Joe Launchbury will confirm move overseas after failing to find a Premiership club

Sunday, 06 November 2022 at 07:30

byRugby Rucker

Former England and Wasps second-row Joe Launchbury is set to move overseas after failing to find a Gallagher Premiership club.

The Rugby Paper reports today that the only club willing to match his £420,000 per season salary is Toyota Verblitz.

He'll join the Japanese side on a short-term deal to the end of the season, but would still be able to play for England due to the 'special dispensation' to play for England.

Players will notably no longer remain eligible for England selection once the 2023 Rugby World Cup has concluded, suggesting any England hopefuls would only move abroad on deals until the end of the season

England have previously shunned selecting players plying their trade overseas, although there have been exceptions when players had previously signed future contracts to join Premiership clubs following summer tours, as was the case with Ben Te'o, Piers Francis and Brad Shields.

According to RUCK sources, similar to Jack Willis, the former captain is keen to rejoin Wasps in the summer if the club is successfully taken over.

Joe Launchbury facts:

His nickname in the England set up is "Launchers"
After Harlequins failed to offer him a professional contract aged 18, he left the club and joined then National League 2 South side Worthing for the 2009–10 season
Launchbury is married to Mallory Bourn and they have two children, Blythe and Hayden, with another on the way
His first England cap came off the bench in an autumn international against Fiji at Twickenham in 2012.

5 rugby stars who had normal jobs before becoming professional

Sometimes we should take time to appreciate those International rugby stars who plied their trade elsewhere before hitting the jackpot in the game we all love.

In an era where you only make it if you dedicate your life to it, it’s rare to find players who just months prior to their professional career were grinding the 9-5.

With that in mind, here are five international rugby stars who worked hard before making it big...

#1. Sam Underhill (England) - Painter/Decorator

Before securing a professional contract, the future England superstar served an apprenticeship under his Granddad as a painter and decorator. The 24-year-old, who likes keeping busy, hasn't ruled out a return to the trade when his rugby days are done.

#2. Joe Launchbury (England) - Supermarket

After being released by Harlequins aged 18, the future England second-row ended up getting a job in the local Sainsbury's to ensure he could continue his rugby career with National 2 North side Worthing. He worked in the bakery section and says it was a 'good grounding' for him and made him appreciate what hard work is

#3.Karl Tu'inukuafe (New Zealand)

Mustachioed man mountain propl Tu'inukuafe has gone from 27-stone nightclub bouncer to Test tyro. He only made his Super Rugby debut lain 2018 but has already racked up 24 caps for the All Blacks.

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"Karl Tu'inukuafe was literally working full time as a bouncer a few months ago - it was his job to ensure big lads behave themselves, and that's what he'll be doing to your front row this weekend." A one-eyed Kiwi previews All Blacks vs England: skysports.tv/TzeinR

7:55 AM · Nov 10, 2018

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#4. Finn Russell (Scotland) - Stonemason

After secondary school, the Scotland star pursued an apprenticeship for three years as a stonemason, in a business owned by a family friend, whilst his rugby developed. Pocketing £300 per week, supplemented by £50 in his hand from Falkirk Rugby Club, Russell is now one of the pre-eminent stand-offs in world rugby and certainly one of the most exciting.

#5. Liam Williams (Wales) - Scaffolder

This is the picture that illustrates the heights Williams has scaled to reach international rugby, starting off as a scaffolder. It wasn’t work for the faint-hearted, with Williams rigging scaffolding “over the top of a blast furnace, 300 feet from the ground” back in Wales.