14 Gallagher Premiership players exiting the league
A bevvy of top rugby players in the Gallagher Premiership will be leaving for new challenges overseas next season.
Here’s a look at 14 big names departing English rugby at the end of this term.
Rob Simmons to Clermont from London Irish
Former Wallabies lock Rob Simmons joined London Irish in 2020 and played an important role in their squad since. He’s set to join French side Clermont for the upcoming season.
David Ribbans to Toulon from Northampton Saints
It’s not exactly an ideal bellwether for English rugby when an in-situ England lock heads abroad. Northampton lock David Ribbans has done exactly that and is set to join Toulon.
Jack Nowell to La Rochelle from Exeter
Long rumoured, the England back three star appears to be the latest senior Chiefs player to head to the exit and out of the country, following hot on the heels of a number of his Exeter teammates.
Joe Simmonds to Pau from Exeter
Exeter Chiefs’ playmaker Joe Simmonds has been a key player for the club, leading them to a Premiership and European Champions Cup double in 2020. Although it hasn’t been officially confirmed, the talented fly-half is set to join French Top 14 club Pau for the upcoming season.
Luke Cowan-Dickie to Montpellier from Exeter
Cowan-Dickie has been a stalwart for the side since making his debut in 2011 as an 18-year-old. A question mark still remains over a potential G3 ban on him playing rugby in France [due to a neck injury], but if he can get over that hurdle it appears he’s set to join French side Montpellier for the 2023-24 season.
Sam Simmonds to Montpellier from Exeter
Brother of Joe, Sam Simmonds is a prolific number eight who has been in exceptional form for Exeter in recent years. His move to Montpellier in the Top 14 will give the British & Irish Lion a chance to showcase his skills on a new stage. He leaves despite finally breaking into the wider England squad.
Semi Radradra to Lyon from Bristol Bears
Fijian superstar Semi Radradra was a marquee signing for Bristol Bears in 2020 and played a key role for the Ashton Gate-based side when not injured. He’s set to join French side Lyon and continue his impressive form.
Harry Williams to Montpellier from Exeter
The Exeter tighthead has been a reliable presence for the club, helping them win multiple titles over the years. He’s set to join his buddies in Montpellier in France for the upcoming season.
Jannes Kirsten to the Bulls in South Africa from Exeter
Exeter lock Jannes Kirsten has been a valuable member of Rob Baxter’s forward pack and helped them win the Premiership in 2020. He’s set to return to his native South Africa and join Jake White’s Bulls for the 2023 season.
Wilco Louw to Bulls from Harlequins
Another major signing for the Bulls, Harlequins prop Louw is heading home after he played his part in their Quins’ Premiership triumph the season before last.
Dave Ewers to Ulster from Exeter
Giant back row behemoth Ewers has been a consistent performer for the club and helped them win the Gallagher Premiership and Champions Cup double in 2020. He’s set to join Irish province Ulster for the upcoming URC season.
Jake Polledri to Zebre Parma from Gloucester
Another URC switcher, Gloucester back-rower Jake Polledri has been a standout player for the Cherry & Whites and has earned international recognition with Italy. After battling back from injury in recent seasons, he is set to join Italian side Zebre Parma.
Tomasso Allen to Perpignan from Harlequins
Harlequins fly-half Tomasso Allen has been a key player for the West Londoners since joining in 2019. He’s set to join French side Perpignan for the 2023-24 season.
Charles Piutau – released by Bristol Bears
It’s not been confirmed where exactly he is going but one thing is clear, the purported million-pound man is leaving Bristol. At 31 years old, it’s unlikely he’ll be hanging up his boots just yet and another Gallagher Premiership seems unlikely.
Comments on RugbyPass
Looking forward to the Wallabies being competitive again. No doubt that Joe can get them back on track.
1 Go to commentsThanks, Nick, not only for this fine article, but for all the others during 6N 2024. I really enjoyed this 2024 tournament, and felt it was one of the best for many years. That final match in Lyons was really good. England were certainly unlucky when that speculative hack by Ramos lead to a French try. It could just so easily have landed in English hand.s, and they score at the other end. I did think though that the French played some great rugby, and some of their driving play in the forwards was just fearsome. I watched Meafou with interest, and he has a good start to his career. It is interesting to compare him with Will Skelton. Lot of similarities, though so far Meafou has not shown any offloading threat. All credit to Borthwick for being prepared to change, and what great result, even if that last game was lost at the death. I feel they are a real chance to cause the AB’s problems this winter/summer. Finally a comment on Ireland. I thought their last game was their worst, and they did not look like the world’s No 2 side at all. What really worries me is that the loss to England was, in my view, down to poor decision making by the coaching group, and ofc Andy Farrell wears that. It was a big mistake to move JGP away from scrum half. Murray should have been the one to go to the wing. And the “finishers” should have been on the field earlier. And this is the second time this has happened. The RWC Qf against the AB’s, and not getting Crowley onto the field was a huge mistake. Finally, finally, watching Italy play was a joy. How wonderful that they are no longer the punchbag of the 6 N.
41 Go to commentsGreat story. Rugby needs new investment in teams like Brussels another pro league in Europe would be great.
1 Go to commentsAlso, looking at the data from last year, it seemed like by far the two biggest predictors of success were (1) kicking more than your opponents, and (2) having a higher rate of line-out wins than your opponents. I haven’t gone through the stats this year with a fine tooth comb, but the increase in kicks per game and the increase in tries from lineouts would suggest that these two metrics are only getting more important. England’s move away from a kick-heavy game to win against Ireland was seen by some as evidence that running rugby is on the rise. Alternatively it could be taken as evidence that if one team kicks more, and the other team wins more lineouts (as England did) a match is bound to be close to a draw.
2 Go to commentsI have been finding it odd that points per 22 entry has become such a talked about stat, given that your points per entry can be driven down by having more entries. These data would seem to confirm that it isn’t a useful metric, or at any rate is less useful than total entries.
2 Go to commentsI think the last two games England have played is some of their best rugby they have played under Borthwick. There has been a lot more attacking instinct and as a reward have created some well worked tries. Ollie Lawrence is a good foil at 12 as he offers the hard direct lines whilst the rest of the backs can play open. As much as it pains me to say but I do hope England keep playing this way. On a side note my favourite try of the weekend was Lorenzo Pani’s for the nice loop play that put him away and his finish was excellent. Thanks as always Nick.
41 Go to commentsMost exciting player on the planet right now, worth the price of a ticket.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith and Ireland live rent free in Safa’s heads. Their comments only triggers because its true. If the Boks had dismantled a 14 man AB’s, then there would be more respect. But they didnt, in fact quite the opposite, the 14 man NZ were clearly better. And the Bok have always been ordinary between RWC’s, thats why their supporters are now ‘only RWC’s matter’. They know thats BS. Its BS to both AB’s and Bok’s due to their history. But now its all the Safas have. Now we’ll hear excuses when they lose “oh we didnt have all our players available, the ABs/France/Eng/Irel were at full strength”, forgetting for a minute that its because of their own dumb policy. Oh well, makes a change from blaming ‘cheating refs’.
23 Go to commentsNo Nick, they did not, in fact, justify any ‘probables’ label. At no time did they seriously compete for the championship. Ireland led from start to finish and in the end, as a result of glaring referee errors, were never under serious pressure to lose their crown.
41 Go to commentsMoney for him, and his family, has been the sole motivator since he signed for Queensland aged 17. Why else sign for Melbourne. Tupou is poorly advised. If he’d stayed and developed in NZ he would have had a long Test career. If Leinster offer him a few more coins than he’s currently earning, he’s goneburger.
4 Go to commentsFinn. No one would say Ford had played well up until the last game. One standout performance in 5 is hardly in form . It should be a given that a 10 will control play . Not in Fords case be praised for suddenly doing so. Where was he against Scotland ,Italy. The pundits were saying how far away from play he was standing and one even said that the Ireland game was his last chance saloon to perform . Not exactly top form catching anyones eye. If he can play like this game after game then great. Keep him in . But after 90 odd caps we all know he just doesnt keep it going . By all means keep him there but the issue is that Borthwick will persist even when he plays poorly. Which is more often than not. Thats why i am concerned that Smith ,despite fab form , cannot get a game at his preferred spot. Can you imagine Ford at full back .
5 Go to commentsI do not really get why put Ollivon at 6 when he’s a 7, while Cros was the best Frenchman of the tournament, playing at…6. His only game replacing Aldritt at 8 doesn’t change much in terms of his impact. Lamaro was also outstanding in that brilliant Italian side, probably better than Reffell. So putting 2 Welsh players from the wooden spoon holders, and none of the 4th nation (Scotland) is also strange. Is it about showing that in this harsh transition Wales is, there were some standouts…?
6 Go to commentsThe events at this year’s six nations should undermine many of the arguments made against promotion and relegation between the six nations and the REC. If Italy had been allowed to yo-yo between divisions it conceivably could have really hurt their development, but if Italy, Wales, and Scotland are all at risk of relegation, with none of them being relegated more often than once every 3 or 4 years, you’d have to back all of them to muddle on through it, especially when you factor in the likelihood they’ll still be guaranteed world league matches against tier 1 opponents. Another way of looking at italys resurgence would be to say that the development model of adding an extra team to the six nations has worked, and now must be done again. Georgia could join to make it a 7 team round robin, and if and when Georgia demonstrate an ability to consistently win games, Portugal can also be added to make it an 8 team 2 conference competition. Frankly at this point I think it falls to world rugby to demand that the 6N act in the interests of the game. If the 6N won’t commit to expansion then the 6N teams should be handicapped in world cup draws (i.e. world cup seedings would not be based on their ranking points, but on their ranking points minus a 5 point penalty).
6 Go to commentsSteve Borthwick deserves credit for releasing the shackles on his England side and letting them play in a manner that somewhat resembles the top sides in the Gallagher Premiership. Will they revert to type in New Zealand in July.?
41 Go to commentsJames Lowe wouldn't get in any other 6N team. He's a great example of Farrell’s brilliance, and the Irish system. He is slow. His footwork is poor. But he fits perfectly in that Irish system, and has a superb impact. But put him in another team, and he'll look bang average.
6 Go to commentsCrusaders reached their heights through recruitment of North Island players, often leaving those NI teams bereft of key players. Example: Scott Barrett and Sam Whitelock robbed the Canes of their lineout and AB locks. For years the Canes have struggled at lock. This rabid recruitment was iniated by rule changes by a Crusader dominated NZR Head Office. Now this aggressive recruitment has back-fired, going after young inside back Hamilton Boys stars. They now have 4 Chiefs region 10s and not one with the requisite experience at Super level. Problems of their own making!
2 Go to commentsOver rated for a long time…exposed at scrum time too.
4 Go to comments“Firing me” should have been Gatland’s answer.
2 Go to commentsFinn Russell logic: “World” = 4 countries. Ireland may be at or near the top. FR’s bigger concern should be he and his fellow Scots (incl. the Bloemfontein ones) sliding back down to below top 10
42 Go to commentsMind games have begun. Ireland learned their lesson after saying they could beat England with 13 players or whatever. Still, if they win at Loftus, that would be impressive - final frontier etc.
58 Go to comments