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Bristol confirm recruitment of two ex-Wasps players for next season

By Liam Heagney
(Photo by Bob Bradford/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Bristol have bolstered their roster for next season, confirming the signings on Thursday of ex-Wasps duo Gabriel Oghre from Bordeaux and Sam Wolstenholme from Leicester. The respective hooker and scrum-half were victims of the financial collapse that resulted in 167 Wasps players and staff being made redundant last October.

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Both found refuge at the Tigers. Oghre made three appearances before taking up a short-term option in the Top 14 while January arrival Wolstenholme is poised to make his Leicester debut off their bench in Friday night’s Heineken Champions Cup round-of-16 clash with Edinburgh.

A statement read: “Dynamic hooker Gabriel Oghre will join Bristol Bears ahead of the 2023/24 campaign, the club can confirm. The 24-year-old, who made 66 appearances for Wasps before joining Leicester Tigers and then Bordeaux-Begles on short-term deals, will head to Ashton Gate next season.

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“Oghre made his Premiership debut in 2018/19 off the bench against Saracens and soon made the step up to the Wasps’ first-team squad for the 2019/20 season. In January 2018 he was named in the England U20s squad for the 2017/18 season.

“Scrum-half Sam Wolstenholme will also join Bristol. The 23-year-old former Wasps number nine, who joined Leicester on a short-term deal in January, has made 32 appearances in the Gallagher Premiership. Wolstenholme attended Oakham School before furthering his studies at Loughborough University, while still a member of the Yorkshire academy, and spent time on loan with Hull Ioanians while playing for Carnegie.”

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Bristol director of rugby Pat Lam said: “Gabriel is a very talented young English hooker who has a strong desire to succeed. He has good experience of playing in the Premiership and more recently, the Top 14. With his dynamic style, with and without the ball, and the way he plays the game, I know he will add real value to the Bears on and off the field.

“I’m also really pleased to be able to bring someone of Sam’s quality and experience to the Bears. As another young English player with huge ambition and desire to succeed, he will fit into our group perfectly. Competition is vital within the squad for us to grow and I believe we have genuine competition at scrum-half for next season with Sam, Harry Randall, Kieran Marmion and Oscar Lennon all competing.”

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Oghre added: “Joining the Bears is a new challenge and one that I’m really excited for. It’s a club with big aspirations and with a range of youth and experience to help reach them. I’m grateful for the opportunity and can’t wait to be a part of it.”

Wolstenholme said: “I’m really looking forward to joining Bristol. They are a club with exciting players, great facilities and play a good brand of rugby. I’m excited to see what next season brings.”

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Adrian 57 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

7 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

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