SAINT HASKELL
Northampton move saves England ace’s World Cup dream
JAMES HASKELL will have the chance to resurrect his World Cup ambitions at Northampton, who are expected to confirm today that they have signed the veteran flanker for next season.
The 33- year- old was last week left out of the England squad to tour South Africa amid rising fears that he may never represent his country again.
He will be released by Wasps at the end of this season — after 12 years with the club in two stints — and late last month he still had no firm offers to stay in the Premiership.
RFU chief executive Steve Brown said there would be no special dispensation for a player who has won 77 England caps, which would have meant that a move abroad would end his Test career.
Now that scenario has been averted, as Sportsmail has learnt that Haskell has agreed terms with Northampton.
The destination of another of Wasps’ leading lights, Danny Cipriani, has also been decided. The fly-half, who was recalled to the England squad three years after his last Test appearance, has signed for Gloucester in a deal which was hastily finalised after his call-up by Eddie Jones.
The recall ended any prospect of a transfer to a club in France, despite lucrative offers. It is understood that four Premiership clubs expressed an interest in signing Cipriani last Thursday, the day the England squad was announced. He has opted for Gloucester because of the firepower in a developing squad.
However, Haskell’s predicament was the more acute. He has been highly valued by Jones during his two- and- a- half years as national coach, but his future was put in doubt by Wasps’ decision to let him go.
‘I always wanted to stay at Wasps but it wasn’t my choice,’ said Haskell, when it came to light that he was not to be offered a new deal.
‘However much you do for a club, they have to keep winning and they feel other people can [help them] do that. It is sad though. It is the end of an era.’
Weeks later, when there was no evident progress in the search for a new club, Haskell was asked if he would take a pay cut to stay in the Premiership and preserve his World Cup ambitions. He said: ‘Yes, 100 per cent.
‘You have to look at what is important to you; what your priorities are, and my priority is to try to be in this England squad going towards a World Cup in Japan. It would be a dream come true.’
He said another priority was to stay in the Premiership. ‘I’m fully aware that if I go outside of that, it’s game over.’
So, it is not game over after all. Instead, he joins his fourth club, having played for Stade Francais, Ricoh Black Rams in Japan and the Highlanders in New Zealand, as well as Wasps.
The Saints had a dire season but there is a sense that, having recruited Chris Boyd from the Hurricanes as director of rugby, they are already galvanised in the quest to emerge from their slump. Haskell will help that process, as a man on a mission.