Having once played in the same team as Wallaby legend George Smith and two-time World Cup-winning Springbok, Willie le Roux, Christian Wade was used to rubbing shoulders with some of the stars of the world game during his time at Wasps. And at Gloucester now, he can count Pumas playmaker Santiago Carreras as a teammate.
However, a tightening of the financial belt, necessitated by the repayment of government loans and mountains of debt, has made such marquee signings less frequent, with clubs turning to homegrown talent instead.
Winger Christian Wade made this observation in the latest episode of the BBC’s Rugby Union Weekly podcast, having been invited onto the show to talk about his impending cross-code move to Wigan Warriors RL.
Rugby league will become Wade’s third professional sport after his two stints in rugby union – at Wasps and Racing 92, and then Gloucester, after his attempt to crack American Football ended in him coming home without making an appearance in the NFL.
All told, he spent seven years away from the Premiership, and the lack of high-profile players from overseas, he says, is one of the few changes that he has noticed.
“I don’t think there’s too much of a difference, which I don’t know is a good or a bad thing. Because being away [from the Premiership] for seven years, you would like to see the game progress on a bit more,” he said.
“It seems as though there are fewer international stars, for one. When I was at Wasps, we had a lot of people from different parts of the world.
“A lot of young guys were coming through, and as you can see now, they’re spread around the league. But it’s a good thing as well to see some homegrown talent and rugby being played.
“I would have liked to have seen the game progress a lot more in the span of almost a decade.”
Wade has scored 89 Premiership tries, including seven this season, making him the fourth highest try-scorer in the competition’s history. However, Gloucester decided not to renew his contract, which prompted him to look elsewhere.
“I think there are quite a few people in my position with my sort of age and experience where, unless you’ve been at a club your whole career, there are some difficulties around extending contracts and stuff like that,” the 33-year-old said.
“Since Covid, the salary cap has been lowered, but also [finances] in general. I think that’s why you see people exploring opportunities outside the Premiership.”
