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'We're hoping we can help develop him into a top-level Premiership prop'

By Online Editors
Mike Daniels, on the ball here for Worcester, has signed for Wasps from Nottingham (Photo by Alex Morton/Getty Images)

Wasps are hoping their ability to turn little known props into reliable, long-term Premiership performers will again come to fruition following their latest signing of a front rower.

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The Premiership outfit have had a string of successes in developing relative unknowns into finished products under the tutelage of Dai Young, the former 51-cap Wales prop who has been in charge at Wasps since 2011.

Jake Cooper-Woolley, Ben Harris and Simon McIntyre are all examples of scrummagers who have benefited greatly from Young’s coaching prowess and new recruit Mike Daniels will similarly hope to profit from next summer onwards.

The tighthead has signed from Championship club Nottingham – but the 26-year-old isn’t a complete stranger to Wasps as he stepped in as emergency injury cover and made his debut in the December Premiership match away to Saracens.

“Mike has a lot of potential. We were impressed when he came here for a short spell to help out in December and we’re looking forward to getting him on board in the summer,” said Young about the prop who started out in the Bath academy before moving on to New Zealand-based Northcote Birkenhead, Loughborough University, Worcester Warriors, Hartpury and Nottingham last summer.

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“He certainly has a lot of room for growth and we’re hoping we can help develop him into a top-level Premiership prop, as we’ve done with the likes of Jake Cooper-Woolley, Ben Harris and Simon McIntyre.”

Daniels is hoping he can make the grade. “Moving to Wasps is a fantastic opportunity to surround myself with top-class players and to try and improve my game,” he said.

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“I had a taste of pulling on the Black and Gold in December and it’s something I can’t wait to do again.

“I’ll be giving my all for Nottingham in the meantime but am thoroughly excited about the challenge of testing myself once again in the Premiership.”

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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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