He was spotted, he could hardly fit in the. Ace taxi that came to pick him up. He is a big unit.

Says in the express that we are close to signing Hicky but the express has never been the most accurate local paper at reporting things about the club.

Abso-bloody-lutely!!!!

we need a scrum half.

scrum half + sell scrum half + dont buy scrum half = NO SCRUM HALF

its not rocket science

i agree a scrum half is needed, but alas i fear that we have signed our scrum half in smith..... and the club is looking to bolster the pack.....

obst will play 7 simple as

Not just you, we need a scrum half for sure.

I have it on good authority that Smith is our scrum half; the bloke in the shop told me.

There won't be anymore halfbacks arriving, which is a shame saying we don't have a decent one between them. Forwards are the priority for the pittance of cash we've got left.

ANOTHER FULLBACK OR A WINGER THEN?

I think I am leaning towards the the prop forward camp, the more I think about it halves can wait for me. As good as Broughey was at times I actually thought we looked a far better side when we had the go forward of Tronc early on in the season. Looking through the squad who is going to give us that trundle forward that Tronc (albeit limited time) or Adam Watene did they year before or Richard Moore did they year before that?

I reckon if we are onthe front foot then Jeffries should be good enough coupled with maybe Smith.

Shame but we seem to have done the same trick as the last 2 years and got too many hooker-ish type players. Smith, Obst, Tony, Rinaldi etc, but I reckon it matters not if we dont get the go forward.

Edit: Forgot about Tommy Lee too. Surely buying an out and out 7 will make the signings of Rinaldi, Smith, Lee & Tony (to an extent) look a bit strange and leave us incredingly unbalanced? Unless he is an import and Jeffries is on his way out?

Rinaldi at 7 anyone?
Old head, a full pre season, who knows??

You've got to assume it's either a Prop or SH. Personally i believe we're weak in both positions and to a certain extent it's about damage limitation. I'm worried about our kicking game more so, and for that reason i'd hope it's a SH.

I think we need a scrum half more. But didn't Tommy Lee start out at there? He'd be my pick over Smith.

Strange recruitment decisions again. Lets load up with full backs and hookers but be short of props and a controlling scrum half.

We saw how badly we struggled last year with a lack of a controlling scrum half and lost some go forward after tronc left, but at present have done nothing about it.

Oh and don't forget it refers to others possibly leaving as well - which could weaken us further or nullify the impact of any new signing(s).

I appreciate we don't have bundles of cash, but to me that makes it all the more important to ensure you have the key positions sorted out first.

As I said on the Paul Johnson thread I don't have a lot of time for the guy and what he said, but the comments about the coaching staff seem to have a ring of truth about them to me.

It is always difficult to judge a work in progress. I think the above comments are valid - as we stand today, but I suspect at least part of that issue will be dealt with before we start next season!