Squad progression

[Vespula Vulgaris]

So we're losing Beale, Lieua, and Halai from the backs.  We know we've signed Gaby Lovobalavu who is great, and rumour has it that Juan de Jongh is coming too so I don't think we're too far off the pace for next season assuming the later proves to be true.

But what about the forwards?  I struggle with our props.  I understand that there is always a compromise to be made between powerful scrummagers who can dominate the opposition, and fast mobile forwards who can play the style of rugby we do, but have we slid slightly too far to one side of the compromise?  We're losing Swainston, and JCW has been injured a lot.  Would a big lump of a Tight Head be a good signing?  Is it my imagination or has Moore not quite lived up to his reputation.  I expected an experienced tier 1 international prop to rapidly become our first choice and that honour clearly lies with JCW.  When Citts left the two of them were pretty much equal, and it seems that Moore is not quite up there.  Will that change with another year of settling in?

How about Loose Head?  Mullan is one of the best open play props in the world.  He is freakishly fast, and plays more like another back row.  But I'd say he suffers in the scrum.  Chesty is more solid and stronger, but not as quick.  Do we need another?

As to the back row it's hard to see we need more, Youngyoung, Hughes, Haskell, Thompson, Jones, Reider, with Johnson able to cover too seems like a lot of good players, but we coule conceivably lose 4 of them during the international window leaving us only 1 injury away from not coping.  Do we need more?

What do you think?

Peronally I'd love to see a top level old school prop coming in, probably on the tight side, and another back rower.  But who... 

[NellyWellyWaspy]

Dai pretty much hinted that he would announce signings once the season was over, but I guess he hadn't planed on it lasting this far into the year!!

We have Gaby, and I am pretty sure we have de Jongh. I am also sure that Eastwood WILL be off, despite all that has been said.

With our other squad players and signings, I can see Daly moving out to the wing. Since playing there for England, he just doesn't seem to have settled back to the centre role.

I think with Watson, Gaby and de Jongh, we are covered. Unlike others, I struggle to see how the 10,12 and 13 trio is going to work out, when your top scorer is Gopperth and where Cipriani and he seem to work so well together as a duo. Dai will have to figure that. You could hope that these backs will encourage and help Umaga start to move into the first team. His kicking (field, touch and to the posts) is already quite good. With some work it could be excellent. He doesn't have that sharpness of mind that Danny has, but that too can be worked on. He is not a huge player, but will he bulk out like others in his family?

In our scrum, we have plenty enough talent, skills and squad depth at 4-8, and we are adding a hooker and loosehead prop already. But do we also need a tighthead? We have had to resort to short terms loans for the front row (Harris was one such), so will we see another signing yet?

Clearly the team needs to settle into a rhythm, one that has started to emerge in these last 3 games. The whole squad needs to be part of this.

[Raggs]

I don't think Moore was rated that highly, he was a solid tighthead, but he wasn't first choice Irish tighthead or anything I believe.  I do agree that the two main tightheads seem injury prone enough that our 3rd choice needs to be solid.

As for loosehead, I would have loved Ruskin.  Mullan was a bit of an oddity years ago with his reasonably solid scrummaging, but insane workrate, now more and more good young props are coming through that seem to offer similar.  Genge, Ruskin, Mako etc all seem to be capable of putting in very large and effective shifts. I do wonder how Lundberg will go in the future, and West and Stuart both seemed immense at u20s level. Stuart I believe is with Bedford this season, not sure about West.