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England prop Kieran Brookes' new club about to be confirmed
By Alex Shaw
Following the announcement by Northampton Saints last month that Kieran Brookes would be leaving the club at the end of the season, RugbyPass understands that his signing by Wasps is imminent.
The former Leicester Tigers and Newcastle Falcons tighthead has had a mixed spell at Franklin’s Gardens, but Wasps will be hoping that he can re-find the form that had people calling for him to be an England regular early in Eddie Jones’ tenure as head coach.
The 27-year-old has accrued 16 England caps so far in his career, as well as having represented Ireland at age-grade levels and the England Saxons, but the majority of those senior caps came under Stuart Lancaster, who was a noted fan of the prop.
His replacement at Northampton has already been announced, with incoming director of rugby Chris Boyd bringing in a player he knows well from his time in New Zealand, in the form of London Irish’s Ben Franks.
Franks will compete with Jamal Ford-Robinson and Paul Hill for the starting tighthead spot next season.
As for Wasps, they are losing Marty Moore this summer, with the Irishman moving back across the Irish Sea and joining Ulster. They will hope that Brookes can fill the void left by Moore and create a competitive position battle with Jake Cooper-Woolley for the starting jersey.
The deal should be announced shortly by Wasps, barring any late developments.
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Latest Comments
I didn't mean to sound down on Dmac. Just looking hard at the bench sub's role of providing impact. I don't think he can do that at 15, and the bench is not really about injury cover anymore (you need to maximise it's use more than that).
He's my first choice of any New Zealander for the 10 jersey with the All Blacks.
Go to commentsAgreed. And I don't have much more to say on it, but I had been having one thought that sprang to mind at the tail of this discussion, and that is that it's not all about Razor.
It's not about any coach being "right". I think a lot of selections can become defense and while it doesn't really apply here I really enjoyed that Andy Farrell just gave into the public demands and changed out his team for the change that had been asked for. Like why not? This is the countries team, keep them engaged. The whole reason i've only just finished watching the game was because I wasn't interested in watching any of the selected players against a team like Italy (still actually enjoyed the first half with the contest Italy made of it).
Faz leap frogs a younger half back into start. He hands the golden child the game over July's golden child. He gives an old winger a go, a new flanker and hooker. None of them really did any good, certainly not enough to suggest they should have been promoted above others, but who cares? You won, and you gave the country what they wanted, that's all that matters after all. It's for the country, not the one in charge who thinks they have to have their own pied piper tune playing.
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