They'res not many I can recall making a big impression is RU after a League career, few go on to represent their (or our) country. Fewer still make a mark, and thinking back I can only think of Billy Whizz making any form of status. Jason was not a league player or a union player, he was something a little bit different, is Joel different? NO, is Sam different,? YES. So Joel go for the money and good luck, but I dont expect you to make a big dent in the Union hall of fame, the same as you may have done in League. Will League be poorer off? Yes, in the short term, but we can find another Joel. What we cant find is another Sam.

The trouble is that if Joel's defection goes through without Union being made to pay through the nose for it, then Sam's defection will be that much closer.



I see nothing to celebrate whatsoever in the 'resolution of his problem'.

Id rather develope one of the kids than Goulding.



Mr Average.

As a second row Joels top quality so it's a blow but not as much of a blow as it pushing Sam that bit closer to Union as well is.



Hopefully we can keep Sam for another couple of seasons and in that time Joel will have a nightmare putting Sam off the idea and possibly even coming back himself.



As for a centre replacement it must be Charnley IMO if were looking inside the club. He's big, powerful, fast and has decent hands. He will need help defensively but with guys like Hansen around him and an experienced head like Roberts possibly outside him he should get that.

IL will no doubt have done a good job to squeeze as much cash out of Sarries as possible. If he gets £200k he'll have done very well, any more than that and he will have done a fantastic job of playing a weak hand.



The fact is that because Wigan were apparently only paying Tomkins less than £100k per year we would never be able to argue in court that they had suffered a great loss if he left (following which of course we would not be paying his salary, which we could use to hire a replacement). RL players are relatively cheap to hire because of the SC so any suggestion we might get say £500k (as people have suggested on this board) is very wide of the mark (unless Sarries are so flush with cash they are prepared to pay way over the odds to get their man quickly, which I suppose is just about possible given the amount of money in RU).

Agreed.

It's a strange signing on the face of it.



Despite being champions, Saracens could only muster 6,000 fans for their home game yesterday and are reportedly losing nearly £3 million per annum!



Why do the feel the need to risk a further £250k transfer and almost £200k per year salary on a 'project' who won't add a single fan to the gate?



A sprat to catch a mackerel perhaps?

Well said

Are they paying, or is the money coming from somewhere else?



I freely admit that I don't understand how RU's magical finances seem to operate, but Stevo implied in a recent TV interview - I think he was referring to Kyle Eastmond - that England RU always seem to be in the background somewhere, offering inducements, either in the form of guarantees that the player concerned will get international selection or maybe underwriting the deal.



I certainly see nothing at Saracens to attract a player like Joel. They're a small, unimpressive set-up, they get half the crowds we get (if they're lucky), and they are heavily in debt. I don't even think the presence of Andy Farrell would be much of an attraction on its own, as Faz comes from a different generation from Joel and never proved himself a coach in RL (and after Michael Maguire, I'd imagine, will look pretty ordinary).



If I'm wrong someone explain it to me, but we hear constantly how the top RU clubs are struggling to pay their bills and yet they never seem to have a problem offering the sorts of salaries that tempt our best players to immediately tear up their existing contracts and throw away their lives in RL.

It's even on Wikipedia now banging on about Joel agreeing a 400k a year deal with Scaracens with a 325k release fee. Where on earth do they get this from?!!

Quote Stevo's bald dome="Stevo's bald dome"It's even on Wikipedia now banging on about Joel agreeing a 400k a year deal with Scaracens with a 325k release fee. Where on earth do they get this from?!!'" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Tomkins

Quote Stevo's bald dome="Stevo's bald dome"It's even on Wikipedia now banging on about Joel agreeing a 400k a year deal with Scaracens with a 325k release fee. Where on earth do they get this from?!!'" en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joel_Tomkins

Just about anyone can access Wikipedia and make an entry. It is notoriously unreliable. £400,000 would be almost 10% of Sarries Salary Cap, and they have a squad of over 40 players. They currently have a South African owner who is bankrolling the club. Their pack yesterday had 7 South Africans in it.