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Callum Braley has decided his club future is best served in Italy

By Online Editors
(Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)

After six years at Gloucester, scrum-half Callum Braley will join Guinness PRO14 side Benetton at the end of the current season.

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Currently away on international duty with Italy, whom he qualifies for courtesy of his grandfather, Braley made his Six Nations bow in last Saturday’s game against Wales in Cardiff. 

First capped last summer in Italy’s World Cup warm-up matches, he was a part of the squad that competed at the World Cup in Japan.

At club level, he moved to Kingsholm in summer 2014 from Bristol. He was an England age-group international from under-16 level upwards and skippered the successful England under-20s at the 2014 Junior World Championship.

He has been a regular in the Gloucester matchday squad, making his 100th appearance in the recent Heineken Cup home win over Connacht. However, he feels the time is right for him to move to Italy to play his club rugby alongside a number of his international team-mates.

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“It’s all happened fairly quickly. I hadn’t even trained with the Italy team twelve months ago, but now I’ve been to a World Cup and played in the Six Nations.

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“Having committed my international future to Italy, it makes sense to play my club rugby there and I’m very much looking forward to the new challenge. I’ve had six really enjoyable years at Gloucester. I’ve grown so much here, as a player and as a person, becoming a husband and a father and I’ve made some great friends and some fantastic memories. 

“I’ll look back on my time here fondly. It’s a club and a city that my family hold closely to our hearts and a place we now call home. It probably won’t sink in until that final home game of the season when all the departing players get to say goodbye. But, until the very last minute of my last game, I’ll be giving everything to say goodbye on a positive note.”

Director of rugby David Humphreys said it will be a shame to see Braley leave, but he completely understood his reasons for doing so.

“Callum has been a valued member of our squad over the past few seasons, not just for his performances on the pitch but also his contribution to the wider squad effort where he has played a key role in driving standards on and off the pitch.

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“His dedication and hard work were rewarded in his selection for the World Cup with Italy and we were all delighted to see him starting for Italy last weekend in the Six Nations.

“While we’re sorry to see him leave Gloucester at the end of the season, we fully understand his reasons for moving to Italy to play for Benetton and establish himself in the Italian national team.

“Callum will still have a big role to play for the rest of this season at Gloucester and we look forward to seeing him finish his time here on a high.”

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Adrian 1 hours 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

11 Go to comments
T
Trevor 4 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 8 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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