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Saracens sign former Wasp Ross Neal
By Paul Smith
Saracens have confirmed the signing of powerhouse utility back Ross Neal on a short-term contract.
The 25-year-old who operates either at centre or on the wing will provide Mark McCall's team with an additional option during the course of the autumn internationals.
Depending on selection and fitness, the three-time Heineken Cup winners could be without a number of players including Scotland's Sean Maitland, England's Owen Farrell and Nick Tompkins of Wales due to international calls. In addition Sarries' England back Elliot Daly is currently injured.
Neal began his career with London Irish where he came through their academy, but it was during a season in the Greene King IPA Championship with London Scottish that Neal came to the attention of Wasps' then director of rugby Dai Young.
Starting all 22 matches in English rugby’s second tier, Neal used his 6ft 5, 110kg frame and long stride to claim eight tries.
He then went on to score twice on Premiership debut earning considerable acclaim from the watching BT Sport pundits as Wasps claimed a 32-28 win over Bristol in November 2018.
Frustrated by his lack of opportunity in Coventry, Neal requested early release from his contract to taste life in American Major League Rugby with Seattle Seawolves.
However, a broken hand and the abandonment of the league due to COVID-19 restricted Neal to just 40 minutes of Stateside action.
According to Saracens' press release Neal is excited to have made the move to Barnet.
“Saracens is one of the best clubs in the world and I hope to bring what I can to the team in training and on the field whilst also learning what I can from the players and coaches,” he said.
Director of Rugby Mark McCall welcomed his new signing to StoneX Stadium.
“Ross has Premiership experience and we are pleased that he has joined us on a short term basis,” he said.
“He increases our midfield options and we are looking forward to seeing him in a Saracens shirt.”
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Australia definitely the game of the weekend. Wallabies by 3.
Go to commentsSmith is playing a different game with the rest of the backs struggling to understand. That's the problem with so called playmakers, if nobody gets what they're doing then it often just leads to a turnover. It gets worse when Borthwick changes one of them, which is why they don't score points at the end. Sometimes having a brilliant playmaker can be problematic if a team cannot be built around them. Once again Borthwick seems lacking in either coaching or selection. I can't help but think it's the latter coupled with pressure to select the big name players.
Lastly, his forward replacements are poor and exposed either lack of depth or selection pressure. Cole hemorrhages scrum penalties whenever he comes on, opponents take advantage of the England scrum and close out the game. Is that the best England can offer?
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