[ad_1]
Cardiff head coach Matt Sherratt says he is confident his side can keep Wales back Mason Grady despite interest from English clubs.
The 21-year-old is out of contract at Cardiff this summer and is expected to stay at the Arms Park.
A move to England would mean he is unavailable to play for Wales next season under Welsh rugby’s 25-cap rule.
“We’re confident we’ll keep Mason,” said Sherratt, speaking after a 54-15 Champions Cup defeat to Harlequins.
“He’s playing here with his mates, enjoying his rugby. We want to keep our best players. Fingers crossed he stays but I can’t give you a definitive answer.”
Sherratt had previously said it would be “very worrying” for Welsh rugby to lose an emerging talent like Grady as a result of deepening budget cuts.
Cardiff, along with the other three Welsh regions, are fighting to hold on to their star players, having already lost scrum-half Tomos Williams to Gloucester next season.
“With the salary cap it’s going to be very hard for any of the regions to hold on to five or six top-end Wales players,” said Sherratt.
“So if players are going to leave, let’s make sure it’s players at the end of their career, who have been great servants to the game, because it would be sad if a 21-year-old like Mason Grady left Welsh rugby.
“That would be very worrying. One of the downsides to this year is that other clubs would be mad not to look at some of our younger players because they’ve done so well.
“Mason also has the physical attributes where he’s always going to be high on other clubs’ lists.”
Man in demand
Sale have confirmed they have spoken with Grady, while Bath are understood to be leading the chase with Saracens and Exeter Chiefs also interested.
“Who wouldn’t be interested in a Mason Grady if you had space in your squad and the cap for them,” said Sale director of rugby Alex Sanderson.
“He’s a supreme multi-sport athlete… his brother played for Wales, his mother played for Welsh basketball, he played basketball. He’s got aerial ability, speed and youthful enthusiasm where he’s going to grow.
“You have to keep looking to strengthen your squad and potentially he could be one of those to do that, so we had a chat to him and we’ll see where that lands, that’s no secret.”
Grady, the brother of former Wales centre Cory Allen, is a product of Cardiff’s academy and burst on to the regional and Test scene last season.
In a matter of months, the 6ft 5in, 16st flyer went from demolishing defences in the part-time Welsh Premiership to making a Test debut against England in February 2023.
He has still played only 35 senior games for Cardiff, but forced his way into Warren Gatland’s World Cup squad and has returned to score five tries in nine appearances this season, including in all four opening games.
Cardiff will be desperate to hold on to a homegrown talent, and the lure of playing for Wales could help them keep Grady.
If he were to cross the border, he would not be eligible for Wales next season having won only six caps – well short of the 25 required for players based outside the country.
Grady said previously: “I haven’t proved myself on the international stage yet and that’s what I want to do this year.
“This is a big year for me. Yes I was frustrated not to play more [at the World Cup] but when you look at the lads in front of me, they’re not too bad, are they?
“So I just had to take it and learn from it. I’m trying to learn the game in general, because I’m not quite there yet.”
Cardiff, along with the other three Welsh regions, are braced for further budget cuts, with funding per team going down to £4.5m for 2024-25 having already dropped from £7m to £5.2m this season.
Grady has seen team-mates Liam Williams, Dillon Lewis, Max Llewellyn and Jarrod Evans leave the Arms Park in the past six months, with Wales scrum-half Williams now also set to depart this summer.
There is hope that a takeover of the club can shore up the region’s finances and props Corey Domachowski and Keiron Assiratti have agreed new deals, though Rhys Carre continues to be linked with a move to Saracens.
[ad_2]
Source link
