London Irish boss Brian Smith has admitted that the club will struggle to hold onto Alex Corbisiero and Jonathan Joseph for next season.
Both England internationals are products of the Exiles academy, but with limited resources compared to their league rivals and currently in the midst of a relegation battle, the signs do not look promising.
Corbisiero has been touted as a replacement for Soane Tonga'uiha at Northampton, with Jonathan Joseph also linked with Bath.
"From the moment I set foot back in the club, I made it clear to those two boys that I wanted them to stay," Smith told the Daily Mail.
"But I've got to be honest, I don't think we're going to keep everyone at the club. I would like to, but the fact is that over the past few seasons, 10 or 12 big-name players have left the club. There are probably still a couple more to go.
"It is disappointing, but that is just a fact of life.
"There are other clubs with bigger cheque-books, there are other clubs who are very pro-active in tapping-up players, and I've absolutely no doubt that a number of our lads have been worked on since very early in the season.
"We have made very, very robust offers to those two guys. They have known from day one that I've wanted them to stay. I've peppered their agents with calls, but to be fair neither of them have led me up the garden path, they have made it clear that they are keen to play the field in January."
Comments
Jediboy says...
As a Saints fan I'd be more than happy to have Corbs at the club. We need to bolster our front row with Tiny and Mooj leaving.
I see how it's hard for Irish to lose talented players. No one wants to lose good players.
Posted 17:32 03rd January 2013
TVaddict says...
Well as a LI fan it's sad to see them go considering we've brought them through (like so many others i.e. Armitage brothers, Thompson, Kennedy, etc...). But as an England fan I think they'll develop better at other clubs.
Corbisiero is a great prop who'll fit in well at Northampton as long as they don't over play him.
I'm have preferred JJ moving to a top 4-6 club, but I rate Toby Booth very highly and I'm sure he'll help to continue to develop him well. When I was thinking about clubs he could join I really couldn't think of many that needed a 13. Leicester have Tuilagi, Northampton have Pisi (till he goes to France), Harlequins have Lowe, Gloucester have Trinder, Wasp have Daly. We're really blessed at 13 with young talent at the moment! I thought Saracens might be a good move as he'll get lots of top games, get rotated regularly, and play besides current England internationals like Barritt, Farrell and Goode. Another option, slightly out there, could be moving to Exeter. They look set to competing for top 6 for the next few years, they don't have many stars in their backline and I think he'd link with Arscott really well. They've recently got their share of those 'premiership bonds' so they should have money to spare.
Posted 13:57 03rd January 2013
APV1 says...
I'd love to see JJ at Bath, boulstering our squad.
Posted 09:57 03rd January 2013