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Wasps' Josh Bassett has found a new club

By Ian Cameron
(Photo by PA)

Wasps’ winger Josh Bassett has become one of the first of the club’s players to find a new home following the collapse of the Coventry-based Premiership outfit last week.

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Bassett joins Harlequins with “immediate effect” until the end of the season as further cover for Quins’ backline, the club have confirmed.

Bassett, 30, has been one of the most consistent performers in the Gallagher Premiership since making his debut for Wasps in 2013.

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Representing Wasps over 180 times and claiming 65 tries along the way, the 6ft 3in winger achieved the feat of representing England U20 whilst playing for original club Bedford in the Championship and was picked by England Head Coach Eddie Jones in June 2021 ahead of the team’s Summer Series Internationals.

Bassett is a strong presence under the high ball and has claimed a turnover every second game, as well as being in the top eight tackling wingers in the Premiership for the last two seasons.

“I’m excited to join Harlequins and am grateful for the opportunity to jump straight back into action with such a prestigious club,” said Bassett. “Quins play an exciting brand of rugby and I’m looking forward to trying my hand at the Harlequins Way of playing.”

Harlequins Head Coach Tabai Matson said: “We continue to be saddened and have sympathy for all the players, coaches and staff at Wasps at this difficult time. We’re happy to be able to support Josh to maintain his career and to have such a high-class operator join the group at a time where we have backline injuries.

“Josh has been one of the most consistently high-performing wingers in the toughest league in the world and we count ourselves as extremely fortunate to have him join us.

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“Josh has played in a Wasps team that has embraced a similar, attack-included mindset to our own philosophy and I’m sure he will slot into the Harlequins Way of doing things smoothly.”

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Jon 9 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 11 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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FEATURE Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby? Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?
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