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The rugby rumour mill has been on overdrive this past weekend, as stories emerged that Harlequins wing Marland Yarde is set to join Premiership rivals Sale Sharks, in a rare mid-season move.
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The story was broken by Jonathan Beardmore of the Eggchasers Podcast on Friday afternoon – much to the chagrin of Sale – before BT Sport presenter Ugo Monye added fuel to the fire on the evening broadcast of Sale vs Exeter Chiefs, stating that he had “heard he’s [Yarde] signed for Sale”.
"I've heard that he's signed for Sale."
"Things aren't great at Harlequins for him at the moment."@ugomonye on the Marland Yarde news 🎙 pic.twitter.com/ewHFyyzSW4
— Rugby on TNT Sports (@rugbyontnt) October 27, 2017
People have rushed to call this a precedent-setting move, with the official release and signing of the player between the two sides to go ahead in the coming days, as in-season moves are few and far between in rugby.
However, RugbyPass understands that Yarde had been on his last warning in West London and that missing his side’s captain’s run before their European fixture with Wasps – the incident which seemed to spark his exit from the club – was actually just the final straw in a string of infractions.
More missed training sessions and an undisclosed off-field issue have all also occurred since the talented wing made the move from London Irish in 2014 and his influence at the club has been deemed to have become disruptive.
During that period, Yarde has slowly begun to slip down the England pecking order and with British and Irish Lions Anthony Watson and Elliot Daly available, as well as the in-form duo of Jonny May and Denny Solomona, Yarde was not included in the England squad to take on Argentina, Australia and Samoa next month.
Director of Rugby John Kingston is keen to put his stamp on the Harlequins side and that involves building a culture that can help the club progress on and off the pitch, something which has seemingly left Yarde on the outside.
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With young wingers like Gabriel Ibitoye, Sam Aspland-Robinson, Jonas Mikalcius and Cadan Murley all on the books at Quins, there is no shortage of players ready to put their hand up for Yarde’s spot in the team.
As for Sale, the arrival of Yarde will set the rumour mill whirring again, this time about fellow wing Josh Charnley. The former Wigan Warriors man made the jump from rugby league last year, but several Super League clubs are said to be keen to bring him back.
Breaking up the partnership of Solomona and Byron McGuigan is proving difficult in the north-west and the addition of Yarde will only make that challenge harder, potentially prompting a move back to the 13-man code for Charnley.
