Bath eye All Blacks pivot
TRANSFER FOCUS: With Wales international Rhys Priestland heading for the exit door, Premiership club Bath have set their sights in All Black flyhalf.
According to Rugbypass, Bath had interested in signing Springbok Handre Pollard. However, with that idea looking less promising, the Premiership have now revealed that Aaron Cruden could be an ideal possibility.
Cruden (RPI 70) is currently the 15th ranked flyhalf in the Top 14 by the RugbyPass Index.
The club is on a major recruitment drive, raiding Premiership rivals for three players and signing another from local rivals Cornish Pirates – all four are English-qualified. Lewis Boyce, Christian Judge, Will Stuart and Mike Williams will join the Club ahead of the 2019/20 season.
Further fuelling the possible move is Montpellier’s billionaire owner Mohad Altrad recent interview where he expressed his disappointment with the club’s marquee signing Cruden.
In an interview with French rugby outlet RugbyRama, Altrad suggested Cruden has failed to deliver since arriving at Montpellier in 2017 on a lucrative three-year deal worth a reported $3.6 million.
“Our outside half, since he’s [Cruden] here, keeps hurting himself,” Altrad said. “This season he has been injured four times. It is difficult for him to be efficient. We hoped for something else.”
Cruden played just one of Montpellier’s six Champions Cup matches – where they failed to get out of the pool – and has only appeared in half of the side’s Top 14 fixtures – where they currently sit ninth.
30-year-old Cruden played 50 tests for the All Blacks between 2010 and 2017, spending time with the Hurricanes and Chiefs in Super Rugby.
Source: Rugbypass
Other related video content
RugbyPass has created a next generation rugby rating system, based on machine learning and shaped by game winning moments. The system (RPI) is a world first for its complexity and comprehensive embrace of northern and southern hemisphere players and teams. By using in-depth data analysis, RPI determines exactly what it takes to win, in real time. Explore the RPI now!
