Best (and worst) Marquee Players

[Which Tyler]

So next summer sees the reduction in marquee players from 2 down to 1; (presumably with a grandfather clause for those with longer contracts).
With Faletau leaving Bath, we've already seen the first casualty - albeit one who's never lived up to the promise for a marquee (through no fault of his own).

Plenty of Bath fans, in a fit of melodrama, are calling Faletau "the worst marquee ever" as if they're already forgotten Stephen Donald and [Redacted}, let alone players for other clubs.

So who have been the best Marquee Players in the premiership? Who have been the worst?
This wouldn't have to be a club's actual Marquee Player (because we never actually know that) but the best (and worst) big-name signing, brought in from elsewhere to light up a club.

For me, it's hard to look past Nick Evans here; especially with his longevity, and as he's stuck with Quins into his coaching career, and seems to be making a success of that.
Honourable mentions would go to the likes of Bruce Reihana, Matthew Burke, Charles Piautau.

As for the worst, this would surely be the "Chris Jack" award; though [Redacted] would push him close, if only for the mess he left in his wake. The Franks boys are probably my "dishonourable mentions" here.

Who else joins the conversation? the biggest of tents, or the all-time "Jerome Schuster"

[Puja]

Piri Weepu's got to be in the conversation. I mean, there can be a lot of benign reasons why a player doesn't perform when moving continents - see Sopoaga, whose game was perfect for NZ but turned out he couldn't do it on a rainy evening in Stoke Sale - but Weepu turning up actively overweight and unfit took the biscuit (as did he). Nothing less than an outright physical declaration that he was here for the money and entirely unbothered about his new club's fortunes.

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[Redacted] wasn't actually a bad player on the pitch, especially when he played in the back row. I still think he would've made an excellent 6/8 given another season and enough minerals to fortify and cope with the fact that people were saying mean things about him.

Puja

[Raggs]

Piutau and Radradra have both been top drawer marquees I feel. Was Weepu a marquee when he first came here???

Think we can easily forget that Marquee's can also be home grown types. Launchbury I suspect is/was marquee at least for a while for Wasps for example.

[Puja]

Piutau and Radradra have both been top drawer marquees I feel. Was Weepu a marquee when he first came here???

Think we can easily forget that Marquee's can also be home grown types. Launchbury I suspect is/was marquee at least for a while for Wasps for example.

Weepu was London Welsh's big great hope, wasn't he? I guess we don't always know who the marquees are, but I'd be surprised if he wasn't their highest earner.

Puja

[Raggs]

That was it! And yes, probably a marquee. That's got to be the worst?

[Which Tyler]

Think we can easily forget that Marquee's can also be home grown types. Launchbury I suspect is/was marquee at least for a while for Wasps for example.

Not at all. Plenty of home grown players - but they're not brought in with big hopes a huge salary and an expectation of immediate returns.
Also, by definition, there's never been a home-grown marquee player who counts as a failure.

I've no problem with discussing them if that's the way the thread evolves, but it's not why I started it.

[SDHoneymonster]

There's a decent amount who've come over to much fanfare only to spend most of their time injured - I'm thinking along the lines of Waisake Naholo and Jean de Villiers, who both barely played. Faletau would very much fall into this category too. Luatua and Willie le Roux must be up there as good examples though, and I was a big fan of Louis Picamoles randomly turning up in Northampton for a year too.

[Puja]

There's a decent amount who've come over to much fanfare only to spend most of their time injured - I'm thinking along the lines of Waisake Naholo and Jean de Villiers, who both barely played. Faletau would very much fall into this category too. Luatua and Willie le Roux must be up there as good examples though, and I was a big fan of Louis Picamoles randomly turning up in Northampton for a year too.

Gods, I'd forgotten we signed Jean de Villiers. And Brad Thorn in that sort of era as well.

Puja

[Danno]

Was Manu a marquee player during his ~3 seasons injured for Tigers? Not a contender for worst player but has to considered for worst value

[Puja]

In terms of best, I'd agree with Which that Evans is likely hard to beat. Radradra's effect on Bristol's win-ratio is nothing short of astonishing though, so I'd have him in the conversation.

Puja

[jimKRFC]

There's a decent amount who've come over to much fanfare only to spend most of their time injured - I'm thinking along the lines of Waisake Naholo and Jean de Villiers, who both barely played. Faletau would very much fall into this category too. Luatua and Willie le Roux must be up there as good examples though, and I was a big fan of Louis Picamoles randomly turning up in Northampton for a year too.

Luatua has been fantastic for Bristol, 81 appeareances so far from a possible 95 league games and 20 odd Euro games.

He's also been the club's Player's Player of the Season award in 2018/19 and 2019/20, Supporters Player of the Season in 2020/21 and has been shortlisted for Gallagher Premiership Player of the Season in 2019/20 and 2020/21.

[Peej]

Was Schalk Brits ever close to Marquee status do you think? Gopperth should be part of the conversation too, though it's hard to look beyond Evans. Interesting that the majority of these are foreign players (with nod to Raggs and his Launch suggestion).

Hadn't Weepu had a stroke before he came north? That would suck anyone's motivation

[FKAS]

Castrogiovanni was a pretty handy marquee player for Tigers though he didn't join as one.

Toomua didn't work, possibly not his fault as he joined a team that didn't need him or have a side set up to utilise him.

Nick Evans was an exceptional piece of business by Quins.

[Raggs]

Was Schalk Brits ever close to Marquee status do you think? Gopperth should be part of the conversation too, though it's hard to look beyond Evans. Interesting that the majority of these are foreign players (with nod to Raggs and his Launch suggestion).

Hadn't Weepu had a stroke before he came north? That would suck anyone's motivation

Don't think Gopps was ever a marquee player, just a signing.

[Puja]

Castrogiovanni was a pretty handy marquee player for Tigers though he didn't join as one.

Toomua didn't work, possibly not his fault as he joined a team that didn't need him or have a side set up to utilise him.

Nick Evans was an exceptional piece of business by Quins.

If we were looking at Leicester players, then I'd proffer Pat Howard or Aaron Mauger. Both exceptional 12s that were the point of difference in title-winning teams.

Going back to the worst marquees, how about one from the start of professionalism - Waisale Serevi. The best ever 7s player to grace the field got signed by 1997 Leicester, who were built around a horrible pack, hard defence, and a driving maul that saw Back score 13 tries a season. Serevi's defence against any kind of heavy runner was comedic at best and the only possible use for him on a 15s side would have been to put him at fly-half and tell him to do his own thing. However, Leicester already had RWC winner Joel Stransky at fly-half and there wasn't really too much of a prospect of alternating them - quite apart from the fact that Stransky would not have stood for it, there was something of a slight difference in their playing styles that would've made it difficult for the team to adapt to them.

We played him on the wing (opposition wingers had fun those games), then tried him at scrum-half (Stransky did *not* have fun those games and nor did Austin Healey who was irked at being shoved out to the wing. As a fan, it did seem bananas at the time, but SCW liked a bit of bananas selection and picked him on the wing in the next international period so it all ended well), before finally putting him at full-back so we could hide him away from having to make a tackle and occasionally bring him in at first receiver when we felt like doing an attack. He left after one season and went off to a French club where he could play 10 and be as mercurial as he liked.

Puja

[Digby]

Leaving aside the issues being raised around tents, many, many tents, I do wonder who Newcastle have as their marque signing. Supposing they're spending at the cap and actually utilise it someone like Wilson is going great guns.

[JnnyD]

Naholo and Sopoaga have got to be right up there in terms of worst value.
WLR was a masterclass at times but we definitely didn’t get value out of him for the last 6 months of his deal (him and Daly definitely checked out early)
JdV is a great shout, definitely not on marquee wages but Ross Fillipo was an interesting signing for Wasps a few years ago.

Recently, I’d agree Toomua definitely didn’t go to plan despite his class, how about Maxime Mermoz at Falcons?
Was George North good value at Saints?

[Bloggs]

Give it a few years, and I think Andre Esterhuizen will be right at the top of this list