1
Former NRL star set join Matt Giteau in third switch to rugby union
By AAP
Former Melbourne and Cronulla centre Will Chambers will make the switch to rugby union for the third time in his career after agreeing to a move to the USA.
Chambers will link up with Major League Rugby's LA Giltinis, who have former Wallaby Matt Giteau on their books and boast Adam Ashley-Cooper and Stephen Hoiles on their coaching staff.
The move comes after the former Australian international made a fleeting but rather memorable nine-game return to the NRL with Cronulla earlier this year.
Famed for his ability to give as good as he got, Chambers courted controversy for his on-field sledging of Manly's Dylan Walker and Warriors prop Kane Evans in back-to-back games.
His verbal outbursts prompted Sharks coach Josh Hannay to drop him and Chambers was not sighted in Cronulla colours after their round 21 loss to the Warriors.
He went unsigned by the Sharks following the arrival of new head coach Craig Fitzgibbon which prompted the 33-year-old to explore options in the 15-man game.
Chambers only arrived at Cronulla after the COVID-19 pandemic brought an abrupt end to a deal with Japanese rugby union's Suntory Sungoliath.
He previously enjoyed a period with the Queensland Reds and Irish outfit Munster but it was at the Storm where he had the most success, winning two NRL Premierships and two World Club Challenges.
Chambers became a regular for the Queensland State of Origin side during his time with Melbourne and won seven caps for Australia at test level.
The 224-game centre is not the only big name heading overseas for a shot at rugby union with Parramatta's Blake Ferguson departing for Japan to join Michael Cheika's NEC Green Rockets.
Trending on RugbyPass
2
All Blacks XV player ratings vs Munster
3
Suaalii strikes awe as Wallabies lose midfielder
4
Scott Robertson responds about handling errors
5
Latest Comments
Nah, that just needs some more variation. Chip kicks, grubber stabs, all those. Will Jordan showed a pretty good reason why the rush was bad for his link up with BB.
If you have an overlap on a rush defense, they naturally cover out and out and leave a huge gap near the ruck.
It also helps if both teams play the same rules. ARs set the offside line 1m past where the last mans feet were😅
Go to commentsYeah nar, should work for sure. I was just asking why would you do it that way?
It could be achieved by outsourcing all your IP and players to New Zealand, Japan, and America, with a big Super competition between those countries raking it in with all of Australia's best talent to help them at a club level. When there is enough of a following and players coming through internally, and from other international countries (starting out like Australia/without a pro scene), for these high profile clubs to compete without a heavy australian base, then RA could use all the money they'd saved over the decades to turn things around at home and fund 4 super sides of their own that would be good enough to compete.
That sounds like a great model to reset the game in Aus. Take a couple of decades to invest in youth and community networks before trying to become professional again. I just suggest most aussies would be a bit more optimistic they can make it work without the two decades without any pro club rugby bit.
Go to comments