Strong rumours had been circulating that Joe Launchbury appeared to be nearing a switch from Wasps to Sale. The lock was reportedly unhappy following the departures of Nathan Hughes and Willie Le Roux. Hughes has joined Bristol Bears while the South African Le Roux is set to leave the club at the end of the season.
The future of Elliot Daily is also currently the subject of speculation. Launchbury currently earns in the region of £270,000 per year. RugbyPass have suggested that Sale were willing to almost double the player’s wages and offer him a contract worth £500,000 per annum.
Wasps and Lauchbury however issued a strong statement via the club website and Twitter.
“Wasps are aware of recent rumours linking Club Captain Joe Launchbury with a move away from the Club.”
“These rumours are completely unfounded, and Wasps can confirm Launchbury will be at the Club next season.”
Wasps Director of Rugby Dai Young said: “Joe is Club Captain and has been a key part of Wasps for a long time. He is an asset to the squad.
“Joe is clearly a quality player who most clubs would want in their ranks, but he is contracted to Wasps and committed to the Club and the journey we are on.
Launchbury was quoted saying
“Wasps are obviously a Club that have been great to me over the years and are extremely close to my heart. I’m fully committed to the Club and going nowhere.”
Launchbury is a product of Wasps academy and has since made 135 appearances for them. He has been captaining the side since 2016 and also boasts 54 England caps.
This clear statement of denial from Wasps perhaps strengthens the rumours surrounding Elliot Daly move to Saracens. These rumours have been around for much longer , gather a lot of momentum and Wasps have remained silent.
In brighter news for Wasps, scrum half Ben
Vellacott is set to leave Gloucester and join them at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old who is a potential candidate to England’s 2019 Rugby World Cup
squad as agreed to a move as reported by Gloucestershire Live.
This will be déjà vu for Gloucester fans. They also saw exciting scrum-half Dan Robson leave them in order to join Wasps four years ago.
At the time, Robson left in order to get
more regular game-time. Vellacott is presently in a similar situation with club
captain Willi Heinz ahead in the pecking order.
Velacott has so far managed 12 tries from
45 appearances in Cherry and Whites colours. However, he has been mainly used
as an impact player and not started as many games as he would have liked to.
