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The northern hemisphere’s rugby calendar may have just past its mid-point but that has not stopped clubs from looking ahead to next season. Cardiff and Sale Sharks have already signed players for the 2022/23 campaign while other sides have managed to drop athletes from their wage bill.
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This then begs the question: what are the 12 biggest transfers to have been confirmed so far?
George Ford: Leicester Tigers to Sale Sharks
One of the most surprising transfers to arise of late is George Ford’s departure from the Leicester Tigers. The fly half has represented England 78 times and is a potential contender for player of the season, having revived the Tigers who currently top the Premiership. It has been reported that he has accepted a salary of more than £600,000 yearly to join the lower-mid table Sale Sharks for the 2022/23 season.
Ellis Genge: Leicester Tigers to Bristol Bears
This season began with Steve Borthwick selecting Ellis Genge as Leicester captain and the season will end with the prop relinquishing that title. Genge joined the Tigers as a budding youngster and will leave as an England starter, returning to the place of his birth, Bristol. The Bears sit 10th in the table but were semi-finalists last season. Genge will be hoping to revive the side where he started his rugby career as he looks forward to playing alongside fellow England prop Kyle Sinckler.
Handré Pollard: Montpellier to Leicester Tigers
With Ford departing, the Tigers have opted to replaced one international with another. Handré Pollard, a World Cup winner with South Africa, will bring a versatile kicking game to Welford Road as he moves from one winning organisation to another. Montpellier are 2nd in the Top 14 and through to the knockout stages of the European Rugby Champions Cup, spearheaded by the poise of Pollard. Leicester fans will no doubt be pleased with the replacement.
Sam Skinner: Exeter Chiefs to Edinburgh
Sam Skinner’s departure from Exeter is a rather poignant one. He captained the university side there before progressing through the Chiefs academy on his way to becoming a starter. The second row was on the bench for Scotland in their 20-17 victory over England last weekend and has chosen to cement his place in the Scotland set up with a move to Edinburgh.
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Jonny Hill: Exeter Chiefs to Sale Sharks
Exeter’s second row will be further weakened this summer by the departure of the internationally capped Englishman Jonny Hill, who plans to move north to Manchester. Hill announced the transfer hours after Skinner and will join up with Ford and England captain Tom Curry come the end of the campaign. Sale are receiving an excellent British and Irish Lions player in Hill, who would be in the England Six Nations squad, had he not suffered a stress fracture to his foot.
Taulupe Faletau: Bath to Cardiff
The Welsh number eight has been capped 86 times internationally and will join Cardiff at the end of the season. Injuries have at times stalled Faletau’s career in Bath, which began in 2016, but during that time he has featured in two Lions tours to New Zealand and South Africa. His departure frees up the number eight jersey for Nathan Hughes.
Thomas Young: Wasps to Cardiff
Thomas Young will join Faletau in Cardiff’s back row next season as he prepares to depart Wasps, for whom he has played since 2014. With only three international caps for Wales, Young will hope this transfer back to the Blues, where he began his professional career, will enliven his chances of wearing the red jersey.
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Liam Williams: Scarlets to Cardiff
Cardiff have enlisted the expertise of another Lion in the upcoming offseason to strengthen their back three. Liam Williams is departing the Scarlets to move to the Welsh capital and brings plenty of international experience with him. Williams has featured 75 times for Wales, five time for the Lions and has won titles with both Saracens and the Scarlets.
Malakai Fekitoa: Wasps to Munster
Also leaving Wasps is Malakai Fekitoa. The Tongan is taking his talents across to water to Munster – Ireland will be the fourth country in which he has played professional rugby. Fekitoa’s three-year spell in Wasps has brought some success, but he will be happy to move to a strong side which comfortably beat his current one, both home and away, in the European Rugby Champions Cup earlier this season.
Vincent Koch: Saracens to Wasps
Vincent Koch has enjoyed an illustrious four and a half years at Saracens, winning two Premierships and two European Championships in that time. The prop was also part of the South African side that beat England to World Cup glory in 2019. For the 2022/23 season Koch will move to Coventry, where he has signed a long-term deal with Wasps.
Teddy Thomas: Racing 92 to La Rochelle
Teddy Thomas is making a move from Racing 92, who lost in the 2020 Champions Cup final, to La Rochelle, who lost in the 2021 Champions Cup final. The French winger has enjoyed success in Paris, winning the 2016 Top-14 title with Racing, two years after he debuted for Les Bleus. In the 2022/23 season Thomas will try to lead La Rochelle to their maiden Top-14 title.
Melvyn Jaminet: USA Perpignan to Toulouse
A year ago, Melvyn Jaminet was a relative unknown, playing his rugby in the Rugby Pro D2, the French second division. After USA Perpignan won promotion in 2021, Jaminet was called up to the French squad and has now established himself as starting fullback for his country. His rise will continue next season with a move to Toulouse where he will play alongside fellow French internationals Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
Comments on RugbyPass
Haha he does the exact opposite of what you’d expect any receiver to do, Brilliant!
2 Go to commentswell the favourites dont always win and let scott robertson chose his number 8
3 Go to commentsthats great for cam miller and the highlanders the crusaders have got problems within there systems that were proberly covered up astheywere winning when scott robertson was in charge
2 Go to commentsThe last time Plumtree coached the sharks they sucked the same when with the hurricanes now back with the shark Springboro. They still have no game plan
1 Go to commentsan impressive nail biting win for the Blues...but for mine the losing of the game sits with Isaia Walker-Leawere who fumbled balls from kick offs, broken play and then stripped of the ball by Sam Nock in the final minute…
3 Go to commentsAll of the Moderna law changes have been to slow the game down, playing into the hands of SA and the north. Incentivising boring, negative rugby. Brilliant changes. Speed up the game.
12 Go to commentsImagine you kick to the lineout, they give away a free kick, you have a great chance at a scrum, sorry sir you have to tap and go. Ridiculous
12 Go to commentsWhile I believe that the Crusaders do not deserve a spot in the playoffs, every single team would be worried to play them no matter where on the table they are. For example, they have the potential to knock out the Blues at Eden Park. They are the Springboks in Super Rugby in that they know exactly how to play knockout footy and have the pedigree and experience to do it. Something is just not quite right with that team this year. Fakatava is prone to to the odd brain explosion and can kick away good ball in bad positions. His work around the ruck and breakdown is a standout. Is he better than Finlay Christie? I’m not sure. TJ Perenara and Cortez Ratima should get two of the spots in the ABs squad. Aumua has so much potential but the midfield is quite well stocked with Jordie, ALB, Tupaea, and Ioane as well as Billy Proctor who is in top form. Aumua would be battling a spot with Tupaea and Proctor.
2 Go to commentsWhy do some Bok fans get so defensive when people have opinions on how the game should be played? Is it really necessary to take it as a personal attack on SA every time?
12 Go to commentsMost crazy rule is when attacking player has to release but defender does not. Stop the defender doing that by saying hands off. That way fender would not kill the ball. Madness and crazy
80 Go to commentsMinicamp rules include no-pads and no tackling.
2 Go to commentsToulouse has enough quality players so no headaches 😁 Choco is rarely a starting centre. Throughout this championship there have been far worse actions that were never called… too many rules, too many rule changes, too many inconsistencies, too many angry fans. I'm not surprised rugby does not attract new spectators, how could they understand 🤣
6 Go to commentsAh yes Andy with his “Goode” views. Oke might as well come out and say it, “I like seeing South African scrums depowered in order to give the rest of the world a chance”. Somehow he thinks World Rugby always knew about calling scrums from marks and it just so happened to coincide with Damien Willemse’s call that they decided to change the rules. Ah come on, if he can't see it then he needs prescription glasses. No ways, they are doing this for the betterment of Rugby. They want to clamp down on Rassie’s innovative skills than encouraging coaches to think outside of the box to try new things. What they can't count on is what Rassie will plan next. I almost get the impression that once Rassie retires World Rugby is going to be scrabbling around trying to find their identity. Currently set at ARP (Anti-Rassie Party). Although I don't really care in that regard because they always a RWC step behind.
12 Go to commentsWow ten years since they had a backing and more from the paying public I’d also mention that as a blues man and in walking distance to the garden I’d say that this team and Vern Cotter have got us dreaming beautiful thoughts and the merit is there from numbers 1 to 23 but we would like to think this is the new dna for the ABs and a pack weighing 940kg dry y not I hasten to add it seems patty has to stay fit cause he is the driver the main driver and they follow plus the pipe man H Plummer is conducting his own orchestra ….. Beethoven anybody
1 Go to commentsJuicy stuff well covered I’d go as far as to say that the referee was a key component in keeping it a tasty spectacle
3 Go to commentsCotter has added that steel that has been missing. Let's see if it will carry until the Finals… Come on the Blues ….
2 Go to commentsAndy Goode just loves to be controversial. Its boring. Let’s all stop reading.
12 Go to commentsYou have got to consider that if the situation was flipped and the French were held to a salary cap with no English equivalent, the English would laugh in their faces and tell them to get over it. As for Leinster (as a fan), the central contract system is a dream but is guilty of cutting out the other 3 provinces. At the end of the day, it comes across outside of the English border that the Premiership is drowning and trying to take everyone else with it rather than adapt. The English lose, the English want new rules. We've seen this repeat (and once it even led to the current Champions Cup) You make many good and informed points, but if the flip was on the other flop, it wouldn't be Rugby’s problem I suspect - it would be a French one.
18 Go to commentsSeems to have been a bright start but it tailed off. To win the big matches you have to get used to putting your foot on the throttle and your opponent’s necks in an 80 minutes performance which is what the All Blacks were renowned for. An example in the Women’s game is England v Ireland in the 6N match played at Twickenham in April. Watch on YouTube.
1 Go to commentsBobby has been a first grade bonehead since high school. Like a true Cape Tonian, his own reflection is more important than anything else.
1 Go to comments