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Premiership rival snaps up London Irish's Under-20 World Cup winner Woolstencroft
Saracens have raided London Irish for a second time in a matter of months by signing hooker Tom Woolstencroft.
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The 23-year-old will link-up with Saracens ahead of the 2018/19 Gallagher Premiership Rugby campaign.
The England Under-20 World Rugby Championship winner spent a brief spell at Rosslyn Park before catching the eye of Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young. His time in Coventry was curtailed by injury and he moved on to Irish in October last year after proving his fitness while training with Ealing Trailfinders.
Woolstencroft came through the academy ranks at Bath and made the transition from back row to hooker following advice from ex-Sarries lock Danny Grewcock.
He made his senior debut in the LV= Cup in 2014 and was also part of the Somerset club’s A League-winning team in the same season.
This season, Woolstencroft has made 13 appearances in all competitions for Irish and becomes the second player to swap the Madejski for Allianz Park next term, following in Alex Lewington’s footsteps.
“I’m very grateful to Irish for giving me the opportunity to be back playing this season after a long spell with injury. They’re a great club and I’ve loved my time there,” he said.
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“I’m really looking forward to joining Saracens this summer and establishing myself in the squad. It’s a great set up and somewhere to improve as a player.”
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In January 26-year-old winger Lewington confirmed his move to Saracens.
The former Leicester Tigers man represented England Saxons in South Africa during the summer of 2016 and scored 27 tries in 73 matches for Irish since he joined from Leicester in 2013.
Lewington said: “I’m looking forward to working with the squad and the world class talent that Saracens are lucky enough to have, I’m also looking forward to working with the coaching team, and how they can improve my game.”
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“I’ve heard great things about the Saracens environment and I believe I will thrive within it – which should inspire me to push on and improve my game over the next couple of years.”
Lewington has shown loyalty to Irish since joining as a 21-year-old in 2013 and thanked the Reading-based club for their support shown to him since then. He won the Championship with Irish last season as they made their way back into the Aviva Premiership.
It’s been a trying season for London Irish, yesterday they said that their fans “deserve better” as the team face into another fresh year of Championship rugby.
In a statement the club wrote: “Following the conclusion of this weekend’s Round 21 Aviva Premiership fixtures, it has been confirmed that London Irish will be playing in the Championship next season.
“Everyone at Hazelwood – players, management and off-field staff alike are extremely disappointed that the 2017/18 campaign has ended in the way that it has, and we apologise to our supporters that we will again find ourselves in the Championship next season.
“While this season has been very challenging, our supporters have been a shining light and have continued to underline why they are the best supporters in the country with their unwavering support both at home and on the road. We thank them for their tremendous support during trying times.
“They deserve better, and we are committed to making London Irish one of the leading clubs in England, a position we enjoyed less than a decade ago. London Irish’s vision for the future is to compete at the top end of the Gallagher Premiership and to be challenging for European honours, and we believe the building blocks are in place to achieve these objectives.
“It is fair to say that we have learned some valuable lessons over recent years and we will be doing everything to ensure immediate progress and sustainability for the future. With Declan Kidney and Les Kiss in charge, we have international coaches that can take us to the next level and beyond.
“Our squad next season will be a group that cannot just win the Championship but be the core of a successful team in the future too.
“London Irish prides itself on its thriving academy, which continues to produce some of the best young players in the country. Our world class training facilities at Hazelwood are the envy of clubs throughout Europe.
“Mick Crossan remains as committed as ever as our owner and is dedicated to London Irish combining success on the field with the rich traditions and values that have been at the heart of the club since its formation 120 years ago.
“Our aim for 2018/19 is simple – we must win the Championship, and nothing less will do. It will be a journey with its challenges, and we are under no illusions that every other team in the league will be wanting to beat us.
“Nevertheless, we are excited by the longer-term future and the announcements that will be made over the coming weeks and months.
“We hope that all our supporters will continue to join us on our journey at the Madejski Stadium next season.”
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Comments on RugbyPass
Wow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
1 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
12 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
1 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
1 Go to commentsHe seems to have the same aura as Marcus Smith - by which I mean he’s consistently judged as if he’s several years younger than he actually is. Mngomezulu has played 24 times for the Stormers. When Pollard was his age he had played 24 times for South Africa! He has more time to develop, but he has also had time to do some developing already, and he hasn’t demonstrated nearly as much talent in that time as one would expect. If he is a generational talent, then it must be a pretty poor generation.
4 Go to commentsThe greatest Springbok coach of all time is entirely on the money. Rassie and Jacques have given the south african public a great few years, but the success of the springbok selection policy will need to be judged in light of what comes next. The poor condition that the provincial system is currently in doesn’t bode well for the next few years of international rugby, and the insane 2026 schedule that the Boks have lined up could also really harm both provincial and international consistency.
16 Go to commentsJake White is a brilliant coach and a master in the press. This is another masterclass in media relations and PR but its also a very narrow view with arguments that dont always hold water. White wants his team to win, he wants the best players in SA and wants his team competitive. You however have to face up to the reality of a poor exchange rate and big clubs with big budgets. SA Rugby cant compete and unless it can find more money SA players will keep leaving regardless of Springbok eligibility and this happened in 2015 - 2017. Also rugby is not cricket. Cricket has 3 formats and T20 cricket is where the money is at. When it comes to club vs country the IPL is king but that wont happen because the international calendar does not clash with the club calendar in rugby. So the argument about rugby going down the same path as cricket is really a non-starter
16 Go to commentsNZ rugby seem not to have learnt anything from professional rugby. Super rugby was dying and SA left before they died with the competition. SA rugby did a u turn on their approach to international players playing overseas and such players are now selected for Bok teams. As much as each country would love to retain their players playing in local competitions, this is the way the world is evolving my friends. Move with it or stay 20 years behind the times. One more thing. NZ rugby hierarchy think they are the big cheese. Take a more humble approach guys. You do not seem to have your players best interests at heart.
3 Go to commentsBeaches? In Cardiff? Where?
1 Go to commentsHe is right , the Crusaders will be a threat. Scott Barrett, ( particularly), Fergus Burke , Codie Taylor, ( from sabbatical) etc due back soon for the Crusaders. There are others like Zach Gallagher too. People can right the Crusaders off, Top 8 , here we come !!
1 Go to commentsWe will always struggle for money to match the other sides but the least the WRU can do is invest properly in Welsh rugby. Too much has been squandered on vanity projects like the hotel and roof walk amongst others which will never see a massive return. Hanging the 4 pro sides out to dry over the last decade is now coming back to bite the WRU financially as well as on the pitch. You reap what you sow.
1 Go to commentsWhat do you get if you cross a doctor with a fish? A plastic sturgeon
14 Go to commentsWhat happened to feleti Kaitu’u? Hasnt played in a while right?
1 Go to commentsGregor I just can’t agree with you. You are trying to find something that just isn’t there. Jordie Barrett has signed until 2028. By the end of that he would have spent probably 11-12 years on Super Rugby and you say he can’t possibly have one season playing somewhere else. It is absurd. What about this scenario, the NZR play hard ball and he decides to leave and play overseas. How would that affect the competition. There seems to be an agenda by certain journalists to push certain agendas and don’t like it when it’s not to their liking. I fully support the NZR on this. Gregor needs to get a life.
3 Go to commentsHope he stays as believe he can do a great job.
1 Go to commentsMake what step up? Manie has a World Cup winner’s medal around his neck and changed the way the Springboks can play. He doesn’t have anything to prove to anyone. The win record of the Boks with him in the team is tremendous. Sacha can be wonderful and I hope he has a very succesful Bok career, but comparing him to Manie in terms of the next Bok flyhalf is very strange. Manie is the incumbent (not the next) and doing pretty incredibly.
4 Go to comments00 😍 U
1 Go to commentsSabbaticals have helped keep NZ’s very best talent in the country on long term deals - this fact has been left out of this article. Much like the articles calling to allow overseas players to be selected, yet can only name one player currently not signed to NZR who would be selected for the ABs. And in the entire history of NZ players leaving to play overseas, literally only 4 or 5 have left in their prime as current ABs. (Piatau, Evans, Hayman, Mo’unga,?) Yes Carter got an injury while playing in France 16 years ago, but he also got a tournament ending injury at the 2011 World Cup while taking mid-week practice kicks at goal. Maybe Jordie gets a season-ending injury while playing in Ireland, maybe he gets one next week against the Brumbies. NZR have many shortcomings, but keeping the very best players in the country and/or available for ABs selection is not one of them. Likewise for workload management - players missing 2 games out of 14 is hardly a big deal in the grand scheme of things. Again let’s use some facts - did it stop the Crusaders winning SR so many times consecutively when during any given week they would be missing 2 of their best players? The whole idea of the sabbatical is to reward your best players who are willing to sign very long term deals with some time to do whatever they want. They are not handed out willy-nilly, and at nowhere near the levels that would somehow devalue Super Rugby. In this particular example JB is locked in with NZR for what will probably (hopefully) be the best years of his career, hard to imagine him not sticking around for a couple more after for a Lions tour and one more world cup. He has the potential to become the most capped AB of all time. A much better outcome than him leaving NZ for a minimum of 3 years at the age of 27, unlikely to ever play for the ABs again, which would be the likely alternative.
3 Go to commentsJake White talks more sense than anything I've read in the last 5 years. Hope someone's listening.
16 Go to comments