South African scrum half Ricky Januarie is to join the Ospreys on a short-term two week loan. It is in an effort to give him some game time, say Western Province, and find some form. This is all from this article here. Further checking shows it is likely to be end of December/start of January.
From the Ospreys perspective this is an interesting loan signing. There is a need for cover as first choice Mike Phillips is out injured for a while yet, Nutbrown also has some time before being back from injury and Tom Isaacs, signed from the Dragons in the summer, is out for the season. It has left new signing Liam Davies as the only real option at 9, and he seems out of favour with the Ospreys management.
So in signing an experienced international scrum half (and Ricky Januarie is certainly that) for a couple of stern tests the Ospreys have made a useful addition to their squad. It will provide a bit of much needed experience and skill to the base of the breakdown, something that has been missing since Mike Phillips got injured.
Some will, no doubt, complain it is a slap in the face of young Welsh 9′s but frankly Wells and Webb had their chance last season (and with Webb also injured) and were poor. Isaacs has promise but can’t play so this only displaces Liam Davies for a couple of weeks – hardly hindering Welsh 9 growth in my opinion.
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