Exodus 2018
-
Former England test player Geoff Parling spotted in the Rebels last week..IIRC only the 4th England player to ever play in SR after Cipriani, Haskell and Kevin....? from the Canes squad inearly 2000's
-
@shadowtrooper what about James Haskell?
-
@kiwimurph Yeah.. forgot about him. lol
-
@shadowtrooper Kevin Yates
-
@shadowtrooper Flutey, Francis, etc 😊
-
@bones said in Exodus 2018:
@shadowtrooper Flutey, Francis, etc 😊
Thomas the tank engine would belong to that group as well.
-
-
@antipodean said in Exodus 2018:
@taniwharugby Agreed. 'Brad's been a very very good servant of the game in New Zealand for a long period of time. He's asked for some dispensation and having given that serious consideration we're happy to release him and wish him the best'.
That way it's about recognition of his service, which is the important precedent to set, NZR looks magnanimous and England get to shore up their dwindling stock of blindside flankers.
The looking magnanimous is a bit of a reach at this point. We all know what it really is. Fucking foot-dragging around with customs papers when the ship has already sailed.
“There's no point not acknowledging that Brad's been a very very good servant of the game for a long period of time.”
Well Steve, just say Brad’s been an excellent servant of the game instead of the weird double negatives that makes it sound like it’s been dragged out of you.
-
Saw on Zac Guildford insta he was playing in Hamilton. He still going to France ?
-
The signing was announced in March so you would have expected him to be playing there now.
Who was he playing for? Last season he played for Ham OB but wasn't on their team list for today's game.
-
Finally some one in the media has read the regs they keep talking about, maybe the English will too, some time
https://www.nzherald.co.nz/sport/news/article.cfm?c_id=4&objectid=12041482
-
Re: the Shields poach. It will be quite interesting either way it goes.
My hunch is Shields (and Wasps) were very happy to have an England eligible player and all that it means for RFU funding incentives for the club and the higher salary for Shields himself.
I'm pretty sure Shields would have been very comfortable with the possibilty of the 22K England match payment if that ever came about. I reckon he's as surprised as most that this possibilty has comeabout before he has even set foot over there and played a game against any of his direct rivals for his position.
I really think Eddie Jones has awful man-management abilities.
He's:
- embarassing Shields by talk of parachuting him in so early above encumbents and fringe payers.
- Creating a potential rift between Shields and his future teammates competing for his position.
- He's alienated those same fringe players from trusting in the coaching staff.
- He's embarassing his CEO, who last year went public about getting IRB help to stop celtic countries poaching RFU academey 'products' etc
- He's potentially embarassing his CEO even further if it all comes to nought if the NZRU a. dig their heals in and b. the section 9.38 actually holds water. Public embrassment and political capital expended.
Sit back, grab some popcorn, and watch this stuff implode. All because Eddie can't judge the difference in fallout between picking Shields in June rather than waiting until November.
-
A reminder on the RFUs position on other countries selecting players that have come through their academy setups. From October last year, the same time Eddie was tapping up Brad ....:
the RFU invests more than £4 million a year in the development of up-and-coming players at the 14 club academies, a figure that is matched by the clubs themselves. The RFU is now seeking to better protect its investment.
An RFU spokesman said: “We are aware that other nations actively scout English players in our academies. We are looking carefully at this, along with the clubs who invest in developing these players for the good of English rugby, and we will be discussing this with World Rugby.”
At present, there is a financial compensation scheme in place for such circumstances, but the numbers are so small that they make no impact. If a player is developed in the English academy system and then plays for another nation, then the compensation package is £5,000 per year in development.
The development years are classified as the seven years between the ages of 17 and 23, so the maximum compensation any one nation would be obliged to pay would be £35,000. This is hardly a figure to influence the traffic of international players.
Shields:
Petone Rugby Club bio in 2009: Bradley Shields joins us directly from Taita College where he was an outstanding all round sportsman having represented NZ at age grade Softball as well he has also been a member of several New Zealand age grade squads and is a member of the Wellington Academy
Wikipedia: Shields was a New Zealand Under-17 representative in 2008 before being a member of the New Zealand Under-20 side which won the 2011 IRB Junior World Championship in Italy, scoring 1 try in 5 matches at the tournament. He has been named in All Blacks training squads in 2012 and 2016, but has not gone on to make his senior international debut
So, the RFU will be wiring the NZRU 35k pounds ($68k NZD)?