Transfer news, rumours, speculation, insinuations, and outright transfer slanders - Season 2025/26

[TheNomad]

As for the J Willis to Munster rumours - just, why? Has SB done something to upset the Willis boys? I don’t get it.

The Irish golden generation is fading, Munster are struggling and presumably Munster plus a saucy IRFU central contract is a lot of cash to lure him over to the Emerald Isle.

I'd imagine the RFU are fairly consistent in saying you need to play in the Prem before you get a central contract. We aren't using them to bring players back.

On that logic though, I do find it odd that the RFU plus a prem contract can't compete with Ireland.

Surely he'd want to play for England - is he that cynical that international level counts for nothing vs. a wage? Surely we could bridge the gap.

We're talking about one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere after all. Bizarre

[FKAS]

Really don't understand the Kpoku love in... He is just bang average. Don't see that he offers anything over another lock, certainly shouldn't be talked about over options playing in the prem.

How many 6ft8 and 19+ stone locks do we have that are mobile enough to play 6 and good enough at 19 to be playing first team rugby fairly regularly. The guy is an a outlier in terms of physical ability. Now he's not the finished article but at his age few locks are. There's a lot to work with though.

IMHO (not that it really matters) he's picked because he's 6ft8 and 19 stone.... His carrying is rubbish for someone that size, his work rate is low (becuse he's huge) and if he's "not the finished article" then give him a couple of years and pick some who offers more now. If you look at his highlights he doesn't beat tacklers, it seems most of his metre made come from being tall and falling forward

i'd level the same charge at Massi White as well - big lad, runs hard and can tackle, but can't pass and isnt effective if his oppo can takle him. Just had a look at can't find (on page page one of google) a clip of him passing*....


*Possibly due to poor google-fu skills.

And yet according to Sanderson.

“He is some athlete. He were doing stats on him like like I’m sure everyone knows, and he was top 10 in the whole of the Top 14 for tackle dominance, carry dominance, all of that from a 19-20 year old."

Annoyingly he's not coming up on the free Opta stats on their website so I can do a comparison to our other locks.

[FKAS]

As for the J Willis to Munster rumours - just, why? Has SB done something to upset the Willis boys? I don’t get it.

The Irish golden generation is fading, Munster are struggling and presumably Munster plus a saucy IRFU central contract is a lot of cash to lure him over to the Emerald Isle.

I'd imagine the RFU are fairly consistent in saying you need to play in the Prem before you get a central contract. We aren't using them to bring players back.

On that logic though, I do find it odd that the RFU plus a prem contract can't compete with Ireland.

Surely he'd want to play for England - is he that cynical that international level counts for nothing vs. a wage? Surely we could bridge the gap.

We're talking about one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere after all. Bizarre

I think it's more that he won't automatically get an RFU contract when he returns. He'd also be the joint oldest backrower in the England squad were he to return and would need a Prem side with a massive wedge of cash to spend on a backrow. Whilst he's very good it's not the open and shut case you'd assume it is.

[Puja]

Really don't understand the Kpoku love in... He is just bang average. Don't see that he offers anything over another lock, certainly shouldn't be talked about over options playing in the prem.

How many 6ft8 and 19+ stone locks do we have that are mobile enough to play 6 and good enough at 19 to be playing first team rugby fairly regularly. The guy is an a outlier in terms of physical ability. Now he's not the finished article but at his age few locks are. There's a lot to work with though.

IMHO (not that it really matters) he's picked because he's 6ft8 and 19 stone.... His carrying is rubbish for someone that size, his work rate is low (becuse he's huge) and if he's "not the finished article" then give him a couple of years and pick some who offers more now. If you look at his highlights he doesn't beat tacklers, it seems most of his metre made come from being tall and falling forward

i'd level the same charge at Massi White as well - big lad, runs hard and can tackle, but can't pass and isnt effective if his oppo can takle him. Just had a look at can't find (on page page one of google) a clip of him passing*....


*Possibly due to poor google-fu skills.

I can't really speak on Kpoku cause I haven't seen enough, but I'd agree on Ma'asi-White. Never looks like he'll exceed the level of "okay Prem squad player", quite possibly because of his physical gifts meaning he doesn't have to work as hard as a Dingwall. All his England training or England A callups appear to be on optimistic ope for the future, rather than actual performances.

Puja

[Beasties]

Really don't understand the Kpoku love in... He is just bang average. Don't see that he offers anything over another lock, certainly shouldn't be talked about over options playing in the prem.

How many 6ft8 and 19+ stone locks do we have that are mobile enough to play 6 and good enough at 19 to be playing first team rugby fairly regularly. The guy is an a outlier in terms of physical ability. Now he's not the finished article but at his age few locks are. There's a lot to work with though.

IMHO (not that it really matters) he's picked because he's 6ft8 and 19 stone.... His carrying is rubbish for someone that size, his work rate is low (becuse he's huge) and if he's "not the finished article" then give him a couple of years and pick some who offers more now. If you look at his highlights he doesn't beat tacklers, it seems most of his metre made come from being tall and falling forward

i'd level the same charge at Massi White as well - big lad, runs hard and can tackle, but can't pass and isnt effective if his oppo can takle him. Just had a look at can't find (on page page one of google) a clip of him passing*....


*Possibly due to poor google-fu skills.

Were you able to find any clips of Fazlet passing well off his left hand with your google-fu skills?

[jimKRFC]

How many 6ft8 and 19+ stone locks do we have that are mobile enough to play 6 and good enough at 19 to be playing first team rugby fairly regularly. The guy is an a outlier in terms of physical ability. Now he's not the finished article but at his age few locks are. There's a lot to work with though.

IMHO (not that it really matters) he's picked because he's 6ft8 and 19 stone.... His carrying is rubbish for someone that size, his work rate is low (becuse he's huge) and if he's "not the finished article" then give him a couple of years and pick some who offers more now. If you look at his highlights he doesn't beat tacklers, it seems most of his metre made come from being tall and falling forward

i'd level the same charge at Massi White as well - big lad, runs hard and can tackle, but can't pass and isnt effective if his oppo can takle him. Just had a look at can't find (on page page one of google) a clip of him passing*....


*Possibly due to poor google-fu skills.

Were you able to find any clips of Fazlet passing well off his left hand with your google-fu skills?

Nope. Only solid evidence of Atlantis and the Holy Grail.....

[jimKRFC]

And yet according to Sanderson.

“He is some athlete. He were doing stats on him like like I’m sure everyone knows, and he was top 10 in the whole of the Top 14 for tackle dominance, carry dominance, all of that from a 19-20 year old."

Annoyingly he's not coming up on the free Opta stats on their website so I can do a comparison to our other locks.

What is Tackle dominace & Carry dominance? How is it measured and does it actually mean anything?

If he's takckled on the gain line, falls forward, and places the baal he's made 2m. Is that a "carry dominance"? If he falls on the gainline 10 times a match he's made 20m.
Same for "tackle dominanace" if someone runs into him and (beause he is a big lad) they get knocked over - he might "gain" 1m in the tackle.

I take a sceptical view on stats and stats usage after 10 years of working with "Salesforce" and it's KPI......

If anyone does have a link to a godo stats page I'd appreciate a link.

[Mikey Brown]

And yet according to Sanderson.

“He is some athlete. He were doing stats on him like like I’m sure everyone knows, and he was top 10 in the whole of the Top 14 for tackle dominance, carry dominance, all of that from a 19-20 year old."

Annoyingly he's not coming up on the free Opta stats on their website so I can do a comparison to our other locks.

What is Tackle dominace & Carry dominance? How is it measured and does it actually mean anything?

If he's takckled on the gain line, falls forward, and places the baal he's made 2m. Is that a "carry dominance"? If he falls on the gainline 10 times a match he's made 20m.
Same for "tackle dominanace" if someone runs into him and (beause he is a big lad) they get knocked over - he might "gain" 1m in the tackle.

I take a sceptical view on stats and stats usage after 10 years of working with "Salesforce" and it's KPI......

If anyone does have a link to a godo stats page I'd appreciate a link.

I share your stat-skepticism to a degree, but if he is making 2m after hitting the gainline 10 times a game that’s a fantastic return for a tight forward, no?

I’m not sure I follow the logic that’s it’s just because he is “falling forwards”, but even if it is that who cares? Falling forwards after you’ve been engaged by a tackler is still a positive move.

[FKAS]

And yet according to Sanderson.

“He is some athlete. He were doing stats on him like like I’m sure everyone knows, and he was top 10 in the whole of the Top 14 for tackle dominance, carry dominance, all of that from a 19-20 year old."

Annoyingly he's not coming up on the free Opta stats on their website so I can do a comparison to our other locks.

What is Tackle dominace & Carry dominance? How is it measured and does it actually mean anything?

If he's takckled on the gain line, falls forward, and places the baal he's made 2m. Is that a "carry dominance"? If he falls on the gainline 10 times a match he's made 20m.
Same for "tackle dominanace" if someone runs into him and (beause he is a big lad) they get knocked over - he might "gain" 1m in the tackle.

I take a sceptical view on stats and stats usage after 10 years of working with "Salesforce" and it's KPI......

If anyone does have a link to a godo stats page I'd appreciate a link.

You give me a tight five forward who can get 2m over the gainline carrying hard into the opposition tight five 10 times a game and I'll bite your hand off. Makes life so much easier for your halfbacks and your number 8. Give them some go forward ball to run on to.

Same with knocking the other team back. Doesn't have to be a highlights reel of big hits but if he's in the metaphorical trenches stopping the opposition from getting momentum to play off by stopping them at or before the gainline then that's a tight five forward I want. Particularly with England who have a backrow with a full bag of tricks in attack and other locks who can run around in the loose. Big units hitting things hard for the important marginal gains is useful.

[Stom]

As for the J Willis to Munster rumours - just, why? Has SB done something to upset the Willis boys? I don’t get it.

The Irish golden generation is fading, Munster are struggling and presumably Munster plus a saucy IRFU central contract is a lot of cash to lure him over to the Emerald Isle.

I'd imagine the RFU are fairly consistent in saying you need to play in the Prem before you get a central contract. We aren't using them to bring players back.

On that logic though, I do find it odd that the RFU plus a prem contract can't compete with Ireland.

Surely he'd want to play for England - is he that cynical that international level counts for nothing vs. a wage? Surely we could bridge the gap.

We're talking about one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere after all. Bizarre

Absolute hyperbole. How did he look for England? World class or comparable to curry? Because in my memory he was good, but not in the way you’d call him one of the best players in the world.

Mercer was “the best in the top14” so was Armitage. So was Abendanon, ffs. It’s not the same as international rugby.

He’s not available, he doesn’t seems care. So why should we care? Treat him the same as any number of Saffa journeymen clogging up the game and leave it be.

[Epaminondas Pules]

Sodeke is an inch taller and a stone heavier

To be fair Kpoku is only just in his first season out of U20s, being a 2005 birth. He's got a lot about him, but is very raw and has a lot of development to go through. Doing that in the Prem and being available can't be a bad thing, but would I plump for say Kpoku over Sodeke? I'm not sure I would. Kpoku has the hype, but to the same extent so should Sodeke and Burrow, as examples. He's got more game time under his belt, but Burrow is catching up, and Sodeke is just starting to nudge through.

[TheNomad]

Absolute hyperbole. How did he look for England? World class or comparable to curry? Because in my memory he was good, but not in the way you’d call him one of the best players in the world.

Mercer was “the best in the top14” so was Armitage. So was Abendanon, ffs. It’s not the same as international rugby.

He’s not available, he doesn’t seems care. So why should we care? Treat him the same as any number of Saffa journeymen clogging up the game and leave it be.

Fair comment, up to a point. Most players need time to bed in for England, and he was playing in a side that wasn't exactly firing on all cylinders.

And at every club level - Prem, Top14, Europe - he has (without question) excelled. He is a brilliant player, and would (if selection permitted it) certainly be in the England squad despite our wealth of talent in the back row.

I don't believe players playing abroad should be allowed in the squad, and I don't get why he wouldn't want to play for his country. So I know where you're coming from.

But he would certainly be in or around the team if he was available.

I had made my peace with him deciding against playing for England. His call.
I find it doubly annoying that his brother has done the same. But again, his call.
But to play for a different nation would be a massive two fingers up, which I just wouldn't understand.

[Puja]

Telegraph reckon Newcastle are getting Dan McFarland in to replace Dickens at the end of the season, with Gregor Townsend joining as DoR after the RWC. Seems like a hell of a long time to wait for a DoR to me.

Puja

[francoisfou]

Saracens' prop Marco Riccione is said to be joining Perpignan next season.

[Puja]

Saracens' prop Marco Riccione is said to be joining Perpignan next season.

Be interesting to see if Sarries replace him or have faith in Street.

Puja

[Danno]

Telegraph reckon Newcastle are getting Dan McFarland in to replace Dickens at the end of the season, with Gregor Townsend joining as DoR after the RWC. Seems like a hell of a long time to wait for a DoR to me.

Puja

Are they assuming Townsend will be looking for work by then?

[FKAS]

Saracens' prop Marco Riccione is said to be joining Perpignan next season.

Be interesting to see if Sarries replace him or have faith in Street.

Puja

Street, Clarey, Tuimauga, Beaton and Nairau are the other tightheads on their books. I suspect Riccioni is on as much if not more than the last three by himself. Losing an international tighthead in his prime years won't be part of the Sarries plan.

[Scrumhead]

The Irish golden generation is fading, Munster are struggling and presumably Munster plus a saucy IRFU central contract is a lot of cash to lure him over to the Emerald Isle.

I'd imagine the RFU are fairly consistent in saying you need to play in the Prem before you get a central contract. We aren't using them to bring players back.

On that logic though, I do find it odd that the RFU plus a prem contract can't compete with Ireland.

Surely he'd want to play for England - is he that cynical that international level counts for nothing vs. a wage? Surely we could bridge the gap.

We're talking about one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere after all. Bizarre

Absolute hyperbole. How did he look for England? World class or comparable to curry? Because in my memory he was good, but not in the way you’d call him one of the best players in the world.

Mercer was “the best in the top14” so was Armitage. So was Abendanon, ffs. It’s not the same as international rugby.

He’s not available, he doesn’t seems care. So why should we care? Treat him the same as any number of Saffa journeymen clogging up the game and leave it be.

All of this.

Surely it’s all BS anyway.

If we’re talking about logic, why to would he sign for Munster when he’s presumably just played a big role in enticing his brother to France?

From a sporting POV, why exchange one of the best sides in the world for Munster?

From a lifestyle POV, why swap Toulouse for Cork or Limerick?

The RFU has its faults, but if it did happen it would say a lot more about the Willis boys that it would about England/the RFU IMO.

[Stom]

On that logic though, I do find it odd that the RFU plus a prem contract can't compete with Ireland.

Surely he'd want to play for England - is he that cynical that international level counts for nothing vs. a wage? Surely we could bridge the gap.

We're talking about one of the best players in the Northern Hemisphere after all. Bizarre

Absolute hyperbole. How did he look for England? World class or comparable to curry? Because in my memory he was good, but not in the way you’d call him one of the best players in the world.

Mercer was “the best in the top14” so was Armitage. So was Abendanon, ffs. It’s not the same as international rugby.

He’s not available, he doesn’t seems care. So why should we care? Treat him the same as any number of Saffa journeymen clogging up the game and leave it be.

All of this.

Surely it’s all BS anyway.

If we’re talking about logic, why to would he sign for Munster when he’s presumably just played a big role in enticing his brother to France?

From a sporting POV, why exchange one of the best sides in the world for Munster?

From a lifestyle POV, why swap Toulouse for Cork or Limerick?

The RFU has its faults, but if it did happen it would say a lot more about the Willis boys that it would about England/the RFU IMO.

Maybe he's been enticed by "guaranteed Ireland caps and a prominent role in the team". Rather than being told he's one of several good options for England, and needs to fight for it.

[Which Tyler]

Then that would say a lot more about the Willis boys that it would about England/the RFU IMO.

[Yorkie]

I presume the main reason for Tom moving to France. apart from the weather, massive salary, glorious surroundings and lifestyle, next season was to be closer to his brother and family. It would be strange if Jack suddenly decided to move to Munster, decide he's Irish just as Tom arrived.

[Oakboy]

Whoever is to blame, it's hell of a shame that both brothers are not available to us. Mind you, some apparently prefer Underhill and Earl anyway so what the hell.

[Which Tyler]

Is Underhill the Farrell of flankers?
Rated as one of the very best by everyone in rugby, except the occasional silly-bollocks on internet forae...

[Stom]

Is Underhill the Farrell of flankers?
Rated as one of the very best by everyone in rugby, except the occasional silly-bollocks on internet forae...

Underhill does the basics of his role absolutely perfectly. He makes his tackles, he slows down ball, he hits rucks, and he carries effectively. That's his job.

Farrell was lauded for the things he did outside of the remit of his role, and was the definition of meh for the things he needed to do for his role.

[Scrumhead]

Whoever is to blame, it's hell of a shame that both brothers are not available to us. Mind you, some apparently prefer Underhill and Earl anyway so what the hell.

I’d much prefer both were available, but as an England supporter, I dislike how they’ve taken themselves out of contention seemingly for money and lifestyle.

If we’re prepared to criticise South Africans etc. for being mercenary, we should be equally prepared to do so for our own.

Is Jack better than Underhill at test level? Highly debatable.

Is Tom better than Earl? Again - debatable IMO. They’re very different players, but I think it’s factually accurate to say that Earl has had a big impact for most of his England career. I don’t know why you’re consistently dismissing him? Could Tom have had an even bigger impact? Very possibly, but he chose not to fight for it.

Ultimately, I see it as an honour to play for England and if a player isn’t prepared to fight for their place, I’d prefer to pick someone who is. Particularly when the drop off in ability isn’t clear cut.