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In this week’s rugby transfer rater: Contract renewals in Scotland, international scrum-halves on the move, Irish fly-half heading home and a Welsh side targeting a marquee number 8. Each one of these rumours will be broken down, explained and rated. Let’s get started!
This week, the Telegraph broke the news that 24 year old England international scrum-half Raffi Quirke is to leave Sale Sharks and head to the North East to play for Newcastle Red Bulls. The move represents a power move in the PREM as one side looking to make marquee signings (Sale) lose a staring half-back to a lower ranked team with new money (Newcastle).
Based on how the English press have been speaking about him, you’d be forgiven for thinking Quirke could walk on water. Truthfully, he has 1 try in 9 games this season and won the most recent of his 2 England caps in 2021. Still, the consensus is this is a good signing.
Rating: 10/10 - just waiting on the announcement
Joey Carbery’s return to Ireland has turned into one of the transfer sagas of the season. Initially, Bernard Jackman suggest he should go to Connacht. However, with Connacht signing Ciaran Frawley, Ulster then moved into pole position to secure his signature. Fans were open minded to this move before suddenly, at the 11th hour, it now appears Carbery will be going back to where it all started in Dublin as Leinster coach Leo Cullen confirmed on Friday that a deal was close.
Carbery returning to Leinster has a very different feel from him joining Ulster or Connacht. If he were joining those two, the assumption would be he was fighting to be first choice and had a chance to re-ignite his Ireland career.
However, if he goes to Leinster, it appears to be as a replacement for Ciaran Frawley - i.e. as a utility back who is not first choice in any position. He will surely not be considered above Sam Prendergast at 10 or Hugo Keenan at 15 (or even Jamie Osbourne).
At the same time, why Leinster would pursue him having already let him go once and then having seen him fail to win over the famously good-natured Bordeaux fans is a head-scratcher. A strange move, then, but reportedly one that is set to happen.
Rating: 9/10 - this one has twisted and turned but Leinster look close.
As shown by Joey Carbery, it’s not easy being the back up to the most beloved half-back pairing in club rugby. Just as Carbery has struggled in the shadow of Matthieu Jalibert, Italian scrum-half Martin Page-Relo is viewed as a major downgrade to UBB’s uber-popular club captain Maxxime Lucu.
Perhaps this is why it is now being reported that Page-Relo has turned down the offer of a 1 year extension to his UBB contract and is seeking a move away from the current European champions. A destination has not yet been suggested, but UBB are now in the position of needing to recruit 2 brand new 2nd choice half-backs - an unenviable task.
Rating: 9/10 - UBB have made about turns on contract extensions already this season, but it does feel like this relationship is over.
It has now been officially confirmed that Wales number 8 Aaron Wainwright has signed for Leicester Tigers in the PREM. Dragons fans are still grieving the loss of their talisman but, before the news even broke, the owners were already making promises about his replacement.
Someone inside the Dragons has told the press that the Newport based team will sign a high quality non-Welsh qualified player to fill the void. These promises will sound familiar to Dragons fans; a couple of years ago the owners promised ‘definitely 1, maybe 2’ marquee signings that never materialised. Going back further, there were once widespread rumours that Quade Cooper was headed to East Wales.
A pinch of salt required, then. What we do know is the Dragons owners want to make a big name signing and, according to them, they have the funds to do it. No names have been proposed so far, but the smart money is on either a South African or a Pacific Islander, who always go down well in Wales.
Rating: 5/10 - Wainwright leaving frees up some considerable budget, but we’ve heard these rumours before
One story bubbling away up in Scotland is the contract situation of Edinburgh’s South African head coach Sean Everitt. He is out of contract at the end of the season and the capital club face a tough decision on whether to keep him.
Certainly, were the decision up to the fans, Everitt would have had his marching orders some time ago. Overall results may be acceptable, but the performances at times have been dire and the PR just as bad. However, there are multiple reasons why the SRU may choose to play safe and retain him.
Firstly, the only coach in Scotland under more pressure than Everitt is the men’s national coach Gregor Townsend. Were Townsend to go, the natural successor would be Glasgow’s Franco Smith. If Edinburgh were to let Everitt go on top of that, that would leave the SRU having to effectively replace 3 coaches in 6 months - having already replaced the women’s head coach just before Christmas.
Secondly, Everitt is not the only one out of contract in Edinburgh: 11 players are also at the end of their current deals. This is not only extra work for the club in the negotiating room, but Everitt will surely be having a significant say on not only new contracts being dished out but on replacements being brought in. Would it be smart to let him sculpt the squad and then send him packing?
Rating: 4/10 - just speculation at this stage