Trio of signings for Quins

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

http://www.union.quins.co.uk/news/11447.php

Harlequins are delighted to announce the signings of Ollie Smith, Joe Gray and Benjamin Urdapilleta, who will bring an exciting mixture of talent and experience to the London Club.

Former Leicester and Montpellier outside centre, Ollie Smith, will bring a wealth of experience to Quins. At only 27 years of age he has already achieved Heineken Cup and Guinness Premiership winners' medals as well as playing for England and the British and Irish Lions on the 2005 New Zealand tour.

“I am really looking forward to coming back to England and joining such a prestigious club, and one which has so much history. It boasts an exciting and young group of English players, some of whom I have been lucky enough to have played with during my time in the Saxons and the Churchill Cup. Quins is a team which is going in the right direction and I want to be a part of it.


“I will be joining Quins a year before the World Cup, and I am not afraid to say that one of the reasons I have returned to England is so I can push for a position in next year’s World Cup squad, and I believe Quins, with the players and coaching structure that they have in place, will allow me to achieve that aspiration.â€


Northampton Saints’ Joe Gray, another English signing, is regarded as one of the brightest young prospects in the country. The former England Under 20 hooker, who was part of the England Grand Slam winning side in 2007/08, made his first team debut for the Saints at the beginning of the 2007/08 season in Division 1, and has since made appearances in both the Guinness Premiership and Anglo Welsh Cup.


The third signing is Argentinian Benjamin Urdapilleta. The talented 24 year old, who can play both at fly-half and centre, was capped by the Pumas in the Autumn Internationals, and was one of the stars of last year’s Churchill Cup. He is currently playing for Pampas 15 in the Voda Cup in South Africa but will, along with Smith and Gray, join Quins for pre-season training.


Harlequins Director of Rugby, Conor O’Shea, said:


“These three are the sort of players we want at Quins. At only 27, Ollie Smith will bring a huge amount to the club, both as a person and as a player.


“I am also excited to be adding the talents of both Benjamin and Joe, both of whom I expect to flourish within this environment.

Three good signings for Quins who lack a bit of talent at the moment. I've been very impressed by Urdapilleta whenever I've seen him play in the Churchill Cup.

They still need a tight head and a second row before they can contend for the Premiership in my opinion.

 

[Feicarsinn]

Had completely forgotten about Smith, always thought him to be a fairly handy operator.

 

[Daylightfire]

Pretty happy with the signings,,Adding more competition for Tiesi and co is always good.

 

[iWin]

Good, I suppose. Smith's signing only adds weight to the rumours that Tiesi is going, which I'm not happy about, but even so, it's good to see Lowe will have competition even if Tiesi leaves.
Urdapilleta should be good too, because I don't like our other options at 12 when Turner Hall is out.
Gray might be what our sub-standard front row needs, but we'll have to see him in action first...

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I've read on Leinsterfans that Quins may be adding Dave Moore, a scrum half from the Leinster academy, to their ranks. I've no idea if there's any truth to it. He's a decent player with an excellent pass but the knock on him seems to be that he's inconsistent.

Do Quins need a scrum half?

 

[iWin]

Possibly, but certainly not as 1st choice, with Care being with them and all.
Also in the squad are Karl Dickson, Steve So'oialo and Gareth Williams, but I don't know who's out of contract this season etc.