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Saracens lock-in ex-England U20s fullback as Harlequins sign 'powerful' teenager

By Online Editors
Cadan Murley (Photo by Warren Little/Getty Images)

Both Saracens and Harlequins have locked-in two exciting prospects ahead of the 2019/20 season.

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Saracens – Matt Gallagher

Gallagher has signed a contract extension at the Saracens. The full-back, who has featured nine times in all competitions this season, will remain at Allianz Park until the summer of 2020.

Gallagher joined the Sarries academy aged 14 and has risen through the system, impressing frequently for Storm and catching the eye when called upon for first-team duties.

He made his senior debut against Ospreys in the 2014/15 LV= Cup before spending a season with Old Albanian in National Two South to further his development.

In the summer of 2016, the 22-year-old starred for England Under-20s as they went on to lift the World Rugby U20 Championship and later that year gained experience in the Championship at Bedford Blues as well as making his Premiership bow for Saracens.

This season, Gallagher started and scored in the Men in Black’s opening home match of the campaign and made his European debut in the pool-stage victory over Glasgow Warriors.

In total, he has made 25 club appearances.

Director of Rugby Mark McCall added: “Matt is an extremely hard-working player who is always looking to develop areas of his game and is improving all the time as a result.

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“His performances this season have been really impressive and his progression has seen him make a deserved European debut. We’re delighted he is continuing his journey with us.”

Harlequins – Cadan Murley

Harlequins have confirmed that Murley has signed a new contract with the club, after a brilliant start to the season for the young winger.

The 19-year-old joined full-time last season and only made his senior squad debut in January 2018 against Scarlets in the Anglo-Welsh Cup.

But he has made an explosive start to this season with Quins under Head of Rugby Paul Gustard, making nine appearances and scoring two tries as the Club have risen to third in the Gallagher Premiership and reached the Challenge Cup quarter-finals.

Gustard said: “We have been so pleased with Cadan’s work-rate, as well as his unquestionable skill and he thoroughly deserves his new contract with the club.

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“The way he has already become such a valued member of matchday squads in such a short space of time is testament to the energy he brings to the group in which he has helped create the winning mentality that we are establishing at the Club.

“He is like an extra forward the way he approaches the game. He is very tough, he is quick and powerful through contact and he is a very good defender.

“He has impressed me personally with his tenacity, fight, eagerness to learn and hunger to get better. He is a joy to coach and I am confident he will prove to be a quality player for this club for a long time. There is so much more to come from Cadan and I am sure he will also be able to play at 13 for us as he develops his all-round skill set.

“He is a brilliant kid, his maturity and self-awareness were made very clear to me in pre-season when he excused himself from a squad excursion to represent the Club in the 7s which showed me the kind of attitude that I know is crucial in squads that win championships.”

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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