Transfers & Rumours Non-Tigers 2020-21

[longlivethecrumbie]

I’d rather have Paul Doran Jones

Wow, that's some dissing right there

[Scott1]

I’d rather have Paul Doran Jones

Wow, that's some dissing right there

Not much between them in the scrummaging stakes and Paul’s better looking

[ABClub]

Is Thomas poor in the scrum? His injury record is rough in recent seasons but not his scrummaging IMO. Thomas has excellent hands for a prop and shows up well in the loose but can certainly scrummage as well from what I've seen.

Neal Hatley is regarded as one of the best scrum coaches in the world and hasn't had qualms about picking Thomas since he's regained fitness.

Shocking! Always has been. Looks as if he’s actually scared of scrummaging. I’ve lost count of the times at WR he’s been schooled. Decent around the field and some nice offloads but I want my TH to scrummage first and foremost and he’s not a Tigers TH for me at all.

Having watched him a lot for years I disagree.

Going into the stats he's played at Welford Road 8 times across his Bath and Sale career. Tigers starting loosehead on all 8 appearances was Marcos Ayerza. If we aren't going to sign tightheads that did or would struggle against Marcos then we wouldn't have a scrum.

That's before going into scrummaging being about more than match-ups between the props. Sale had lightweight locks whilst Thomas was there for instance.

His career reminds me a lot of Paul Hill. Extremely talented and impressed briefly for England whilst young but stalled due to layoffs. He's strung a good number of games together this season and has shown form though.

[longlivethecrumbie]

I’d rather have Paul Doran Jones

Wow, that's some dissing right there

Not much between them in the scrummaging stakes and Paul’s better looking

No idea how PDJ got capped for England and played for decent sides in the Prem.

[Wayne Richardson Fan Club]

Wow, that's some dissing right there

Not much between them in the scrummaging stakes and Paul’s better looking

No idea how PDJ got capped for England and played for decent sides in the Prem.

He had the right sort of name for some at the RFU as a guess...

[Scott1]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

[longlivethecrumbie]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

Stop it, that's two things we've agreed on today. This cannot continue!

[Scott1]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

Stop it, that's two things we've agreed on today. This cannot continue!

Don't worry, I'll end up spoiling it somewhere down the line

[longlivethecrumbie]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

Stop it, that's two things we've agreed on today. This cannot continue!

Don't worry, I'll end up spoiling it somewhere down the line

[RagingBull]

My post was more just a musing rather than a actual suggestion.

Although I do agree that being schooled by Tigers front row especially one back then is also not the best benchmark for prop depth

[ABClub]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

Just skating past the fact that Ayerza was Tigers starting loosehead for all of Thomas' games at Welford Road then...

[Scott1]

Hill is a much better scrummager than Thomas. Night and day

Just skating past the fact that Ayerza was Tigers starting loosehead for all of Thomas' games at Welford Road then...

Not at all,I've seen other games where he's been battered too .I remember the look of thunder on Diamonds face too. He's a quitter,doesn't even want to scrummage when the going gets tough. Very easy to spot. Has he improved? Yes. Is he a scrummaging TH? No!

[ABClub]

Diamond fought very hard to keep Thomas at Sale IIRC. They offered him a big deal but couldn't keep him over the lure of his home club - he was a Bath season ticket holder growing up. Losing a TH after developing them to an international is pretty brutal for a coach.

A few Sale fans I know actually identify losing Thomas as a moment that led to imbalance in their squad. Sale spent big to keep Vadim Cobilas the next summer after the blow of losing Thomas. Cobilas was a cracking player but a fair few Sale fans felt they overspent to keep him away from the Top 14 leading to lack of funds to replace Tommy Taylor. Hence their weakness at hooker for a while with a past his best Rob Webber their only hooker of note.

Clearly this is an agree to disagree discussion though.

[kk20gb30]

The Rugby Paper (11/4/21,Fissler) also gives credence to the rumour of Henry Thomas leaving Bath.According to that column his likely destination is La Rochelle .

[kk20gb30]

Neil Fissler (Rugby Paper 11/4/21) speculates on two Wasps backroom changes , with attack coach Martin Gleeson leaving to join England (Simon Amor being replaced) and Matt Everard (Skills and Transition) leaving come the end of the season.