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Jeff Hasler will not be an Osprey next season and many are wondering why
Formidable Canadian wing Jeff Hassler has revealed that his time at Ospreys is coming to an end after a successful five year stint at the club and many are wondering why.
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What’s even more perplexing is – as RugbyPass understands it – that he doesn’t have a new club lined up.
The 26-year-old tweeted the news last night: “What a good five years in been Swansea flying high and scoring tries. Cheers all.”
What a good five years in been Swansea flyin high and scoring tries. Cheers all. ?? pic.twitter.com/PO4DZC6WB0
— Jeff Hassler (@Jeff_Hassler) April 24, 2018
Hassler scored 24 tries in 72 games for the region, and was renowned for his hard carrying-style and speed.
Many Ospreys fans are asking why are the club are letting the proven try scorer and cult hero go. Toulon bound Wales scrumhalf and soon to be former teammate Rhys Webb was one of them.
“Huge loss,” Webb tweeted, before adding: “Someone give this try-scoring beast a contract. Unbelievable player. Get your chequebooks out.”
Sorry meant to put good luck with unemployment. Someone give this try scoring beast a contract. Unbelievable player . Get your cheque books out ?
— Rhys Webb (@RhysWebb_9) April 24, 2018
Former Osprey and now Chiefs secondrow Tyler Ardron chimed in “I suppose all good things must come to an end. You’ve been unreal week in, week out for the Ospreys.”
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I suppose all good things must come to an end. You've been unreal week in, week out for the @ospreys @Jeff_Hassler
— Tyler Ardron (@tyardron) April 24, 2018
Ardron, who is having a superb season in Super Rugby alongside All Black Brodie Retallick, is a good example of what a fellow Canadian’s can achieve should they find the right club.
Does this mean no contract has been offered then pic.twitter.com/yrycaMgPPN
— Ospreys Sociables (@OspSociables) April 24, 2018
Jeff Hassler has left the Ospreys.
And quite amazingly, hasn't got a club to go to.
I can't think of many/ if any teams that wouldn't benefit from Jeff Hassler on their books.
He's a military-grade ball carrier.
— Paul Williams (@thepaulwilliams) April 24, 2018
The club yesterday confirmed that Allen Clarke has been appointed Head Coach on a three-year contract, but it seems Hassler is not part of his plans going forward.
Continue reading below…
The former Ireland hooker, who joined the Ospreys last summer as Forwards Coach, has been in interim control of the senior team since January.
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With a Champions Cup play-off coming up in May, Clarke can now begin planning in earnest for next season after being handed the reins on a full-time basis.
As a player, Clarke, a qualified teacher, completed a century of appearances for Northampton Saints before returning to his home province, who he served as both player and coach over a period of 20 years, either side of a five-year spell as Irish Rugby’s High Performance Manager.
Capped eight times by Ireland, he was a key player in Ulster’s 1999 Heineken Cup run, including the 21-6 win over Colomiers at Lansdowne Road in the final, the province’s only European title.
Arguably, Clarke was more influential off the field, having made a successful transition at the start of the century, his first off-field role seeing him establish the Ulster Rugby Academy.
In 2004 he was appointed as Assistant Coach to Mark McCall, helping the province to a first ever Celtic League title, secured ironically on the final day of the 05/06 season thanks to a 19-17 win over the Ospreys at the Liberty Stadium
The following season he left Ulster to take up a position as High Performance Manager with the IRFU, overseeing the national age-grade and development programme, feeding into the four Irish provinces and the senior national team.
He returned to his home province in 2012 to oversee an expanded Academy, combining it with the Scrum Coach role, taking the Forwards Coach post at KIngspan Stadium two years later.
Clarke also has experience of coaching on the international scene, taking charge of Ireland ‘A’, U20, and more recently leading Emerging Ireland to success in the 2015 Tbilisi Cup ahead of Georgia, Italy A and Uruguay.
Speaking after accepting the permanent Head Coach role at the Ospreys, Clarke said:
“When I came to the Ospreys, just 10 months ago, I didn’t foresee this situation arising. However, I’ve thoroughly enjoyed the experience of being Head Coach over the last three months. The support I’ve received from all areas, from the player group, fellow coaches and colleagues behind the scenes and from the Board, together with that of the supporters has been fantastic. As such I feel both humbled and honoured by the appointment.
“There is a strong ambition at the Region which matches my own, that is, to re-establish the Ospreys at the top level, initially in the Guinness PRO14 and then Europe.
“I’m highly motivated by the challenge and look forward to working with the coaching and management team to create an environment that provides individuals with the opportunity to flourish and for us, as a team, to realise our ambitions playing a brand of rugby that enthuses players and supporters alike.”
Comments on RugbyPass
The Springboks tried going down the road of only picking home-based players and it was an unmitigated disaster in 2016 and 2017. Picking overseas-based players has been one of the main reason the Boks have done so well since 2018, not only because of the quality Rassie could call on, but because of the knowledge and experience those players brought into camp from England, France and Japan. With some of the big names playing abroad it also gave younger players in SA the chance to break through at franchise level. Would we have seen the emergence of a Ruan Nortje if RG and Lood were still at the Bulls? Not so sure. I understand why Jake would want to block players leaving since his job depends on good results but it’s an approach that would take Bok rugby back to the bad old days and no South African wants to see that.
8 Go to commentsExeter were thumped by 38 points. And they only had to hop on a train.
34 Go to commentsI am De Groot.
1 Go to commentsHad hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”
11 Go to commentsWhat was the excuse for the other knockout blowouts then? Does the result not prove the Saints were just so much better? Wise call to put your eggs in one basket when you’ve got 2 comps simultaneously finishing.
34 Go to commentsReally hope Kuruvoli and his partner rock the Canes.
1 Go to commentsI wonder what impact Samson has had on their attack, as the team seems less prone to trundle it up the middle, take the tackle and then trundle it up again. I lost faith in the coach last year as the Rebelss looked like a 2nd/3rd rate South African team. I also disliked Gordon standing back, often ignored as the forward battle went on and on. Maybe its our Aussie way of not getting off our A***’s until the enemy is at the gate.
86 Go to commentsThanks for the write up. Great to see the Rebs winning, I am a little interested in how they will go against the remaining kiwi teams, I think they’ve only played Hurricanes and Highlanders but how great to see these players performing!! I also see Parling has a job beyond June 30! A good move by RA? Also how do you fix the Rebels previously scratchy defence?
86 Go to commentsbe smart - go black
13 Go to commentsNext week the Crusaders hopefully have Scott Barrett back. Will be great to have the captain back. Hopefully he will be the All Black captain as well.
12 Go to commentsExciting place to be for the young fella. I expected he was French Polynesian when I saw him included in the France 6N squad (after seeing him in NZs), and therefor be strong grounds we might loose him to rugby down here. Good, in that he is good enough to warrant such a profile, and from a journalism’s fan interaction aspect, to finally get a back ground story on the fella. Hope he has settled into NZ OK and that at least one rugby country will fit with him to help his development, which, if so, he should surely continue for a few years, and then that he can experience France to it’s fullest with a bit more maturity and less reliance on family than you would have at his current age. A good 3 or 4 years before he would be ready for International duty if he wanted to wait. Of course he already sounds good enough to accept a call up, and to cap himself, in the more immediate future (he’d have to be very very good in the case of the ABs), and he’ll get a great taste of that being with the Canes who have a bunch who are just a few years further into their career and looking likely Internationals themselves.
13 Go to commentsI remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.
8 Go to commentsOh wow… “But as La Rochelle proved in winning in Cape Town this season, a cross-continental away assignment need not spell the end of days.” La Rochelle actually proved quite the opposite. After traveling to Cape town and back they (back-to-back and current champs) got mercilessly thumped the next week. If travel is not the reason, why else would a full-strength powerhouse like La Rochelle get dumped on their @r$e$ one week later?
34 Go to commentsYou know he can land a winning conversion after the full time siren is up. (Even if it takes two attempts.)
5 Go to commentsA very insightful article from Jake. I would love to know how South African’s feel about their move to Europe. Do you prefer playing in Europe or want to go back to Super Rugby?
8 Go to commentspure fire
1 Go to commentsA very well thought out summary of all the relevant complications…agree with your ”refer the Cricket Test versus 20/20 comparison”. More also definitely doesn't necessarily mean better!
8 Go to commentsMust be something when you are only 19 y.o and both NZ and France want you. Btw he wasn’t the only new caledonian in french U20 as Robin Couly also lived in Noumea until 17. Hope he’s successful wherever he chooses to play.
13 Go to comments“Several key players in the Stade Rochelais squad are in their thirties” South Africans are going to hate the implications of that comment!
11 Go to commentsI know Leinster did a job on La Roche but shortly after HT Leinster were 30-13 ahead of them and at a similar time Toulouse were trailing Exeter. At 60 mins Leinster were 27 ahead but after 67 mins Toulouse were only 19 ahead before Exeter collapsed. That’s heavier scoring by Leinster against the Champions. I think people are looking at Toulouses total a little too much. I also think Northhampton are in with a real chance, albeit I’d put Leinster as favourites. If Leinster make the final I expect them to win by more than ten and with control.
11 Go to comments