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BREAKING: Harry Thacker is set to leave Leicester Tigers
By Alex Shaw
With a perfect record of eight wins from eight games, Pat Lam’s Bristol are looking in good shape to return the to Premiership at the first time of asking and their hopes of maintaining that potential Premiership status have been boosted by the signing of Leicester Tigers hooker Harry Thacker.
Neither club have officially confirmed the move yet, but RugbyPass understands that an agreement has been reached for Thacker to join the club next season, with the front-rower keen to improve his chances of first team rugby and Bristol looking to add more English playing talent to their squad.
Steven Luatua was the club’s headline addition this season, whilst Ulster’s Charles Piutau will make the move from across the Irish Sea for next season, but the club have also been keen to bolster their squad with English-qualified players.
Former England U20 players Mat Protheroe, George Perkins and Joe Batley all headed to Bristol this season, as has talented second row Ehize Ehizode, with the West Country side keen to give youngsters a chance alongside their more high-profile – and highly-paid – foreign recruits.
With Tom Youngs the incumbent at Leicester, George McGuigan pushing for playing time and Tatafu Polota-Nau joining on a two-and-a-half-year deal next month, the opportunities for Thacker at Welford Road look to be limited, despite singling himself out as one of the more dangerous front-rowers with ball-in-hand in the Premiership.
He has made an impact in the back-row before now, but it is believed the player is keen to continue his development in the front-row, something which looks to be more viable in Bristol.
He will compete with the likes of Ross McMillan, Max Crumpton and Jason Harris-Wright for the starting jersey next season and will bring his own brand of dynamic carrying to Ashton Gate.
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Latest Comments
Ireland have every right to back themselves for a win. But the key variable has little to do with recent record etc.
The reality is that Ireland are a settled team with tons of continuity, an established style, and a good depth chart, whereas NZ are fundamentally rebuilding. The questions are all about what Razor is doing and how far along he is in that program.
NZ are very close to really clicking. Against England all of the chatter is about how England could have closed out a win, but failed to do so. This has obscured the observation that NZ were by far the more creative and effective in attack, beyond the 3-1 try differential and disallowed tries. They gave away a lot of unnecessary penalties, and made many simple errors (including knock-ons and loose kicks). Those things are very fixable, and when they do so we are once again going to be staring at a formidable NZ team.
Last week we heard the England fans talking confidently about their chances against NZ, but England did not end up looking like the better team on the field or the scoreboard. The England defense was impressive enough, but still could not stop the tries.
Ireland certainly has a better chance, of course, but NZ is improving fast, and I would not be surprised at a convincing All Black win this week. It may turn on whether NZ can cut out the simple mistakes.
Go to commentsFair to say that NZ have come to respect Ireland, as have all teams. But it's a bit click-baitey to say that the game is the premier show-down for NZ.
SA has beaten NZ four times in a row, including in the RWC final.
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