Doesn't Sound Promising!

[Hymenoptera]

Im not saying we don't need to improve 2SR, I'm just not convinced we are weaker than any other teams. If we are weaker than Sarries and Bath, I can live with that.

[Raggs]

Equally, I'd have taken our front row stocks over Bath's. Swings and roundabouts where you invest.

[westwaleswasp]

Certainly true that our back and front rows can be held up as good examples of depth- without the "star names" in the case of the front row.
I don't think it is unfair to talk about Sarries, but am happy to compere to Glaws and Chiefs where I think we are weaker, and clearly so. Quins is probably more marginal but again more likely that they are stronger. Bath have already been discussed and yes we are weaker but the rest of their forward roster looks weaker. I am not sure we can say the same about Glaws, and remember this time last year and the year before people were talking of Sarries, Wasps and Chiefs in the same breath as being the clearly three best teams.

Another point is to compare to the wasps of a couple of years ago- are we weaker or stronger there when we had a 28 year old Bradley Davies coming off the bench?

You do have different areas of weakness and strength in a team, sure, but I do not think you can afford to have a second row lacking depth in the Modern game.

As others have suggested, for me the solution is an Attwood type figure, or to get Brad Shields involved there as an option. 

[Hymenoptera]

If I have 30k to spend on a car and you have 100k then chances are your car will be better than mine...so in that respect it IS unfair to compare to Sarries.
Attwood or like would be decent money, only so much to go round.

Sheilds i'm unsure about, I see the merits but not convinced.

[mike909]

Raggs or others might know, but given we are losing/lost Daly, WLR, Mullan, Hughes etc - surely we can afford a SA Super R SR?

[Hymenoptera]

They have all been replaced, so doubt there is much left.

[mike909]

Ok - I did think Daly, WLR, Mullan, Hughes, Simpson and Wade would have been at the top end of expensive.

Plus we've lost JCW, Will Stuart, Campagnaro, and at least 5 other main squad players

In: Top dollar, Fekitoa, T-Allen, Minozzi, Med dollar, Vellacott, Vailanu, and some lower rent players

 Have we really spent that much?

[westwaleswasp]

We must have had some stars pretty cheap if in matches out.
Ignoring Campo, as he was an injury replacement, how can Daly, Wade, WLR, Simpson equate to Fekitoa, Minozzi, Vellacott? Lleyds is not yet confirmed but even then the question still stands.

Jta is one for one with JCW.
Stuart one for one with Owlett?
Mullan went mid season and has already been replaced by astute recruitment at the start of the year, so there must be cash there.

Hughes for Valainu.
Ok some academy players will be getting contracts, but it is hard to see us spent. Surely with it being a wc year there will be room for later recruitment?

[Westy68]

I do think we are weak in the 2nd Row. Obviously launchbury is quality and I really like Gaskell. Then for me it’s a massive drop down I don’t think Rowlands is premiership level or at best just. Matthews and Myall aren’t Tearing up trees.

With launchbury away for so much of the season we do need a very good 2nd row to come in. Wouldn’t mind Myall or Rowlands to leave to get extra cash in

[Raggs]

I don't think wlr would have been that much. His stock was very low when he came to us.

[Heathen]

We just have to make sure that we are still at the races whilst RWC and the rest period are happening.

[RBB]

Ok - I did think Daly, WLR, Mullan, Hughes, Simpson and Wade would have been at the top end of expensive.

Tend to agree, but depends on what you class as expensive, I read that Wade was on £250k, and he will be receiving c$100k at Buffalo Bills, when you compare that to Charles Piutau at £1m then he was cheap (but of course it has to be considered in the grand scheme of the cap), Daly on the other hand is leaving for less money (nonsense of course), if we were to have had performance related regimes then he would owe Wasps, just a thought.

Seriously, if we assume an average salary of c£200k across the aforementioned players, then they equate to  around £1.2m - £1.5m in salary, that is a pretty big slug of cap and doesn't free up a great deal to enlist top talent. Balancing the books is a fine art I think, perhaps we should start an estate agency?

[BG]

Glaws pack has been transformed partly in thanks to Leic's slightly dubious player transfer antics where May was poached and Slater was given to Glaws in part payment.

I remember after it happened Slater was interviewed and was brutally honest by saying he knew nothing about the deal and never wanted to leave Leicester. He was not a happy bunny.

He's a proper old school work horse in the Glaws pack.

I realise Glaws' resurgence isn't purely down to Slater but mainly some good signings (Mostert, Ackermann Snr and Jnr) but it highlights the old adage.. forwards win games and backs by how much.

We seem to be dipping into the NZ pot for players but I think SA style of rugby (especially foward play) tends to transfer quite well to the premiership style of rugby.

[mike909]

I think its hard to know - sitting on my sofa! But I just thought that overall, we'd lost a lot of pretty expensive players and unless Fekitoa and T-Allen are really expensive - I'd have thought they might have been some budget

SA S-Rugby SR's would be decent value too, I'd have thought?

[Neils]

Can't believe T-Allen is on too hefty a wage watching him play. He is going to have to up his game coming here. Fekitoa will be on a large wedge as he has been at Toulon. 
Remember Hughes is on £300k with us and going for £500k (reportedly). Cant imagine Daly or Wade were less than that the number of years they had with us. I always thought WLR was one of our marquee players so would think he was on a substantial wedge too (may be completely wrong on that). Simpson and Mullan will not be on peanuts either.
The upshot is I also think there must be financial flexibility to upgrade a few positions.