Transfer gossip - sometimes even accurate (accidentally) - Season 2022/23

[Mikey Brown]

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63372001

A shame to see Louw is off at the end of the season. I think we have one or two promising tight-heads waiting in the wings (?) but Collier seems to be injured quite a lot these days.

[chris18501]

Sale in for Vincent Koch

https://archive.ph/OSk3y

[Puja]

Sale in for Vincent Koch

https://archive.ph/OSk3y

Surprised there's the money to keep him in the Premiership given there's interest from France. Maybe he doesn't want to move country?

The article links them to Odendaal as well, which would be a good get. Can't believe Northampton aren't pursuing him though - he looks like the missing part their backline needs!

Puja

[FKAS]

Sale in for Vincent Koch

https://archive.ph/OSk3y

Surprised there's the money to keep him in the Premiership given there's interest from France. Maybe he doesn't want to move country?

The article links them to Odendaal as well, which would be a good get. Can't believe Northampton aren't pursuing him though - he looks like the missing part their backline needs!

Puja

Or Olly Hartley, maybe Venter before he went back to SA. Anyone to give them something a bit more solid in the 12 channel. Maybe Saints have spent their spare cap on Finn Smith which is a great move for the future but is limiting their ability to improve in the short term.

[Peej]

Hartley would be a gamble, a low cost one but definitely a gamble. He hasn't played in the Prem yet.

[francoisfou]

Brad Shields to Top14 club Perpignan is on the cards.

[Puja]

Hartley would be a gamble, a low cost one but definitely a gamble. He hasn't played in the Prem yet.

Agreed - great player for the future, but not what Saints need right this very moment now.

Puja

[Peej]

Brad Shields to Top14 club Perpignan is on the cards.

The money will be good but he'll be dropping to D2 next season. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose

[francoisfou]

Brad Shields to Top14 club Perpignan is on the cards.

The money will be good but he'll be dropping to D2 next season. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose

True, Perpignan are one of three clubs adrift at the foot of the table after 8 games (the other two being Pau and Brive). The side finishing the season in 14th place are relegated automatically, and the side at13th will play a match for their Top14 survival at the runner-up of ProD2.

[francoisfou]

Brad Shields to Top14 club Perpignan is on the cards.

The money will be good but he'll be dropping to D2 next season. But beggars can't be choosers I suppose

True, Perpignan are one of three clubs adrift at the foot of the table after 8 games (the other two being Pau and Brive). The side finishing the season in 14th place are relegated automatically, and the side at13th will play a match for their Top14 survival at the runner-up of ProD2.

Edit: It's been announced that he's signed as a medical joker until the end of the season.

[Timbo]

There’s a lot of good players with no links to anyone that I’ve seen;

Tom West
oghre
Stooke
Dan Robson
Spink

I think all of those players would add something to most Prem (and foreign) squads. My advice to any middling Prem player considering a contract offer at the moment is sign it asap.

[jimKRFC]

Jake Armstrong (THP) leaves Bristol with immediate effect. As he's not played at all for Bristol I'm not sure if his salary counts in the cap or not...

[Peej]

You could add Kieran Curran to that list. Kieran Macdonald, Kibirigie, Umaga....

[Which Tyler]

Jake Armstrong (THP) leaves Bristol with immediate effect. As he's not played at all for Bristol I'm not sure if his salary counts in the cap or not...

If he's not played, then it won't count towards the cap

[Puja]

Jake Armstrong (THP) leaves Bristol with immediate effect. As he's not played at all for Bristol I'm not sure if his salary counts in the cap or not...

If he's not played, then it won't count towards the cap

Does the payment they've no doubt given him to void his contract count though?

Puja

[Which Tyler]

Jake Armstrong (THP) leaves Bristol with immediate effect. As he's not played at all for Bristol I'm not sure if his salary counts in the cap or not...

If he's not played, then it won't count towards the cap

Does the payment they've no doubt given him to void his contract count though?

Puja

Not if he hasn't played. The termination fee definitely counts as salary, but if he hasn't played, then his entire salary is excluded. Reasons for not playing don't really matter - fired, injured, loaned out, simply far enough down the pecking order to never get game time...

Salary cap only includes players (and reasonable proxies) who have played for you during the season. As far as I'm aware, that excludes pre-season friendlies, but includes PRC, or any other matches played mid-season (eg Barbarians - but I suspect there might be some wriggle room allowed there).

I should add that it's been a few years now since I read up on the salary cap in detail (when aspersions were being cast at Bath, 2-3 years ago)

[Peej]

For those Worcester and Wasps players who are on long term deals with low money for the rest of the season, and then rising - does the salary cap manager not look at the mean amount of the deal to prevent this exact possibility? Is it a case of 'dealing with that problem next season'?

[Timbo]

For those Worcester and Wasps players who are on long term deals with low money for the rest of the season, and then rising - does the salary cap manager not look at the mean amount of the deal to prevent this exact possibility? Is it a case of 'dealing with that problem next season'?

I think it’s two separate contracts. One for this season and then longer term one starting next summer. Although I can see how that could be abused by clubs, it’s also reasonable in these particular circumstances.

[FKAS]

There’s a lot of good players with no links to anyone that I’ve seen;

Tom West
oghre
Stooke
Dan Robson
Spink

I think all of those players would add something to most Prem (and foreign) squads. My advice to any middling Prem player considering a contract offer at the moment is sign it asap.

Given Stooke's injury situation he's going to probably be left high and dry for a bit.

Very surprised no one's made an advance for West, very good loosehead just about to enter his prime years and just outside of England reckoning. He's one of the EQ options I expected to go early. Oghre similar, wasn't long ago he was included in an England training squad.

Haydon-Wood is another whom I'd have thought someone would have come in for. England age grade, looked good for Falcons last season and finished as their first choice option. The move to Wasps has been a complete disaster for him given he's been only playing PRC and then the club folded. I'm amazed someone like Coventry hasn't bent over backwards to offer a short term deal until a Prem club comes back in because he'd tear up the Championship. Only real issue for him with finding a new club is the lack of positional variety he has.

[Which Tyler]

I think it’s two separate contracts. One for this season and then longer term one starting next summer. Although I can see how that could be abused by clubs, it’s also reasonable in these particular circumstances.

This, £40k for the next 9 months; then a new, 2+1 year contract for £140k to start in the summer.

It's all supposition though, and I'd be confident the cap commissioner has given his approval to it (I certainly hope so)

[Puja]

I think it’s two separate contracts. One for this season and then longer term one starting next summer. Although I can see how that could be abused by clubs, it’s also reasonable in these particular circumstances.

This, £40k for the next 9 months; then a new, 2+1 year contract for £140k to start in the summer.

It's all supposition though, and I'd be confident the cap commissioner has given his approval to it (I certainly hope so)

Seems legit to me. If it's two, entirely separate contracts, with the basis that they player is free to go at the end of the first contract if they so choose, I'd say that's completely fine.

Puja

[FKAS]

I think it’s two separate contracts. One for this season and then longer term one starting next summer. Although I can see how that could be abused by clubs, it’s also reasonable in these particular circumstances.

This, £40k for the next 9 months; then a new, 2+1 year contract for £140k to start in the summer.

It's all supposition though, and I'd be confident the cap commissioner has given his approval to it (I certainly hope so)

Seems legit to me. If it's two, entirely separate contracts, with the basis that they player is free to go at the end of the first contract if they so choose, I'd say that's completely fine.

Puja

Is it that much different to say Tigers announcing that Freddie Steward has signed a new contract. That new contract won't start until next summer, he's going to remain on his existing contract until that new one starts. For cap purposes there's no need to go back and average out the earnings between the two contracts as long as the amounts paid to the player are correct to what's been declared as part of the salary cap entries.

[Scrumhead]

Brad Shields to Perpignan until the end of the season.

[chris18501]

Koch to Sale rumours quashed
https://www.rugbypass.com/news/sale-exp ... pringboks/

[chris18501]

Koch and Odogwu confirmed at Stade Francais

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/63411121