Neil Best Moving To Worcester Warriors

conf101

http://uk.eurosport.yahoo.com/26012010/63/warriors-confirm-best-capture.html

Worcester have announced the signing of Ireland flanker Neil Best from their Guinness Premiership rivals Northampton.

Best, 30, has agreed a two-year deal with the Warriors, with an option for a third year, and will move to Sixways in time for next season.

Best has won 18 caps and made more than 100 appearances for Ulster before joining Northampton in 2008.

"I met Mike Ruddock (Worcester rugby director), and although I knew about him as a coach and his ethos, his passion and ambition for success can only rub off on you," said Best.

"Everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet and keen for success - that makes you want to play for the club.

"I will leave Northampton at the end of this season with very fond memories. I have lots of friends at the club and got on very well with the coaching staff.

"I am a professional and I will do absolutely everything I can to make sure the club is now as successful as we can be this season."

Ruddock added: "Neil is just the sort of player we need in our squad, and I know he will add leadership to our team and will always lead from the front."

Interesting move...

Podge_irl

Don't really understand that move really.

anonymous_joe

Saints don't want him anymore maybe?

Not sure any Irish team'd take him either.

thomond2006

That's a strange move for Best, a big step down.

Stev_o

Podge_irl wrote: »

Don't really understand that move really.

He's no longer first choice at Saints. GP is already loaded with quaility backrowers so i doubt there would be many looking to sign another one. Best is probably trying to get as much cash as he can as he playing days start decreasing ?

thomond2006

Stev_o wrote: »

He's no longer first choice at Saints. GP is already loaded with quaility backrowers so i doubt there would be many looking to sign another one. Best is probably trying to get as much cash as he can as he playing days start decreasing ?

Maybe Mallinder has told Best that they intend to use Courtney Lawes as a blindside from now on.

PhatPiggins

Pity I was hoping he'd come to Munster next season

AdeT

Dunno why but I thought he was younger than 30....

I'd say Worcester have pretty much guaranteed 1st team football which Saints just can't.

buck65

He wouldn't be good enough for Munster this season either, maybe for ML but wouldn't count on him for the big day.
Saying that Munster need a fit Leamy and a replacement for the evergreen Quinlan when he retires in 2016.:D

PhatPiggins

buck65 wrote: »

He wouldn't be good enough for Munster this season either, maybe for ML but wouldn't count on him for the big day.
Saying that Munster need a fit Leamy and a replacement for the evergreen Quinlan when he retires in 2016.:D

He's easily better then Ronan,Williams,Coughlan and Ryan(good second row though). Leamys crocked more often then not and Quinlans pushing 40
Best is generally excellent on "the big day" think of the autumn 06 internationals or last summers Churchill Cup. Its his consistency in the run of the mill games thats his mian short coming.

thehighground

PhatPiggins wrote: »

He's easily better then Ronan,Williams,Coughlan and Ryan(good second row though). Leamys crocked more often then not and Quinlans pushing 40
Best is generally excellent on "the big day" think of the autumn 06 internationals or last summers Churchill Cup. Its his consistency in the run of the mill games thats his mian short coming.

Best would never fit in in Munster as he is too up his own arse. I saw an interview where he said something to the effect that the Northampton coaching staff would like him to pass the ball more but he preferred just knocking the **** out of the opposition. IMO, he is obviously too old to learn new tricks like listening to his coaching staff and playing in the best interests of the team.

anonymous_joe

thehighground wrote: »

Best would never fit in in Munster as he is too up his own arse. I saw an interview where he said something to the effect that the Northampton coaching staff would like him to pass the ball more but he preferred just knocking the **** out of the opposition. IMO, he is obviously too old to learn new tricks like listening to his coaching staff and playing in the best interests of the team.

Aye. Hardly any coaches can deal with players like that. Sure even someone like Ferguson has gotten as many wrong as right.

buck65

PhatPiggins wrote: »

He's easily better then Ronan,Williams,Coughlan and Ryan(good second row though). Leamys crocked more often then not and Quinlans pushing 40
Best is generally excellent on "the big day" think of the autumn 06 internationals or last summers Churchill Cup. Its his consistency in the run of the mill games thats his mian short coming.

I don't agree tbh. I'd take Ronan and a fit Williams any day. Ryan is a 2nd row. Coughlan will be a good one too.

chupacabra

buck65 wrote: »

I don't agree tbh. I'd take Ronan and a fit Williams any day. Ryan is a 2nd row. Coughlan will be a good one too.

Up early eh? Anyway i dunno why you would take Ronan or Williams over Best, aside from his discipline problems he is a work horse around the field and the definition of an abrasive blindside. If he was a bit younger id welcome him to munster with open arms.

bamboozle

buck65 wrote: »

I don't agree tbh. I'd take Ronan and a fit Williams any day. Ryan is a 2nd row. Coughlan will be a good one too.

James Coughlan is 29, not exactly one for the future.
i must say i'm very suprised Munster didnt go for Neil Best he'd be ideally suited to attritional nature of Munster rugby. Watching the Munster match on friday evening with some Munster fans afterwards there was a general air of despondancy that the Munster pack is the weakest it has been in years. With the likes of Quinlan, Wallace, Horan, Flannery, Hayes and DOC all the wrong side of 30 Munster face an uphill battle over the next 2 seasons to bring through quality young players and remain a dominant force in European rugby. This is why i was really suprised Sean Cronin wasnt signed for next season.
Munster really need to do some shrewd transfer activity this summer, 2 props and at least 1 backrower are needed (in my humble opinion!)

buck65

Well Best at 30 with 2/3 seasons left wouldn't be the answer either. Best has been a fading light for the past season or so. Definitely a player who underachieved.
Munster's scrum problems can mostly be attributed to
1. No scrum coach
2. John Hayes is well past it and we have no substitute at the moment.
Best in a Munster scrum would make no difference.

PhatPiggins

buck65 wrote: »

Well Best at 30 with 2/3 seasons left wouldn't be the answer either. Best has been a fading light for the past season or so. Definitely a player who underachieved.
Munster's scrum problems can mostly be attributed to
1. No scrum coach
2. John Hayes is well past it and we have no substitute at the moment.
Best in a Munster scrum would make no difference.

3 seasons is a long time in club rugby. I'd much rather they brought in Best then another Williams/Melck/Paringati.

Re the scrum woes do you bring in another overseas prop or maybe coax Ross down from Leinster?

bamboozle

PhatPiggins wrote: »

3 seasons is a long time in club rugby. I'd much rather they brought in Best then another Williams/Melck/Paringati.

Re the scrum woes do you bring in another overseas prop or maybe coax Ross down from Leinster?

he'd be a smart signing for Munster, cover's both sides.
Maybe Munster have their eye on Roger Wilson or will try snaffle Dominic Ryan or one of the ruddock's from Leinster.

PhatPiggins

bamboozle wrote: »

he'd be a smart signing for Munster, cover's both sides.
Maybe Munster have their eye on Roger Wilson or will try snaffle Dominic Ryan or one of the ruddock's from Leinster.

Youth might be the way to go alright. Nearly every backrow player they have brought in in the past 3 seasons has been to cover Lemay's injuries

buck65

PhatPiggins wrote: »

3 seasons is a long time in club rugby. I'd much rather they brought in Best then another Williams/Melck/Paringati.

Re the scrum woes do you bring in another overseas prop or maybe coax Ross down from Leinster?

I would
A . Get a scrum coach
B. Retire John Hayes
C. Bring in an overseas animal of a TH prop with decent ability in the loose
D. Also bring in Ross/Timmy Ryan as cover
E. Let Buckley go
F. Develop Archer as a replacement for Horan.
G. Keep Brugnaut as cover on the LH
H. Hooker will be fine if Flannery recovers, Varley is a good player, Fogarty is decent enough.

The other lads like Ryan ,Hurley etc are just too injury prone to keep on the books. Fine if they get a year uninjured and are playing well then add them into the mix at ML level.
I know this mightn't be helping the Irish situation but I don't exactly see the other provinces too bothered about developing props either at HCup level.
Maybe it's in the backline we need to move on a few guys who aren't Irish , so we can get a decent TH prop (JdV will surely leave next season, Dougie may also go)
Williams if not getting fit has to be looked at also.

anonymous_joe

buck65 wrote: »

I would
A . Get a scrum coach
B. Retire John Hayes
C. Bring in an overseas animal of a TH prop with decent ability in the loose
D. Also bring in Ross/Timmy Ryan as cover
E. Let Buckley go
F. Develop Archer as a replacement for Horan.
G. Keep Brugnaut as cover on the LH
H. Hooker will be fine if Flannery recovers, Varley is a good player, Fogarty is decent enough.

The other lads like Ryan ,Hurley etc are just too injury prone to keep on the books. Fine if they get a year uninjured and are playing well then add them into the mix at ML level.
I know this mightn't be helping the Irish situation but I don't exactly see the other provinces too bothered about developing props either at HCup level.
Maybe it's in the backline we need to move on a few guys who aren't Irish , so we can get a decent TH prop (JdV will surely leave next season, Dougie may also go)
Williams if not getting fit has to be looked at also.

Just a couple of points,

B and C - CJ Van der Linde, Leinster, BJ Botha, Ulster, Carl Hayman, back to NZ isn't it?

There aren't many around for NH clubs to nick, and most have been nicked.

Regarding Hayes, he's definitely now hindering development. He's getting worse slowly but surely, and now's the time for Buckley to step up or fail. Also, would Ryan have gone to Toulon if Hayes was gone?

Podge_irl

anonymous_joe wrote: »

now's the time for Buckley to step up or fail.

No it's not. He should have been stepping up over the last two years. He's already failed imo.

thehighground

PhatPiggins wrote: »

Youth might be the way to go alright. Nearly every backrow player they have brought in in the past 3 seasons has been to cover Lemay's injuries

Leamy has only been injury prone since he had a shoulder operation at the end of the 08 season (which included playing in the summer tour to NZ & Aus). He may have come back too early from that (he made the Munster v ABs game).

I think Williams was meant to be a replacement for Anthony Foley who retired at the end of the 08 season. btw, Melck was fine (scored a try in the RDS). We should have held onto him instead of getting Nick Williams.

thehighground

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Just a couple of points,

B and C - CJ Van der Linde, Leinster, BJ Botha, Ulster, Carl Hayman, back to NZ isn't it?

There aren't many around for NH clubs to nick, and most have been nicked.

Regarding Hayes, he's definitely now hindering development. He's getting worse slowly but surely, and now's the time for Buckley to step up or fail. Also, would Ryan have gone to Toulon if Hayes was gone?

If all of those go back, there are going to be a few props back on the bench gathering splinters

Hayes wasn't the obstacle, it was Buckley as Ryan was 3rd in the pecking order. By the way, he seems to be getting a fair bit of playing time and I saw one bit of a game he was playing in and he looked very fit & mobile. He seems to have lost a good bit of weight as well. It was a good move by him I think.

TheGod

thehighground wrote: »

Hayes wasn't the obstacle, it was Buckley as Ryan was 3rd in the pecking order. By the way, he seems to be getting a fair bit of playing time and I saw one bit of a game he was playing in and he looked very fit & mobile. He seems to have lost a good bit of weight as well. It was a good move by him I think.

Are you serious? Hes been in atrocious form for Toulon. I remember watching a game where he was getting demolished in every scrum and was seriously struggling. There was a thread on it awhile ago.

He certainly has not been playing well, unfortunately!

anonymous_joe

Podge_irl wrote: »

No it's not. He should have been stepping up over the last two years. He's already failed imo.

Quite probable.

thehighground wrote: »

If all of those go back, there are going to be a few props back on the bench gathering splinters

Hayes wasn't the obstacle, it was Buckley as Ryan was 3rd in the pecking order. By the way, he seems to be getting a fair bit of playing time and I saw one bit of a game he was playing in and he looked very fit & mobile. He seems to have lost a good bit of weight as well. It was a good move by him I think.

Ah yeah, I know, but Buck was talking about getting a world-class tighthead. There aren't many floating about really.

thehighground

TheGod wrote: »

Are you serious? Hes been in atrocious form for Toulon. I remember watching a game where he was getting demolished in every scrum and was seriously struggling. There was a thread on it awhile ago.

He certainly has not been playing well, unfortunately!

Did I say he was playing well? Would you mind reading my post again please.

TheGod

thehighground wrote: »

Did I say he was playing well? Would you mind reading my post again please.

Well you said he was looking very mobile which I took to mean he was good around the park. Hes been struggling in both the scrums and loose play.

The whole post seems a bit to airbrushed. Ryans been playing very poorly but has lost some weight is essentially what your saying

thehighground

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Ah yeah, I know, but Buck was talking about getting a world-class tighthead. There aren't many floating about really.

Do we need a world class tighthead for Munster if most the world class THs are all back playing in the SH?

thehighground

TheGod wrote: »

Well you said he was looking very mobile which I took to mean he was good around the park. Hes been struggling in both the scrums and loose play.

The whole post seems a bit to airbrushed. Ryans been playing very poorly but has lost some weight is essentially what your saying

The point I made was that he was getting some gametime which is better than not getting any at all (and he probably has a scrummaging coach).

anonymous_joe

thehighground wrote: »

Do we need a world class tighthead for Munster if most the world class THs are all back playing in the SH?

Well I'm not sure you'd need one, but would you say no? :pac:

thehighground

anonymous_joe wrote: »

Well I'm not sure you'd need one, but would you say no? :pac:

I wouldn't say no - but someone like Freddie Pucherello or Wian du Preeze would do just fine if Botha et all all head back home for the RWC.

bamboozle

thehighground wrote: »

If all of those go back, there are going to be a few props back on the bench gathering splinters

Hayes wasn't the obstacle, it was Buckley as Ryan was 3rd in the pecking order. By the way, he seems to be getting a fair bit of playing time and I saw one bit of a game he was playing in and he looked very fit & mobile. He seems to have lost a good bit of weight as well. It was a good move by him I think.

For what its worth Dave Ryan (who i think is timmy's brother) has been in great form for Dolphin this season, Dolphins tactics this season have been to steamroll opponents in the scrum, be awarded penaly, kick penalty and repeat. Central to this has been Dave Ryan, i know its a step up but he has shown he can scrummage so deserves some ML game time.

TheGod

bamboozle wrote: »

For what its worth Dave Ryan (who i think is timmy's brother) has been in great form for Dolphin this season, Dolphins tactics this season have been to steamroll opponents in the scrum, be awarded penaly, kick penalty and repeat. Central to this has been Dave Ryan, i know its a step up but he has shown he can scrummage so deserves some ML game time.

Isn't he very prone to injuries though?

I heard himself and Hurley are regularly getting injured.

Amazotheamazing

TheGod wrote: »

Isn't he very prone to injuries though?

I heard himself and Hurley are regularly getting injured.

Darragh Hurley's career could be over due to an eye injury, still touch and go as to whether he'll recover sight in it. He has a long history of injuries alright.

Dave Ryan was injured at the start of the season but he's not especially injury prone. More talented than Tim Ryan, but is that saying much?

PhatPiggins

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Darragh Hurley's career could be over due to an eye injury, still touch and go as to whether he'll recover sight in it. He has a long history of injuries alright.

Dave Ryan was injured at the start of the season but he's not especially injury prone. More talented than Tim Ryan, but is that saying much?

I think Timmy Ryan getting 100 grand a season off Toulon based on 40 minutes against the AB's is surely the stroke of the decade, a fool and his money etc etc

I saw him play a couple of games in the CC in october and he got mashed. He came on in the both games in the last two rounds and he looked a lot fitter and held his own in the scrums.

bamboozle

PhatPiggins wrote: »

I think Timmy Ryan getting 100 grand a season off Toulon based on 40 minutes against the AB's is surely the stroke of the decade, a fool and his money etc etc

I saw him play a couple of games in the CC in october and he got mashed. He came on in the both games in the last two rounds and he looked a lot fitter and held his own in the scrums.

i've seen him a few times for Con against Clontarf, he has never stood out in scrums or around the paddock. From what i've seen of his brother he's a serious talent.

razorblunt

Amazotheamazing wrote: »

Darragh Hurley's career could be over due to an eye injury, still touch and go as to whether he'll recover sight in it. He has a long history of injuries alright.

Dave Ryan was injured at the start of the season but he's not especially injury prone. More talented than Tim Ryan, but is that saying much?

Cripes when did this happen to Hurley?

buck65

He had an eye infection that was injured again during a game in December I think, believe he is on the mend though.
Ryan supposedly destroyed Archer in an AIL game recently.
With the salary cap coming in France next year, surely we could pick up a decent TH?

anonymous_joe

buck65 wrote: »

He had an eye infection that was injured again during a game in December I think, believe he is on the mend though.
Ryan supposedly destroyed Archer in an AIL game recently.
With the salary cap coming in France next year, surely we could pick up a decent TH?

If you look at the likes of Toulouse, Stade, Perpignan and Clermont, they really aren't overstocked with props. Most have one or two French lads and then a few foreign journeymen...