Saracens prop Tom West signs for Premiership rivals

Saracens loosehead prop Tom West will leave the reigning Gallagher Premiership champions at the end of the season to join Northampton Saints, as reported by RugbyPass.

The 28-year-old has spent the last season at the StoneX Stadium, arriving from Leicester Tigers last summer, and has made 11 appearances for the club. His time at the Tigers was a short-term deal after his previous club Wasps had gone into administration.

The former England U20 international had come through the Wasps academy and had made 78 appearances for the club.

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He will arrive at Franklin’s Gardens to fill a gap in the squad left by retiring brothers Alex and Ethan Waller.

West may not be the only loosehead to leave Saracens this season, with Mako Vunipola also expected to bring his time with the club to an end. Their places in the squad will be taken by Wales prop Rhys Carre, who has already signed for the north London club from Cardiff.

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“I’m really excited about the opportunity to join Saints,” said West.

“The club is playing some fantastic rugby at the moment and on a personal level I got a great feeling about playing in Northampton from speaking to Phil Dowson and Matt Ferguson.

“I’m at a point in my career where I want to compete to play regularly, and I’m really looking forward to trying to grow my game with the coaches at Saints – who have a great record of helping players improve and hit their potential.”

“I think I can really add a point of difference in the scrum and in the set piece. There’s great competition for places which I am looking forward to as well, and I hope I can add some experience into a relatively young and ambitious group of looseheads at the club.

“Whenever I’ve had the chance to play in Northampton in the past, I’ve loved it. It’s a proper rugby club, in a rugby town, with incredibly passionate supporters who appreciate the game. I can’t wait to experience the community around the team.

“I played with Tom Cruse for years at Wasps, who is one of the best blokes you’ll ever meet, and he spoke so highly of the whole place. I never thought I’d say I’d be excited for a preseason, but I can’t wait to get in and get going with Saints.”

Saints director of rugby Phil Dowson added: “There are some big changes coming in our loosehead department next season with Alex and Ethan Waller retiring, so we’re delighted to be bringing Tom into the squad.

“We’re very excited about the partnership that Manny Iyogun and Tarek Haffar are forming in that space, and we have a lot of depth there already with the likes of Trevor Davison, Elliot Millar Mills and Luke Green all able to play on both sides of the scrum.

“But we also wanted to bring someone else in to compete hard with those guys for a place in the team, and to bring some experience to the whole front row group.

“Tom is a guy with a great attitude who is really keen to improve and compete. He’s got excellent reviews from all the clubs he’s been at, he’s a really physical player who has played a lot of Premiership matches, and he still has some growth in him as well – all of which is really exciting for us.”