Saracens snap up Fenton-Wells
8 Jun 2012
Stormers and WP loose forward Nick Fenton-Wells has agreed to join Saracens in July.
Fenton-Wells led the University of Cape Town to an inaugural Varsity Cup title in 2011 and was captain of the victorious Westerm Province side in this year’s Vodacom Cup. He made his debut for the Stormers last month.
Saracens, however, have confirmed that the loose forward will be joining the English club. This suggests that Fenton-Wells will play no further part in the Stormers’ 2012 campaign.
‘We have been following Nick’s progress for some time. He has the heart of a lion, and we are delighted he has decided to join us,’ said director of rugby Mark McCall.
While based in Watford, Saracens has a strong South African influence. A number of former Super Rugby players and Springboks have represented the club over the past decade.
Fenton-Wells feels that the move to Saracens is the right one for his career.
‘Everybody in SA rugby follows what is happening at Saracens, and I’m looking forward to joining a club that continues to break new ground in so many ways,’ he said. ‘I’m really excited to be joining such a special club and I’m very grateful for this opportunity.’
45 Comments
8 Jun 2012, 11:32 am
Should have started ahead of Jebb in the first instance.
Maybe then he would have stayed.
8 Jun 2012, 11:36 am
@willievz(willievz)-1: I reckon he’s chasing an international career with England. WP do have quite a few younger loosies at present and perhaps he also felt that he’s way down in the pecking order for his preferred position. Add to that the AC clown show and NFW reckons he stands a better chance in pastures anew.
I get a sense that younger players now feels a sense of entitlement and that they no longer need to tread the path of hard work and determination.
8 Jun 2012, 11:36 am
will probably end up playing for england if he does well enough in next few years at sarries.
8 Jun 2012, 11:41 am
Just saw that he is 26 this year, thought he was a bit younger. Not a big loss in my opinion.
8 Jun 2012, 11:43 am
Just thought about this…..Is there not a conflict of interest situation with brendan Venter being employed by SA rugby and acting as director of rugby for Sarries?
8 Jun 2012, 11:47 am
@pompies2(pompies2)-2: Could be right re England.
But considering that someone like Ruan Kitshoff played as an amateur without any contract for WP speaks volumes about how WP treat their young loose forwards and employing cheap labour. I am not surprised if Fenton-Wells was about to sail in the same ship as Kitshoff, and the whole Jebb-thing was just the cherry on the cake.
Having said that, WPRU’s financial woes are well known in the public domain.
8 Jun 2012, 11:48 am
He is a good solid player with quite some leadership abilities – nothing spectacular though – sort of like a Justin Melck with more skills.
In this era of “big is better” he is not going to get many opportunities in Ct – too small for a number 8 or 7 while the Stormers also do not use specialised fetchers.
Good move by him imo.
8 Jun 2012, 11:52 am
@willievz(willievz)-6:
holiha
jebb is on 300k for the month
no wonder the lads are pissed.
8 Jun 2012, 11:54 am
@willievz(willievz)-6: WP do have problems with their management of their professional arm. No doubt. I’m not to fussed about NFW leaving, because we have seen a few younger players coming through. If NFW wanted to play super and provincial rugby, he was good enough to do that, but I think he has bigger ambitions and the Bok jersety might just be outside of his reach. Any idea if he has a British passport? Surely with a surname like Fenton-Wells. Sounds almost like Tunbridge-Wells.
8 Jun 2012, 11:55 am
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-8: Seriaaas? that’s fook lotta moola.I don’t think this information is too well know. I’m surprised Mr Wakefield hasn’t made some noise about it.
8 Jun 2012, 12:01 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-10:
gunther is very connected.
NFW (no relation of (NSFW) is Mallets nephew.
I’d say there is a reasonable chance he carries Lizzies Coat of Arms in his travel wallet.
8 Jun 2012, 12:02 pm
Always a shame to lose players to overseas clubs, but good luck to him anyway. Stormers do have a lot of loosies at the moment though.
8 Jun 2012, 12:06 pm
@the artist formerly known as gunther(gunther)-11: I doth my hat to the proverbial……Gunthie is more connected than our Mr Mdluli.
Another potential rose in the garden. He’ll need to be pretty good to make it there. They”ve got a crop of very good loosies. In fact, he’ll almost be competing with the current english captain for a spot.
8 Jun 2012, 12:15 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-9:
Yes he has a British passport.
8 Jun 2012, 12:17 pm
Thanks AC for hunting down Jebb when Nick was here all along
8 Jun 2012, 12:18 pm
And the less about the rest of this the better.
8 Jun 2012, 12:18 pm
And the less about the rest of this the better.
8 Jun 2012, 12:18 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-13:
I wouldn’t go that far
NFW is a solid player but I’m not sure he is international quality.
8 Jun 2012, 12:20 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-16:
Keo irony…
How the ‘less said’ comment ended up getting posted twice.
8 Jun 2012, 12:50 pm
Good luck to Fenton-Wells…
Good guy apparently and a good player… but with the loose-forward players we have in Cape Town he is unlikely to get much game town barring instances like now when a whole bunch of guys are injured. Which is unlikely to happen too often.
So an understandable decision on his part and no ‘dropping the ball’ on the union’s part either…
8 Jun 2012, 12:51 pm
Sarries is pretty much the Career Junction for Saffa rugby players with higher UK ambitions. And I reckon Jake will turn the Brumbies into a similar Aussie stepping stone.
8 Jun 2012, 12:54 pm
Does anyone have updates on Schalk, Duane and Nick…?
8 Jun 2012, 12:56 pm
@ufo(ufo)-22:
Ready for return leg of SR
8 Jun 2012, 13:01 pm
@ufo(ufo)-22:
no,
they did not make the springbok team.
8 Jun 2012, 13:02 pm
Maybe the guy just thinks his development will be better over there than here in RSA? Look at the current locks playing in this current Test match. Kruger and (obviously) Botha played over there. Nobody said Sarel wants to play for Australia but lauded his move. It makes sense that you go where your game will develop better and you’ll be noticed.
8 Jun 2012, 13:03 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-24:
8 Jun 2012, 13:07 pm
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-24:
8 Jun 2012, 13:56 pm
Haha bakkies jou hond.
That’s not going to go down well.
Many of our brokback chums have just come off their lithium meds.
8 Jun 2012, 14:02 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-9:
His mom is nick mallet’s sister.
i think he is well down the pecking order once everyone is fit, BUT he should really have stuck around to the end of this season..who knows he could have ended up in a S15 final.
It really looks like wp/stormers are becoming a merry go round for loosies.
flo, pieter louw, robbie diack, justin melck, schalk britz(#2), luke watson.
all guys that could be here now but left when they were in the team.
8 Jun 2012, 14:20 pm
Rugby is a career,and at 26 he’s decided the only chance of an international future is in the U.K. Vodacom Cup rugby in S.A. is not too attractive.
Also the plethora of loose forwards,when fit, in Capetown means there’s little chance of making the team.
I bet the money in the U.K. is better, too. I’m sure Mallett has told him the opportunities are better there. Also he’s an old Bishops boy and can see how well Vickerman, for example, has done in Australia.
The Malletts have a strong English connection. This guy’s grandfather was an MCC cricketer before going to Rhodesia and then Cape Town to be a headmaster.
He talked like an Englishman too, unlike his son.
8 Jun 2012, 14:22 pm
Not a big loss. WP / Stormers does not have the money to hang on to every player coming through the ranks. WP’s money should be applied wisely to retain the best talent. Not saying NFW is not a capable player, but he has hardly set the world alight. Not in the same league as Kolisi, Carr, Etzebeth, Elstadt, Quinn Roux and a few others
8 Jun 2012, 14:43 pm
is NFW a super rugby quality No.8? NO. Is NFW a line out option? NO. Does NFW have international experience? NO. Why the hell does anyone even think he was competing with Jebb Sinclair? What kind of a loose trio is 8. NFW 7. Elstadt and 6. Kolisi… stupid argument.
All the best Nick.
8 Jun 2012, 15:02 pm
@Robzim(Robzim)-7:
Wow. Talk about reinforcing my point from the previous blog about Barritt and Botha being 3rd rate!
Another 3rd rate player who would never be a bok in SA yet hoping to ‘make it’ in Pommie land and play international rugby!!
Nothing personal, and good luck to him. He will never be good enough to be a bok.
GO ENGLAND!
8 Jun 2012, 15:34 pm
Does this mean we get Francois Louw back ?
8 Jun 2012, 15:35 pm
@sparticus(sparticus)-34: Wait cancel that , he plays for Bath
8 Jun 2012, 15:59 pm
33 @ Analyst
Jebb might have the height but he can’t jump (how many dropped balls have led to tries for the opposition), he might have bulk but he can’t tackle or be used as a basher……………….in short he’s plain rubbish. NFW with all his deficiencies would have been a better bet by far!
8 Jun 2012, 16:02 pm
@scrumfan(scrumfan)-32:
Funny if he turns up in S.A. with England or the Lions. A rugby player’s time is short,and he has to make the best of his opportunities.
@The Analyst(The Analyst)-33:
’3rd rate’ is unfair. He is a good player.
8 Jun 2012, 17:05 pm
@Pee Wee(Pee Wee)-36: Sinclair not super rugby standard at 8. struggles at back of scrum. no explosive power in contact area, in either defense or attack. A vanilla player would who was overhyped. A waste of money considering the players available in CT. I’m inclined to think the coaches at WP and the stormers didn’t want to take players from the VC because it was their chance at silverware, but the picture was lost.
8 Jun 2012, 17:14 pm
@The Analyst(The Analyst)-33:
How does this reinforce your point?
The argument yesterday was about you calling 2 specific players who have made the England side (Botha and Barritt )3rd rate. The fact that Fenton – Jones has decided to go and play rugby in England cannot be used to reinforce that argument as there is no guarantee that he will make the England team. In fact the difference between him and the current England flankers ( Croft, Robshaw for example ) is at the moment more than between him and Marcel Coetzee/Kolisi etc. So, in order to make the England side he will have to improve at least just as much as he will have to improve to make the Bok side.
I will not call him third rate though, he is a good solid player that won’t let a team down but imo he just does not have that extra bit that is required to make it to the top level (either for SA or England).
8 Jun 2012, 17:22 pm
@Pee Wee(Pee Wee)-36:
@pompies2(pompies2)-38:
I think it worked out well under the circumstances-he is no great player but certainly not that bad either- he struggled against the Sharks but most number 8′s would have struggled on that day.
Against the Bulls it worked out fairly well- AC deserves credit for picking two loose forwards on the bench and for bringing them on just at the right time.
At the end of the day we won 3 out of the 4 that Sinclair played and the Vodacom cup- so I guess the “suits” at newlands will be fairly happy with the experiment
8 Jun 2012, 18:24 pm
@PissAnt(PissAnt)-23:
Thanks PA…
@houston, we have a problem…(i_love_u_bakkiesbotha)-24:
Thanks… Not…
Says he looking at the Log… Enjoy the Boks… It’s all you’re gonna get this year…!!
8 Jun 2012, 20:37 pm
@pompies2(pompies2)-38:
Agree-VC all important to them at the time. Sinclair not quite good enough.
9 Jun 2012, 00:32 am
@ The Analyst-
I have read a s@@t load of postings on this site over the last few years,regarding a player who when he signed to go and play overseas, was called less than 3rd rate, and deemed not good enough to play Vodacom rugby,never the boks. due to the depth of players in his position.
Congratulations and good luck on your Springbok debut former ****,5th grade, not good enough for vodacom, Bulls lock.JUANDRE KURGER !!!
9 Jun 2012, 08:15 am
Can’t imagine the guys here know their rugby better than CT based Branden Venter and Nick Mallett?
If NFW was offered a contract at Saracen, one should assume he was vetted by Messrs Mallett and Venter and made the grade, pretty much for the factual portion.
Let’s look at those who left the Stormers last 5 seasons: JvN, Watson, Diac, Melk, F, Louw, P. Louw and Ruan Kittshoff all Super Rugby rated loose forwards. From those who stayed SB, Vermeulen, Carr and Koster are all Injured List perennials who nevertheless drawing their wages!
9 Jun 2012, 08:20 am
@papashanga(papashanga)-42:
They keep winning their Super rugby games nonetheless!
Admittedly, half of these victories obtained by fraudulent SA referees, but the other half they won fair and square!
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