Obviously we were misinformed yesterday when we stated that there will be no announcement of signings until Ulster’s participation in next years Heineken Cup was assured… Or were we?
Six hours later The Belfast Telegraph are announcing a Gavin “Scoop” Mairs exclusive trumpeting the signing of Botha, Schifcofske, Diack and O’Donoghue.
So are they real or has Gavin panicked over the speculation on the web and decided to put forward his best guesses?
As he says in his piece,
The signings, confirmed by sources in both South Africa and Australia, are part of Ulster coach Matt Williams’ move to put his stamp on the squad for next season and fill the holes left by the departing Tommy Bowe, Neil Best, Roger Wilson, Justin Harrison and Neil McMillan as well as the retirements of Simon Best and David Humphreys.
Botha is the marquee name of the four, widely regarded as one of the best scrummagers in the game and a World Cup winner.
But Schifcokske, a former rugby league star with Canberra Raiders and the Queensland State of Origin team, is also regarded as a dangerous goal-kicking and hard running full-back.
Diack is earmarked as a player of rich potential and standing at 6ft 6ins will bring a massive physical presence to the back row while the Irish-qualified O’Donoghue is a regular squad player for the Reds. All the contracts are believed to be two-year deals.
However he continues,
The Ulster coach however is still in the hunt for a top class wing, a scrum-half and possibly a back five player.
So it appears, with the exception of Botha, that Williams has decided to fill the team up with, above average, journeymen in a bid to consolidate Ulster’s position during the international call ups. Not a bad idea, but will it be enough to turn Ulster around?
Our thoughts are no, so expect the signing of that top class wing and that big name back five player after the Glasgow game. Provided Heineken Cup qualification is assured of course!
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