THERE was a time, not so long ago, when Premiership clubs would pay tighthead props in Bitcoin, provided they were good enough to hold things together on their own put-in and disrupt like hell when the opposition scrumhalf had the ball in his hands.
Yet suddenly, hardened No.3s who either played international rugby or had realistic ambitions of doing so are on their way out of the elite league in droves.
Kieran Brookes, a member of the England squad at the 2015 World Cup (not that he would consider this a career highlight), has left Wasps for a rumble around the Top 14 with Toulon, who, for ...