Gary Gold picks his ten top Premiership imports
Jon Newcombe discovers the overseas stars who have impressed Gary Gold most in the Premiership
Being a World Cupwinning hero is no guarantee of success in the Premiership – just ask Bath fans their opinion of Stephen Donald – but, by and large, overseas players have made a huge contribution to the English Premiership in the two decades of its existence.
Few people are better qualified to assess which imports have had the most impact over that time than South African Gary Gold, whose involvement in the competition first started at London Irish in 2001 and has since taken in spells at Bath, Newcastle and now Worcester where he is director of rugby.
While the absence of the likes of Jacques Burger or Va’aiga Tuigamala may raise some eyebrows, Gary has come up with a multi-talented top 10 that made an indelible mark on English club rugby’s marquee competition.
1) Nick Evans (Harlequins 2008-17)
Harlequins’ all-time record point scorer with 2,249 points from 208 senior appearances who guided them to their one and only Premiership title. The way Conor O’Shea wanted his side to play suited him perfectly. An outstanding playmaker and goalkicker. What more needs to be said about him? Purely on numbers alone, he is right up there at
the top.
2) Matthew Burke (Newcastle 2004-07)
Playing against Newcastle was formidable when you had the likes of Matthew Burke, Jonny Wilkinson, Jamie Noon and Tom May in the same back line. He was an unbelievable professional who came over to England for the right reasons, not just for the cash. He made a great impact in his time with the Falcons and very rarely made a mistake at full-back.
3) Bruce Reihana (Northampton 2002-11)
I’ve gone for Bruce because of his longevity of service and the impact he made at the Saints on and off the field. I just thought he came here with a real zest for life and became a fans’ favourite in his nine seasons with the club. Saints had some ups and downs while he was there, but he was always one man they could rely on. 4) David Wilson (Harlequins 2000-01) Won everything there was to win with Australia before heading to London to join Quins in the summer of 2000. I once had a conversation with Mark Evans and he reckoned that Wilson was one of the best signings the club had ever made. A world-class openside who did a great job for Harlequins before a serious knee injury cut short his stay and his career.
5) Neil de Kock (Saracens 2008-17)
From humble beginnings, Neil has been the backbone behind Sarries’ rise to the top of the European game. His professionalism and leadership are undoubtedly two of the reasons why Sarries were able to turn their fortunes around, while the consistency and accuracy he has shown in all aspects of his game have definitely been key to the way Sarries have played. It's no coincidence that all other nines at the club have come from the same mould as him.
6) Jimmy Gopperth (Newcastle 2009-12, Wasps 2015-17)
An outstanding individual who I had the pleasure of coaching during my brief time with Newcastle. He kept Newcastle up for a number of seasons through his goal-kicking and is now a huge influence in the Wasps backline. Won last season’s Premiership Player of the Year and Golden Boot awards.
7) Marcos Ayerza (Leicester 2006-17)
At one stage, he was probably the best loosehead in the world. So much of Leicester’s strength at scrum-time revolved around him. Played nearly 250 Premiership games in 11 years with the Tigers, winning four League titles. If I had to pick one other prop, it would be Gary Pagel. As soon as Ian McGeechan saw him play on the ’97 Lions tour, he rang up Saints to tell them to sign him.
8) Jarrod Cunningham (London Irish 1998-2001)
A player close to my heart. When Jarrod came to the Premiership from Wellington there was talk around at the time that if Christian Cullen hadn’t been on the scene, Jarrod might have been the player that wore the No.15 jersey for the All Blacks. He could play in a number of different positions and was obviously a worldclass goalkicker who won the Golden Boot in 1999/2000. Sadly, he was taken away from us too soon because of motor neurone disease.
9) Andrew Blowers (Northampton 2000-2005, Bristol 2007-08)
An unbelievably hard grafter who perhaps slipped under the radar a bit, but I remember him being the heartbeat of that Northampton team when we played them in the 2002 Powergen Cup final. He was a formidable presence in the Northampton back-row alongside Budge Pountney and I’d put him in the same category as someone like Jerome Kaino. Quite a quiet chap who did a lot of his talking on the field.
10) Francois Louw (Bath 2011-17)
One of the best opensides in the world let alone in the Premiership. While Bath have not enjoyed the success they have strived for during his time at the club, Louw has been a standout player for them, causing the opposition many headaches at both the breakdown and in the loose. He is what I call a new-age openside, and much like Richie McCaw, he is not only a great defender and hard over the ball but is also a brilliant ball carrier with a fantastic skill set. He is also a superb leader.