Worcester promise 'star quality players' - reports

With Worcester Warriors sitting 11^th in the Gallagher Premiership table and just four points off bottom-placed club Newcastle Falcons, there is a fair amount of uncertainty about their Premiership status for the 2019/20 season.

That will always make recruitment more difficult and, as of yet, there have been no confirmed signings for the club going into next season.

The side from the West Midlands have managed to tie down Chris Pennell, Duncan Weir, Perry Humphreys, Jamie Shillcock and Farai Mudariki to new deals at Sixways, however, and the quiet on the recruitment front could be about to end.

According to Worcester News, the club’s matchday programme against Stade Français this past weekend had a message from co-owner Colin Goldring in it, in which the club director stated that a “number of star quality players” are set to join the club.

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His comment in full was that “Solly [Alan Solomons] has been working intensively over the last few months to retain our existing talented players as well as strengthening the squad further with the recruitment of a number of star quality players who we will be announcing in the near future.”

Rumours on who Worcester have been looking at have thus far been very quiet, with players and agents not keen to commit to deals whilst the club remains locked in a relegation battle.

Connacht tighthead Conor Carey is one name that has been linked with Worcester, with the English-born forward having represented Ireland at U20 level, but the lack of a senior cap would mean that he is still English-qualified, something which would add value to his signature for the Premiership club.

Carey aside, the news has been more about the players set to depart Sixways next season, with hooker Jack Singleton likely to return to his boyhood club Saracens and England centre Ben Te’o looking at his post-Rugby World Cup options in France and Japan.

The club have managed to retain three of their key academy youngsters, however, with Ollie Lawrence and Will Butler both signing two-year contracts at the club and England international Ted Hill committing to a one-year deal through to the end of the 2019/20 season.

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