My thoughts on some new signings for the 2020/2021 Premiership Part 1

Hello everyone. How are things? I wanted to start off by saying thank you for the lovely feedback I received regarding last weeks blog. It was a joy to interview Charlie and I’d like to think there’s a possibility in the future to interview other professional players as it was fascinating to get an insight into his life as a professional athlete.
It’s been a bit of a challenge to find something new to blog about this week because we’ve still not been given a date as to when rugby will resume. So, I came up with the idea to blog about some of the new signings that have been announced to join the Premiership next season. There haven’t been an awful lot of signings that have been made just yet but I’ve found four that I think will excite any rugby fan. These are just my own personal opinions so please take from it what you wish. There’s no right or wrong answer here!
Nemani Nadolo – Leicester Tigers (2 year contract)Nemani Nadolo is joining the Leicester Tigers from Top 14 team, Montpellier. Nadolo played for Montpellier for four years and scored an incredible 53 tries in just 68 games. He’s the heaviest back to play professional rugby and he’s got an incredible stature. He will be a nightmare for any player to have to tackle! His hand offs are sublime and his ability to defend the ball one handed is incredibly skillful. For a few seasons, I think the Leicester fans (me included) will admit we’d have liked to have seen the team score more tries. We’ve been lacking in that area for a while so I hope that the signing of Nemani will encourage this to happen.

Nick Isiekwe – Northampton Saints (year-long loan from Saracens)
On Thursday, it was announced that Nick Isiekwe is joining Northampton Saints on loan for the 2020-21 Premiership season after signing a new deal with Saracens until 2024. Nick is only 22 but has played 86 times for Saracens and is a staggering 6ft 7in. Isiekwe plays at Lock and can also cover the back-row if needed. He’ll be competing for a spot against the likes of Lewis Ludlam and Courtney Lawes at Northampton. He’s still so young but reads the game so well and has gained three caps already for England. I remember watching his debut for Sarries aged just 18 and his tackling was phenomenal. You wouldn’t have known he’d debuted that game, he came across as calm but confident. It’ll be very interesting to see how he gets on at Northampton and where they choose to play him.

Kyle Sinckler – Bristol Bears
Kyle currently plays for Harlequins but has signed for Bristol Bears for the 2020/2021 season. He plays at Tighthead prop and at only 27, has achieved so much in the game. He’ll be competing against John Afoa for the No 3 shirt when he arrives next season but I cannot wait to see the difference he’ll add to their team. John is now 35 and has signed for one more year so maybe it won’t be too long before Afoa retires? The pace Kyle has for a Tighthead is remarkable and I really rate him as a player. I think we can all agree that his try against the Aussies in the quarter final of the Rugby World Cup 2019 was something special. The smug look he gave when he dotted down was just brilliant. He’s nippy and always manages to find a whole in a defense to get through! Personally, I used to think he had quite a temper on him and would give away a lot of penalties when I watched him play for England but he’s calmed down and matured in the last couple of years. If the new Bristol signings can gel well with the old, they could be strong contenders for the title next season as they’ve got a hefty looking squad. 

Jonny May – Gloucester Rugby
I was absolutely gutted when I heard the news Jonny was leaving the Leicester Tigers. I really rate him and thought he added a lot to our back-line. He’ll be a huge loss to our squad but Nemani Nadolo is a pretty awesome replacement. Jonny is rejoining Gloucester where he swapped Kingsholm for Welford Road three years ago and has scored 30 tries in 44 appearances. The first time I recall watching him play was in the England game v New Zealand in 2014. He scored a stunning try within the first 5 minutes of the game and I was blown away. His ability to straighten up but still run with such speed was wonderful. I think he’ll fit straight back in easily at Gloucester and their back-line is going to look pretty tasty with the likes of him and Danny Cipriani playing together. 
Thank you for reading and hopefully you enjoyed it. I’ll be back next week with something very exciting but you’ll have to tune in to find out who my next guest is…
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Take care and bye for now, Elizabeth x