A Brief Analysis of the Zurich Premiership Clubs

By RtR on 28/08/2003
September 1 2003

There has been lots of transfer activity over the off-season period, as the ZP clubs aim to get in new blood, tweak their squads, and get cover over the RWC period. Lets take a look at our competition in the ZP, and see how they have fared in the summer transfer shakedown.

Bath

Bath were lightweight in the front row last year, so the recruitment of David Flatman and Duncan Bell should make them far more competitive there. Half back problems should be sorted, as Martyn Wood and Hentie Martens will provide better service than Gareth Cooper, who had a tendency to crab across the pitch before delivering the pass, and who has left. Freshly signed this week is Springbok Robbie Fleck who'll add some toughness in the back line, and former Tyke Zac Feaunati will provide ball carrying ability, as back row men Nathan and Gavin Thomas have departed back across Offah's Dyke.

Gloucester

Relatively quiet on the recruitment front, with Alex Brown and Paul Johnstone adding power to the pack, and Duncan McCrae joining from NSW, so expect a few fights there. More notable are the departures of Mercier, Azam, and Fidler (who is off to Bath). Clive Stuart Smith has, of course, joined the Tykes. Glaws sould still be a strong side, even without RWC absentees like Vickery and Woodman.

Quins

Lots of high profile departures here, with Keith Wood, Dan Luger, Ben Gollings, Nick Greenstock and Alex Codling all leaving. Apart from George Harder and Mike Worsley, the new recruits are not big names (Simon Keogh, Andy Dunne and Gavin Duffy anyone?). Maybe the Quins are trying not to go down the big name route previously followed - could be a season of underachievement again?

Tigers

Tigers have had a bit of front row clear out, Messrs Freshwater, Jelley, Garforth and Tournaire all departing, with Darren Morris and Juilan White coming in, and looking like good signings. Ramiro Pez will give them a specialist No10, which they so clearly lacked last year, and Daryl Gibson is an excellent capture for the RWC period.

London Irish

The Exiles great season before last was built on the power of Chris Sheasby and Brendan Venter, and so the addition of Perpignan No8 Phil Murphy and Nick Greenstock from Quins will hope to repeat that duo's success. Meanwhile Mike Worsley, Simon Halford and Hentie Martens have all departed. Its not much change then, for a side who had a poor year last season.

Wasps

Little change at Wasps, Martyn Wood is the only major departure, with ex-Bath winger Tom Voyce, and Ex-Tyke Ian Clarke joining. With lots of players potentially away for RWC, will they have sufficient quality of cover? Early season might be the best time to play the current champs.

Falcons

Another quiet club, but one who recruited heavily during the last campaign. Garath Archer is a great signing and will beef up their front 5, and Ben Gollings will add guile to an already talented back division. Liam Botham has joined the Leeds Rugby duality, and Steve Brotherstone has gone to Glaws.

Saints

The only two signings for Saints are Mark Robinson from Auckland, and Shane Drahm from Bristol. Peter Jorgenson has gone to Roth, whilst Mattie Stewart and Simon Hepher step down a level to Bedford. Saints will lose a few players to RWC, and there been not much transfer movement, but will have plenty of ex-international quality during RWC in the likes of Blowers, Reihana and Poutney.

Roth

Perhaps unsurprsingly, Roth have recruited heavily - Derek Jelley, James Cockle, Geraint Lewis, Guy Easterby, Peter Jorgensen have joined - all sounding a bit like a journeyman side perhaps? The loss of Ramiro Pez is a blow, but Phil Jones is a quality replacement from Orrell who should do well at ZP level despite being untried. Early reports from pre-season matches, however, suggest they'll need to shift up several gears to make it in the ZP to anything other than 12th place.

Sharks

A few good signings here, particularly Van Straaten, Andrew Sheridan and Jason White. Most departures are low profile, and so Sharks have once again improved their squad in the off season. Will this be the year that they go all the way and win the ZP?

Saracens

Sarries have once again gone down the big-foreign stars route that has both rewarded, and let them down, in the past. Taine Randell, Rod Kafer and Rafael Ibanez have all doen it at top level, but will they succeed in the ZP, where departures such as Horan, Benazzi and Califano underachieved? The signing of Alex Codling from Quins is excellent, as the highly rated Stuart Hooper has joined the Tykes.

Tykes

So to ourselves. Plenty of newcomers (Christophers, Walsh, Hooper, Hodge, Persico, Halford, Rigney, Rees, Morgan, Cardey, Stuart-Smith, Salter, Powell, Botham and apparently Snyman, plus any others I've forgotten). This list looks far more eye-catching than any of our competitors. Equally, the departures are big players (BVS, Mather, Harder, Murphy and Feaunati). So, it has been a busy summer, with the Tykes busier than most. The new boys will need to blend quickly, and early signs are promising. Rumours are circling of a new Tykes style, with more emphasis on handling skills, dynamism and athleticism.

Bring on the new season, let battle commence!

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