6:00am Friday 5th February 2010
By Tom Guest
CAUTIOUS Mike Ruddock is refusing to shout the name of his new tighthead signing from the rooftops, but the smile on his face suggests he is delighted with the capture.
Worried about a repeat of the Tom Wood situation, when the Warriors chief all-but confirmed the young flanker would sign a new deal only for him to announce he was joining Northampton, Ruddock is keeping his cards close to his chest.
Veteran tightheads Tevita Taumoepeau and Olivier Sourgens are in the autumn of their careers and Jack Gilding is still young, so Ruddock has acted to secure new resources up front.
Both the Tongan and Frenchman are out of contract this summer and Ruddock suggested more than just one number three is likely to be signing for the Sixways club.
He said: “We’ve got a significant plan for that position. I’m in a difficult position because we have situations sometimes with players where we might be good to go, but they want to go back and tell their club first that they are going to sign elsewhere.
“Sometimes, even when they have signed, they don’t want to tell their club as they might not get picked for the rest of the season — it can become quite delicate.
“There is a plan we have activated and it is looking pretty successful in that particular area. I can’t tell you who those individuals are for some of those reasons, but it is an area we need to look at.
“I’m very confident you will see a good outcome there with a nice balance between older, experienced guys and really good, young prospects with big futures.
“It has gone further than just identifying them but we are still waiting for the green light to go to the next step.”
Although Worcester’s tighthead search appears to have borne fruit, another door seems to have slammed shut.
Warriors were in the market for scrum-half Ricky Januarie, who has recently completed a two-month loan spell with Ospreys, but Ruddock insists he won’t be recruiting the 40-cap South African.
He admitted: “I did enquire with Ricky’s agent about his availability before he joined Ospreys.
“We showed an interest and looked at what he did with the Ospreys — he played well for them — but, from what I gather, he’s got difficulties getting a work permit so, basically, that was the end of that conversation.”
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