Tommy Bowe to Ulster/Munster

bamboozle

so the Sunday Times is suggesting this morning, hinting that a deal will be announced in the next week.

would be a great signing for either province. would be great to see him back playing in Ireland.

thomond2006

Ospreys are going down to the toilet so I'm not surprised if he wants to leave. He is contracted till 2013 though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8432378.stm

bamboozle

article suggested with new wage cap in wales his salary of 350k is 10% of ospreys budget and they're happy for him to move on, lots of interest from France but he's focused on Lions and wants to be Ireland based.

If Munster sign himself and Downey and maybe even Fionn Carr they'll be a serious operation next season.

irishbucsfan

thomond2006 wrote: »

Ospreys are going down to the toilet so I'm not surprised if he wants to leave. He is contracted till 2013 though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8432378.stm

Break clause.

I have heard murmurings of him talking to Ulster from other sources as well. But whether this is just him trying to get a pay rise or not well have to wait and see.

Id imagine a lot of politics will come into play when deciding where he would end up. It'll be a central contract and so I'd imagine the IRFU would prefer he goes home. But the truth is he might be needed more in Munster...

Hagz

I'd prefer he go to Ulster. I'd love to see him and Trimble on the wings again with Gilroy benching. A back three of Trimble, Bowe and Payne is mouth-watering.

CIARAN_BOYLE

thomond2006 wrote: »

Ospreys are going down to the toilet so I'm not surprised if he wants to leave. He is contracted till 2013 though.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/8432378.stm

It says 2013 but other places have it reported as a two year deal with a one year option instead of a three year deal.

thomond2006

Hagz wrote: »

I'd prefer he go to Ulster. I'd love to see him and Trimble on the wings again with Gilroy benching. A back three of Trimble, Bowe and Payne is mouth-watering.

Nah I reckon he'd be better off at Munster. :pac:

If Munster sign himself and Downey and maybe even Fionn Carr they'll be a serious operation next season.

We don't need Carr. Both O'Dea and Scanlon have looked good when they got a chance in the Pro12 plus Zebo has secured a first team place.

Benny Cake

We've been talking about this for nearly three years now. One of these days we're going to be right!!

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62296108

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=62771654

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=63503843

http://www.boards.ie/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=76098244

Junior

Didn't he turn down a move last time his contract was up ?

irishbucsfan

Hagz wrote: »

I'd prefer he go to Ulster. I'd love to see him and Trimble on the wings again with Gilroy benching. A back three of Trimble, Bowe and Payne is mouth-watering.

Gilroy is too good to be on the bench.

Hagz

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Gilroy is too good to be on the bench.

Is he better than Trimble? Is he better than Bowe? So he'll have to bench won't he? How on earth can he get a start against those two?

tolosenc

Perfect replacement for Horgan at Leinster, IMO.

Should go back to Ulster, though.

irishbucsfan

Hagz wrote: »

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Gilroy is too good to be on the bench.

Is he better than Trimble? Is he better than Bowe? So he'll have to bench won't he? How on earth can he get a start against those two?

Which is why Bowe SHOULD go to Munster.

Of course it all depends on where he wants to go himself. It'd be a shame to knock a prospect like Gilroy down the pecking order, he's just as good as Bowe was imo.

liam12989

back 3 of trimble and bowe on wings and gilroy full back until payne returns he played there for 20s

irishbucsfan

liam12989 wrote: »

back 3 of trimble and bowe on wings and gilroy full back until payne returns he played there for 20s

Payne would be well back if Bowe joined

Hagz

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Which is why Bowe SHOULD go to Munster.

Of course it all depends on where he wants to go himself. It'd be a shame to knock a prospect like Gilroy down the pecking order, he's just as good as Bowe was imo.

No matter where he goes, a young talent will be pushed to the bench, (Other than Connacht of course). If he goes to Ulster it's Gilroy, Munster then Zebo, Leinster then Conway/Kearney.

profitius

Bowes would be a great signing for any team. Munster badly need some class in the backline so it would be a great signing. I'd say he might want to go back home to Ulster but then again wages would have to be taking into account too.

wp_rathead

..Connacht?:D

*runs away*

Seriously though Ulster and certainly Leinster don't necessary need cover for the wings- so Munster be most logical choice for him and Irish rugby

EDIT: when I say cover obviously Bowe would be starting, but you get where I'm going

sock puppet

profitius wrote: »

Bowes would be a great signing for any team. Munster badly need some class in the backline so it would be a great signing. I'd say he might want to go back home to Ulster but then again wages would have to be taking into account too.

Would he not get the same money no matter where he went?

irishbucsfan

sock puppet wrote: »

profitius wrote: »

Bowes would be a great signing for any team. Munster badly need some class in the backline so it would be a great signing. I'd say he might want to go back home to Ulster but then again wages would have to be taking into account too.

Would he not get the same money no matter where he went?

Yes he would.

CIARAN_BOYLE

sock puppet wrote: »

Would he not get the same money no matter where he went?

yep but if he went south to Munster he would be tax break eligible since he is in the republic

porterbelly

Connacht to sweep in under the radar and snaffle Bowe from under the noses of Ulster and Munster

irishbucsfan

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

sock puppet wrote: »

Would he not get the same money no matter where he went?

yep but if he went south to Munster he would be tax break eligible since he is in the republic

He was already tax break elligible before due to his address being in Monaghan. I think.

Benny Cake

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He was already tax break elligible before due to his address being in Monaghan. I think.

This was discussed here before. Don't think his address in Monaghan is relevant, if that was the case they'd all have an address in the South while playing for Ulster. Open to correction but I don't think Ulster players are eligible for the tax-break...

durkadurka

Presumably because his place of work would be in the uk?

irishbucsfan

He'd be contracted to the IRFU in Dublin though, that's different to other Ulster players

Edit: He'd be tax resident in the republic, paid in the republic.... Why wouldnt he be eligible?

razorblunt

With regard to holding back Zebo at Munster surely Bowe would be a replacement for Dougie. He might never make it back to anywhere near his best and he's pushing on a bit so could be the perfect replacement.

Hagz

razorblunt wrote: »

With regard to holding back Zebo at Munster surely Bowe would be a replacement for Dougie. He might never make it back to anywhere near his best and he's pushing on a bit so could be the perfect replacement.

Maybe, but then you have the rumors that Laulala is going to Munster too, which would presumably push Earls to 11.

Benny Cake

irishbucsfan wrote: »

He'd be contracted to the IRFU in Dublin though, that's different to other Ulster players

Edit: He'd be tax resident in the republic, paid in the republic.... Why wouldnt he be eligible?

He would be working in the UK though... Its a grey area alright & I've never seen a definitive answer. Jacothelad is probably best place to clarify things.

GerM

Ulster please. Why would we want our best winger playing somewhere with a track record of not being able to utilise their wingers? With a kicking outhalf and poor centres his game will suffer. It would be best for him and Irish rugby if he was in Ulster. Gilroy will still get bucket loads of time with two centrally contracted wingers. How many games do teams have fully fit back lines?

CatFromHue

Munster need centres before they need wingers.

Currently they have Mafi, Barnes, Gleeson (who really isn't an option at the moment), and Earls. Whereas on the wing they've Hurley, Murphy, Zebo, Howlett (if he comes back), O Dea (looks promising), and Earls.

A backline of Barnes, LuaLua, Earls, Bowe, and Jones has an awful lot of potential though.

CIARAN_BOYLE

Could this be Munster's backline next season?
11 Earls 12 Downey 13 Lualua 14 Bowe 15 Jones

razorblunt

Hagz wrote: »

Maybe, but then you have the rumors that Laulala is going to Munster too, which would presumably push Earls to 11.

Yeah that's very true actually.

CatFromHue

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Could this be Munster's backline next season?
11 Earls 12 Downey 13 Lualua 14 Bowe 15 Jones

Three new signings might be a bit much. Downey and LuaLua would also have to be paid solely by Munster.

Fishooks12

CIARAN_BOYLE wrote: »

Could this be Munster's backline next season?

11 Zebo 12 Downey 13 Earls 14 Bowe 15 Jones seems more realistic

errlloyd

Without getting into some Irish management proxy war, Bowe 13, Earls 14.

Fireball07

Fishooks12 wrote: »

11 Zebo 12 Downey 13 Earls 14 Bowe 15 Jones seems more realistic

Looks pretty decent to me.


Earls at 13 may not be ideal, Laulala would be better there but Earls is Irish. And he could grow into the position if he just sticks there.

Tbh though an in-form Mafi is probably better than Downey, and I'd love to see Hurley tried at centre sometime.

We all dream of a team of Tommy Bowe

Fishooks12

Fireball07 wrote: »

Looks pretty decent to me.


Earls at 13 may not be ideal, Laulala would be better there but Earls is Irish. And he could grow into the position if he just sticks there.

Tbh though an in-form Mafi is probably better than Downey, and I'd love to see Hurley tried at centre sometime.

Mafi's form is too unpredictable though. Think Munster will need a big ball carrying 12 to compliment the pace we should have out wide in the next few seasons

GerM

With Downey and Earls potentially inside him, Bowe would never get the ball often and certainly not good quality ball. Downey is a very limited (but effective) player who Munster wouldn't dream of approaching if he wasn't Irish. Even Laulala, if he arrived, isn't a fantastic distributor. He's a great finisher and a very powerful runner but he's not a particularly creative 13 and is part of the Blues back line that is about as useful as a chocolate fire guard. Some superb players in that back line but there's little cohesion. Halfpenny hasn't scored a try this season for example.

If Bowe goes to Munster, he won't be making the most of his talents. It will be a great coup for them but, as seen with Howlett, he'll have to have an impact in other areas. I don't think he's as good as Howlett in that respect who is one of the best talkers on a pitch in the world. He'll have to go looking for the ball a lot more. He certainly won't be scoring the number of tries that he has done in Wales. 25 HEC appearances and 16 tries is a fantastic rate. He simply won't get that opportunity in Munster unless there's a different approach taken starting with the culling of Holland.

Piliger

profitius wrote: »

Bowes would be a great signing for any team. Munster badly need some class in the backline so it would be a great signing. I'd say he might want to go back home to Ulster but then again wages would have to be taking into account too.

If it's true then he must be realising that there is no European glory to be had from the Premiership ... Ireland is the best place for him.

GerM

Piliger wrote: »

If it's true then he must be realising that there is no European glory to be had from the Premiership ... Ireland is the best place for him.

More likely he knows this will probably be the single biggest contract he signs in his career and wants to be able to claim the tax back from it. He turns 28 in the next couple of weeks. It's now or never for the big pay day in Ireland. Come home now and he'll get 5 or 6 very well paid years which he can claim his tax back on.

irishbucsfan

Piliger wrote: »

If it's true then he must be realising that there is no European glory to be had from the Premiership ... Ireland is the best place for him.

Have I missed something? Ospreys switching across to the Aviva Premisrship?

Kayless

would rather see him signed with a French team and IMO that would be a better deal for the IRFU. We already have the likes of Gilroy playing for Ulster, if Bowe were to sign for them... Gilroy would almost certainly end up on the bench whereas if he went to France we could give Gilroy more game time to improve and you know Bowe being Bowe would be starting every match for them so the best of both worlds for the national team.

irishbucsfan

Kayless wrote: »

would rather see him signed with a French team and IMO that would be a better deal for the IRFU. We already have the likes of Gilroy playing for Ulster, if Bowe were to sign for them... Gilroy would almost certainly end up on the bench whereas if he went to France we could give Gilroy more game time to improve and you know Bowe being Bowe would be starting every match for them so the best of both worlds for the national team.

Except there's not a hope that the IRFU would get the same sort of cooperation from a French team as they get at the moment.

Kayless

irishbucsfan wrote: »

Except there's not a hope that the IRFU would get the same sort of cooperation from a French team as they get at the moment.

yeah, it would mean he might have an extra match before the 6 nations kick off but he would also bring some insite to the French game (not that it helped against Wales)

Benny Cake

Kayless wrote: »

yeah, it would mean he might have an extra match before the 6 nations kick off but he would also bring some insite to the French game (not that it helped against Wales)

Are you actually serious?

Kayless

Benny Cake wrote: »

Are you actually serious?

yes.

Benny Cake

Kayless wrote: »

yes.

So you'd send our best winger to France, where he'd be expected to play almost double the matches he would if playing in Ireland, so that we can get some insight to the French game?

Genius.

lologram

Benny Cake wrote: »

So you'd send our best winger to France, where he'd be expected to play almost double the matches he would if playing in Ireland, so that we can get some insight to the French game?

Genius.

You clearly have never heard of the welcome pack received by all who arrive in France containing all the lineout calls and backs moves of the clubs and national side. Perhaps the FFR should stop handing them out in the Arrivals area of Charles De Gaulle, I'm not one to judge though.

durkadurka

Benny Cake wrote: »

So you'd send our best winger to France, where he'd be expected to play almost double the matches he would if playing in Ireland, so that we can get some insight to the French game?

Genius.

Do they really flog the players in France? I thought they sent the b team to away games?