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Northampton statement: David Ribbans' exit to Top 14 is confirmed

(Photo by Alex Davidson/The RFU Collection via Getty Images)

Northampton have confirmed that England lock David Ribbans will quit at the end of the current season for a move to the Top 14. The second row, who has been at Franklin’s Gardens since the 2016/17 season, has reportedly accepted a three-year deal to join Toulon, a decision that will bring to an end his England Test career after the end of the Rugby World Cup later this year.

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A statement read: “Northampton Saints can confirm that David Ribbans will depart the club at the end of the 2022/23 season. The 27-year-old lock has pulled on the Black, Green and Gold jersey 115 times to date, starting 98 matches for Northampton and scoring 17 tries so far.

“Ribbans made the switch to Saints from South African outfit Western Province in January 2017 and helped Northampton reach the semi-finals of the Gallagher Premiership and win the Premiership Rugby Cup in former director of rugby Chris Boyd’s first season at the helm.

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“He kicked on in 2019/20 when he was named players’ player of the season by his Saints peers, and made it a double success the following campaign, as he claimed both the players’ player and supporters’ player of the season gongs.

“He reached a significant milestone while helping Saints reach the Premiership semi-finals once more in the 2021/22 season, making his 100th appearance for the club against Wasps during which he won the man-of-the-match award.

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“After several inclusions in England training squads, international honours finally followed for Ribbans last November when he earned three caps in the autumn internationals against Japan, New Zealand and South Africa.”

Northampton director of rugby Phil Dowson said: “As a coaching group, we are very proud of the progress Dave has made during his time at Saints. He arrived in Northampton as a 21-year-old without many Super Rugby appearances to his name. He will leave as a fully-fledged England international and a proven performer in the Gallagher Premiership, one of the most attritional and competitive leagues in the world.

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“You always want to create an environment for players where they can work hard, thrive, win matches and be successful on the international stage. Sometimes, that means players become attractive propositions for other clubs.

“Dave leaves to pursue a playing opportunity in France next season. It’s disappointing to lose a player of his calibre and we were surprised Dave wanted to leave the club at this time. But he is a professional and will be putting all his efforts into his final months in Northampton to ensure the team is as successful as possible. We will wish him well after that.”

Ribbans added: “I love playing for Saints and living in Northamptonshire, so this was not an easy decision for me to make. I’m extremely grateful to the club’s supporters for embracing me as they have in my time here, and to the coaches and support staff for everything they have done to improve me as a player.

“I’ll be sad to leave some great friends and teammates, but I’ll be giving everything I’ve got to make sure we finish the season as strongly as possible.”

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J
JW 2 minutes ago
‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

Generally disagree with what? The possibility that they would get whitewashed, or the idea they shouldn't gain access until they're good enough?


I think the first is a fairly irrelevant view, decide on the second and then worry about the first. Personally I'd have had them in a third lvl comp with all the bottom dwellers of the leagues. I liked the idea of those league clubs resting their best players, and so being able to lift their standards in the league, though, so not against the idea that T2 sides go straight into Challenge Cup, but that will be a higher level with smaller comps and I think a bit too much for them (not having followed any of their games/performances mind you).

Because I don't think that having the possibility of a team finishing outside the quarter finals to qualify automatically will be a good idea. I'd rather have a team finishing 5th in their domestic league.

fl's idea, if I can speak for him to speed things up, was for it to be semifinalists first, Champions Cup (any that somehow didn't make a league semi), then Challenge's semi finalists (which would most certainly have been outside their league semi's you'd think), then perhaps the quarter finalists of each in the same manner. I don't think he was suggesting whoever next performed best in Europe but didn't make those knockouts (like those round of 16 losers), I doubt that would ever happen.


The problem I mainly saw with his idea (much the same as you see, that league finish is a better indicator) is that you could have one of the best candidates lose in the quarters to the eventual champions, and so miss out for someone who got an easier ride, and also finished lower in the league, perhaps in their own league, and who you beat everytime.

42 Go to comments
J
JW 21 minutes ago
‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

Well I was mainly referring to my thinking about the split, which was essentially each /3 rounded up, but reliant on WCs to add buffer.


You may have been going for just a 16 team league ranking cup?


But yes, those were just ideas for how to select WCs, all very arbitrary but I think more interesting in ways than just going down a list (say like fl's) of who is next in line. Indeed in my reply to you I hinted at say the 'URC' WC spot actually being given to the Ireland pool and taken away from the Welsh pool.


It's easy to think that is excluding, and making it even harder on, a poor performing country, but this is all in context of a 18 or 20 team comp where URC (at least to those teams in the URC) got 6 places, which Wales has one side lingering around, and you'd expect should make. Imagine the spice in that 6N game with Italy, or any other of the URC members though! Everyone talks about SA joining the 6N, so not sure it will be a problem, but it would be a fairly minor one imo.


But that's a structure of the leagues were instead of thinking how to get in at the top, I started from the bottom and thought that it best those teams doing qualify for anything. Then I thought the two comps should be identical in structure. So that's were an even split comes in with creating numbers, and the 'UEFA' model you suggest using in some manner, I thought could be used for the WC's (5 in my 20 team comp) instead of those ideas of mine you pointed out.


I see Jones has waded in like his normal self when it comes to SH teams. One thing I really like about his idea is the name change to the two competitions, to Cup and Shield. Oh, and home and away matches.

42 Go to comments
f
fl 1 hour ago
‘The problem with this year’s Champions Cup? Too many English clubs’

"Yes I was the one who suggested to use a UEFA style point. And I guessed, that based on the last 5 years we should start with 6 top14, 6 URC and 4 Prem."

Yes I am aware that you suggested it, but you then went on to say that we should initially start with a balance that clearly wasn't derived from that system. I'm not a mind reader, so how was I to work out that you'd arrived at that balance by dint of completely having failed to remember the history of the competition.


"Again, I was the one suggesting that, but you didn't like the outcome of that."

I have no issues with the outcome of that, I had an issue with a completely random allocation of teams that you plucked out of thin air.

Interestingly its you who now seem to be renouncing the UEFA style points system, because you don't like the outcome of reducing URC representation.


"4 teams for Top14, URC and Prem, 3 teams for other leagues and the last winner, what do you think?"

What about 4 each + 4 to the best performing teams in last years competition not to have otherwise qualified? Or what about a UEFA style system where places are allocated to leagues on the basis of their performance in previous years' competitions?

There's no point including Black Lion if they're just going to get whitewashed every year, which I think would be a possibility. At most I'd support 1 team from the Rugby Europe Super Cup, or the Russian Championship being included. Maybe the best placed non-Israeli team and the Russian winners could play off every year for the spot? But honestly I think its best if they stay limited to the Challenge Cup for now.

42 Go to comments
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