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Many Scotland fans are happy Jonny Gray is going to Exeter Chiefs
A day after Leone Nakarawa’s signing was announced, Glasgow Warriors were dealt the damaging Friday news that Jonny Gray will be moving to Exeter Chiefs next season.
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It was expected that the lock would be leaving Scotstoun, but this makes him the third high-profile Scotland international to leave in three years with Stuart Hogg joining the Chiefs this season and Finn Russell moving to Racing 92 the season before.
This exodus of players concerns many fans and is something they wish the Scottish Rugby Union must address, but there are positives to such a move.
Exeter are one of the forces in English rugby, being Gallagher Premiership runners-up the past two seasons and sitting top of the table currently.
In the Champions Cup, they are in a great position to earn a home quarter-final berth and could make a lasting impact in that competition. Personally for Gray, a move to such a big club will help his development.
https://twitter.com/albigbarney/status/1213104537772404736?s=20
Bad for Glasgow but think good move for him and his career. Has stalled a bit in last 18 months and joining top class club and coaches
— TA (@theaaanimal) January 3, 2020
Having made the final of the Guinness PRO14 last season, Glasgow are not a small club, but Exeter seem to have grander aspirations and their recruitment policy proves that.
The 25-year-old Gray’s status as being one of the dependable defenders in the game is already cemented – after all he only missed 13 tackles the last decade. But the Chiefs can help him develop his game in all areas while still having a style that suits his strengths in the tight.
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https://twitter.com/Sconni3/status/1213103650882629632?s=20
Gutted to lose @jonnygray14 but he deserves the chance to test himself at a higher level. Thanks for everything big man, and all the best for the future
— Peter Elder ??????? (@PeterElder74) January 3, 2020
Change of scenery and league might add another dynamic to his game. Can only be good for Scotland.
Miserable times at Glasgow at the moment. Would help cure the sense of doom if Glasgow told us what the plans are and what's happening.
— Will Dev (@WilliamDevllin) January 3, 2020
Some fans have said that Gray has stagnated somewhat since he burst onto the scene for Scotland in 2013, and while he still starts for his country, this move may help him make a charge for a British and Irish Lions jersey at the end of next season.
Great servant for Glasgow. Good time for him to move on and gain experience in another league. Think this will be good for him and the national team. Clean sheet in terms of recruitment for new GE coach too.
— Michael Cuthbert Photography (@mikecuthbertuk) January 1, 2020
May be of a benifit to national side with them playing in that league w some top class players though ??
— sammy milby (@sup3rs4mmy79) January 3, 2020
Second row seems to be one of the strongest positions in the four Lions countries, meaning the Scot will need to up his game to travel to South Africa. But there is no better place to do that than with one of the strongest teams in Europe so far this season.
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Comments on RugbyPass
Dagg is still trying to get enough headlines to make himself relevant enough to get a job. The Crusaders went back to square one at all levels. Shelve this season and nail the next one.
4 Go to commentsHe was in such great form. Sad for him but only a short term injury and it will be great to see him back for the finals.
1 Go to commentsAfter their 5/0 start, I had the Crusaders to finish Top 4 only…they lost the plot in Perth but will reload and back themselves vs 4th placed Rebels…
3 Go to commentsBoth nations missed a great opportunity to book a game that would have had a lot of interest from around the world. I understand these games can’t be organised in 5 minutes but they should have found a way to make it happen. I don’t think Wales are ducking anyone but it’s a bad look haha.
3 Go to commentsIt will be fascinating to see the effect that Jo Yapp has. If they can compete with Canada and give BFs a run for their money that will be progress
1 Go to commentsFollowing his dream and putting in the work. Go well young fella!
3 Go to commentsPerhaps filling Twickenham is one of Mitchell’s KPIs. I doubt whether both September matches will be at Twickenham on consecutive weekends. I would take the BF one to a large provincial stadium so as not to give them the advantage and experience of playing at Twickenham before a large crowd prior to the RWC.
3 Go to commentsvery unfortunate for Kitshoff, but big opportunity potentially for Nché to prove he is genuinely the best loosehead in the world, rather than just a specialist finisher. Presuming that if Kitshoff is out, it will also give Steenekamp a chance to come into the 23? Or are others likely to be ahead of him?
1 Go to commentsA long held question in popular culture asks if art imitates life or does the latter influence the former? Over this 6 nations I can ask the same question of the media influencing the thoughts of its audience or vice versa. Nobody wants to see cricket scores in rugby, as a spectacle it is not sustainable. With so many articles about England’s procession and lack of competition it feeds the epicaricacy of many looking for an opportunity to pounce. England are not the first team to dominate nor does it happen only in rugby, think Federer, Nadal, Red Bull or Mercedes, Manchester Utd, Australia in tests and World Cups. Instead of celebrating the achievements why find reasons to falsify it pointing towards larger playing pool, professional for a longer period or mitigate with the lack of growth in other nations. Can we not enjoy it while it is here and know that it won’t last for ever, others coveting what England have will soon take the crown, ask the aforementioned?
6 Go to commentsShame he won’t turn out for the Netherlands now they’re improving. U20s are Euro champs and in the U20 Trophy this year. The senior sides gets better every year too.
3 Go to commentsWill rugbypass tv be showing these games?
1 Go to commentsWell where do you start, the fact that England have a professional domestic league and Ireland’s is fully amatuer, that they have fully seperated professional squads at Fifteens and Sevens (7’s thinly disguised as GB), and Ireland have fully pro Sevens squad who loan some players back to the Semi-Professional Fifteens squad (moved from amateur for only a year or so) for a few games at 6N & RWC’s. The Women’s games is a shambles, and is at risk of killing itself by pushing for professionalism when the market isn’t really there to support it outside one or two countnries..
6 Go to commentsWayne Smith's input didn't have as much impact on the last final as Davison's red card for Thompson. England were 14 points up and flying when that happened.
6 Go to commentsBilly's been playing consistently well for 2 - 3 seasons now and deserves a look in at the top level. Ioane and ALB are still first choice but there needs to be injury cover and succession. His partnership with Jordie gives him first dibs you'd think. Go the Hurricanes.
3 Go to commentsIt’s not up to Wales to support Georgian Rugby. That’s up to International Rugby and Georgia. I sympathise with Georgia’s decent attempt to create this fixture. But for Wales the proposed match up is just a potential stick to beat them with and a potential big psychological blow that young Welsh team doesn’t need. (I’m Irish BTW.)
3 Go to commentsCale certainly looks great in space, but as you say, he has struggled in contact. At 23 years old, turning 24 this year, he should be close to full physical maturity and yet there exists a considerable gap in the power and physicality required for international rugby. Weight doesn’t automatically equate to power and physicality either. Can he go from a player who’s being physically dominated in Super rugby to physically dominating in international rugby in 1 or 2 years? That’s a big ask but he may end up being a late bloomer.
37 Go to commentsIf rugby wants to remain interesting in the AI era then it will need to work on changing the rules. AI will reduce the tactical advantage of smart game plans, will neutralize primary attacking weapons, and will move rugby from a being a game of inches to a game of millimetres. It will be about sheer athleticism and technique,about avoiding mistakes, and about referees. Many fans will find that boring. The answer is to add creative degrees of freedom to the game. The 50-22 is an example. But we can have fun inventing others, like the right to add more players for X minutes per game, or the equivalent of the 2-point conversion in American football, the ability to call a 12-player scrum, etc. Not saying these are great ideas, but making the point that the more of these alternatives you allow, the less AI will be able to lock down high-probability strategies. This is not because AI does not have the compute power, but because it has more choices and has less data, or less-specific data. That will take time and debate, but big, positive and immediate impact could be in the area of ref/TMO assistance. The technology is easily good enough today to detect forward passes, not-straight lineouts, offside at breakdown/scrum/lineout, obstruction, early/late tackles, and a lot of other things. WR should be ultra aggressive in doing this, as it will really help in an area in which the game is really struggling. In the long run there needs to be substantial creativity applied to the rules. Without that AI (along with all of the pro innovations) will turn rugby into a bash fest.
24 Go to commentsSouth Africa rarely play Ireland and France on these tours. Mostly, England, Scotland and Wales. I wonder why
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2 Go to commentsHats off to Fabian for a very impressive journey to date. Is it as ‘uniquely unlikely’ as Rugby Pass suggests, given Anton Segner’s journey at the Blues?
3 Go to comments