Contract Situation

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Dave
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Dave »

Thats amazing news. Coooooonneeyyyy
COOOOOOONNNNEEEEYYYYY
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Neill_M
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Neill_M »

Roberts confirmed as joining Dragons for next season.
StandUp
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by StandUp »

:scratch: Just for possible international caps he joins the Dragons? For an adopted country?
Options must have been thin.
Neill_M
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Neill_M »

StandUp wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:31 pm :scratch: Just for possible international caps he joins the Dragons? For an adopted country?
Options must have been thin.
If he wanted to get more caps, he had to join a Welsh side given their rules and the union have decided it seems he is best placed at Dragons re the interests of the national team. He does have Welsh relatives. He probably wasn't going to be capped by Ireland even if they had sorted out the COVID break issues on his residency period, given current options available.
jean valjean
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by jean valjean »

He did try and make it in Wales before coming to Ireland so he obviously has a greater affinity to there than here. Fair dues to him for sticking at it and has a decent pro career ahead.
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big mervyn
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by big mervyn »

Good luck to him. Gave 100% for Ulster whehever he got an opportunity
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allezlesverres
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by allezlesverres »

You can hardly begrudge Roberts going to Wales. He qualifies there by right rather than by residency so he has a genuine connection to the Country. Ireland were planning to have him qualify by residency and probably would have been permitted to let him qualify notwithstanding his period of residency being slightly interrupted by covid, but with the emergence of talent at Hooker in Ireland it must not have been a priority for Ireland and understandably so. Kelleher and Sheehan both seem to be incredible talents and Herring is still very good (and improving this year particularly in terms of his carrying in the tight). It's hard to see how Roberts would have got any Ireland caps at all whereas in Wales, not only will he have a genuine connection with the country, but he is a dead cert to get a rake of caps with Ken Owens on the decline.

I read the article saying Ulster are shopping for an IQ hooker. Is Annett too old/injured to come home? He might not be what we are looking for in fairness but it's always nice to welcome someone back.
Big-al
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Big-al »

Roberts never came here looking to play for Ireland in the manner of Lowe, Payne, Stander, Aki or even Herring.

He played club rugby in wales before joining Rainey. It’s just by chance Wales have little talent at hooker that they’ve had to turn to ulsters 3rd choice hooker (when everyone is fit).

Fair play to him, & I hope his career starts to really flourish from here on in.
Neill_M
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Neill_M »

allezlesverres wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:46 pm You can hardly begrudge Roberts going to Wales. He qualifies there by right rather than by residency so he has a genuine connection to the Country. Ireland were planning to have him qualify by residency and probably would have been permitted to let him qualify notwithstanding his period of residency being slightly interrupted by covid, but with the emergence of talent at Hooker in Ireland it must not have been a priority for Ireland and understandably so. Kelleher and Sheehan both seem to be incredible talents and Herring is still very good (and improving this year particularly in terms of his carrying in the tight). It's hard to see how Roberts would have got any Ireland caps at all whereas in Wales, not only will he have a genuine connection with the country, but he is a dead cert to get a rake of caps with Ken Owens on the decline.

I read the article saying Ulster are shopping for an IQ hooker. Is Annett too old/injured to come home? He might not be what we are looking for in fairness but it's always nice to welcome someone back.
He is 30 and a google search tells me he signed a 2 year deal at Christmas 2019, so in theory his deal is up. Don't know how he has gone at Worcester, as they are rarely shown on BT Sport etc. Another option in theory is George McGuigan at Newcastle who is 28 and played for Ireland 20s before being captured by England in 2016, but has not played international rugby since and under the new rules, could become Irish Qualified again via his parents etc.
allezlesverres
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by allezlesverres »

I've loosely followed Worcester and whilst the team is mostly dire, annett has at times been a key player for them. He is an important leader in the squad. He has however had a few very injury disrupted years with a combination of shoulder, acl, concussion and other things keeping him off the pitch for extended periods. When healthy he is good. He has a cracking lineout throw. I doubt he would put real pressure on herring but he always harboured international ambitions so if he came back I am sure he would put in a shift with the (I think remote) possibility of a fairytale ireland cap.
Neill_M
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Neill_M »

Bryan Byrne ex Leinster hooker is currently at Bristol and may be an option. Says he signed an extension for season 2021/22, didn't state whether it was a 1 / 2 year extension.
Big-al
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Big-al »

Annett would be a decent 4th choice hooker behind herring, Andrew and Stewart.

Ulster should always choose a decent Ulster man (if available) ahead of any other.
launish116
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by launish116 »

Big-al wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 2:36 pm Annett would be a decent 4th choice hooker behind herring, Andrew and Stewart.

Ulster should always choose a decent Ulster man (if available) ahead of any other.
Some more experience and leadership couldn't be ignored also.
SUFTUM_19
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by SUFTUM_19 »

IQ options playing abroad seem to be:

Niall Annett - Worcester
Bryan Byrne - Bristol
Tadhg McElroy - London Irish
George McGuigan - Newcastle

If not one of them we will probs get someone from another province, maybe James Tracy/Sean Cronin but both are past their best. Munster have good depth at hooker, could maybe see Kevin O’Byrne/Barron or Declan Moore moving up permanently. Not sure if John McKee or Jonny Murphy fancy a trip home.

Would probably go for Annett if i had to pick.
Big Smoke Culchie
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Re: Contract Situation

Post by Big Smoke Culchie »

New management at Worcester. Not a particularly friendly handover either by the looks like it. Could unsettle the players and the remaining management team. We should be heavily targetting Annett. Johnny Bell could be much more amenabe to a move as well. He's always said he'd be back coaching at Ulster some day.
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