unreasonable amount of money, and is does not correlate with the wages of everyone else in the Top14.

 

[dullonien]

£550k sounds more likely being 2 x the WRU contract of £270k the Guardian reported. Still, my original point that there were other offers stands.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Toulon were chasing the signature of both Sean O'Brien and Jamie Heaslip despite their backrow riches. Heaslip's contract offer reportedly included a house being thrown into the package. I'd say the £700,000 figure reported to be thrown Warburton's way most likely included perks such as a house, car etc on top of his basic salary.

As for Mourad Boudjellal saying Sam Warburton priced himself out of a move, that's negotiating tactics. Jacky Lorenzetti said the exact same thing about Jonny Sexton only days before it was revealed that they had agreed a contract for him to play in Paris.