EXCLUSIVE: Welsh exodus goes on as Hibbard and Priestland head to Premiership with Gloucester and Wasps deals



Lions hooker Richard Hibbard will join Gloucester in the summer, to lead a fresh exodus of Wales players heading across the border, as well as across the Channel.

Despite the threat of being excluded from European competition next season and perhaps beyond, English clubs are increasingly managing to capitalise on the inability of the Welsh regions to hold on to their star names.



Sportsmail understands that Scarlets and Wales fly half Rhys Priestland has agreed to move to Wasps at the end of the season, while his Test team-mate, lock Bradley Davies, is poised to leave the Blues to head to Adams Park.

On his way: Wales star Richard Hibbard is set to join Gloucester in the summer as the Wales exodus continue

On the move: Fly half Rhys Priestland has agreed to move to Wasps at the end of the season

Welsh stars playing away

George North (Northampton) Mike Phillips (unattached) James Hook (Perpignan) Jamie Roberts (Racing Metro) Paul James (Bath) Dan Lydiate (Racing Metro) Luke Charteris (Perpignan) Jonathan Davies (set to join Clermont) Dwayne Peel (Sale) Ian Evans (set to join Toulon) Bradley Davies (set to join Wasps)

Richard Hibbard (set to join Gloucester) Rhys Priestland (set to join Wasps)

Until now, the main focus of the Welsh migration has been France, where the wealthy clubs have been able to offer players contracts worth two or three times what they have been paid by their regions.



Despite the initial desire of the Wales management to keep Test squad members at home, the likes of Mike Phillips, Lee Byrne, James Hook, Jamie Roberts, Dan Lydiate and Luke Charteris have chosen to relocate to Top 14 clubs.

Others may follow, with speculation that Toulon are targeting Lions captain Sam Warburton and IRB Player of the Year nominee Leigh Halfpenny, who is also wanted by Clermont Auvergne, as is Alun-Wyn Jones. Yet, there is now a separate migratory path taking Welsh talent east to England, following George North’s transfer to Northampton last summer.

Hibbard is at the peak of his powers and signing him represents a major coup for Gloucester. The West Country club have recognised their need for front-five clout in the pack, in order to create a platform for their exciting back-line, so they have moved to secure a hooker who has delivered a series of eye-catching performances this season.

Wanted man: IRB Player of the year nominee Leigh Halfpenny is wanted by Clermont Auvergne

The 29-year-old was outstanding when Wales thrashed England in Cardiff to retain their Six Nations title back in March, and he led the charge as the Lions ‘battered’ Australia into submission in Sydney to clinch the Test series four months later.



More recently, he was a physical, abrasive figurehead in the Wales pack as they came so close to beating the Wallabies last weekend. He is not alone in being lured to Kingsholm, as Gloucester have also signed Ulster’s former All Blacks tighthead prop, John Afoa, on a four-year deal.



For Wasps, the arrival of Priestland will be a similarly impressive transfer deal. The 26-year-old was a mainstay of Wales’ run to the semi-finals of the last World Cup and he would have been viewed as a prime contender for the Lions No 10 shirt until injury ended his hopes of going on the tour. His move will see him join forces again with Stephen Jones – the ex-Wales and Lions stand-off who previously mentored Priestland at the Llanelli-based Scarlets and can do so again as a coach at Wasps.

Switch: The signings of Rhys Priestland and Richard Hibbard represent a major coup for Wasps and Gloucester



For Wales coach Warren Gatland, the hope is that players agreeing deals with Aviva Premiership sides are securing full release for all Test matches and training camps. North signed for the Saints on those terms, even though the East Midlands club now face the threat of a fine from Premiership Rugby for releasing the wing for a match outside the official IRB autumn international ‘window’.



Speaking to Sportsmail last week, Gatland said: ‘In a way, it’s some accolade – our top players are being targeted because our team has been doing well. We’ve got a reasonable number of world-class players at the moment and they are being targeted by French and English clubs. That is potentially a distraction, but we can cope with it.

‘In a strange way, for me, the better place for them to go is France, because they can negotiate more release there. They are not under the same restraints as English clubs are from PRL. There is a solution to this; the WRU paying PRL for the full release of those players. The problem is that the WRU don’t recognise PRL; they will only operate union-to-union, they won’t deal with the clubs’ organisation.’

