Very few players remain with the same team for their whole career. When they do, they usually become legends. Players are a commodity in modern rugby, and commodities can be bought and sold. Like all other types of commodity, they can also become surplus to requirements. When that happens, their contracts are simply allowed to expire and they're left looking for a new club to ply their trade at.
A new group of players becomes free agents every summer, and that means every summer there's a scramble among clubs to pick up bargains. For some players, though, it means the end of the line. If you're of a certain age and injuries have started to stack up, it can be difficult to persuade a prospective new employer that you have anything left to offer. On the other hand, other players let their contracts run out because they believe they can get a better deal somewhere else. They intentionally become free agents and expect to be at the front of the queue when clubs start looking for new recruits.
Bringing a player into a club or a team isn't a simple matter of identifying someone with good skills and offering them a deal. It also involves working out if they're a good fit for the personality of your dressing room and who you'll have to move on to make room for them. It's also a gamble. You never know how a move will work out until after it happens. Bringing in a free transfer is like playing online slots in that there's a reward there to be won, but you have to risk something to chase it. Like the always-popular “Rugby Star” online slots game that's been such a big hit at casino sites these past few years, you often have to apply patience and strategic thought if you want to obtain a result. How will the players we're about to list in this article fair in this sporting game of online slots? Who will be bedding in with new teammates in a few weeks time, and who will still be looking for a job?
Joaquin Diaz Bonilla
Great things were expected of Argentina's Joaquin Diaz Bonilla when he joined Leicester Tigers last season on an initial one-year deal. Those great things didn't happen. Most Tigers fans could be forgiven for forgetting that Bonilla ever played for them at all. He was limited to just five appearances for the club all season, prompting the local press to openly ask what had gone wrong with the signing. Although there was a lot of speculation, there didn't seem to be a conclusive answer. This was an unhappy marriage – a perfect example of the risk that we mentioned earlier – and Bonilla is once again looking for a new home. If he finds one, it will probably be in France rather than England.
Martin Landajo
From the outside, this looks like a strange release. Martin Landajo played almost every game for Harlequins last season, yet apparently wasn't offered a new contract when his existing one came to an end. It's possible that his age counted against him, with Landajo now 33 years old and Harlequins looking to the future. It's been suggested that Landajo has already signed a contract with newly-promoted Perpignan, but if that's the case, it hasn't yet been officially confirmed. Should those rumours be true, it's a sign that the player may be in physical decline despite his impressive performances for the London club.
Siale Piutau
There would doubtless be plenty of teams interested in signing Siale Piutau. The question is whether he'd be interested in signing for any of them. He spent last season with the Bristol Bears, but it's been well over a month since his release was confirmed, and he's kept radio silence since then. There hasn't been any suggestion that he's been in negotiations with any other Premiership club, and that probably isn't because nobody's contacted him. Piutau has never made a secret of the fact that he'd like to play in Japan again before he hangs up his boots, and he's probably running out of time to turn that dream into a reality. He could still do a job in the Premiership, but he might be bound for the Land of the Rising Sun.
Nic Groom
South African scrum-half Nic Groom doesn't seem to enjoy outstaying his welcome at any club. In fact, it's been a while since he spent so much as a full season with one. Most recently seen playing for London Irish, Groom has also played for Edinburgh and the Lions since 2018. Even before that, his stay with Northampton Saints lasted a mere two years. Ever a traveller, Groom will doubtless find somewhere else to hang his hat for a few months before moving on. Whether that's here or in South Africa is another matter.
GJ van Velze
All good things come to an end. The career of GJ van Velze has been a good thing, but is it at an end? We're likely to find out very soon. He's been the club captain of Worcester Warriors since 2014 and won the Championship with them, but his services are no longer required. He barely featured by the end of his final season, making a farewell appearance as a late replacement at Kingston Park against the Newcastle Falcons. His career has been based on moving fast and hitting hard, and that's a much harder thing to do at 33 than 23. If he does stay in the game at Premiership level, it will probably be for no longer than one more season.
For those who still don't have a club as the summer progresses, life becomes harder. They compete not only with each other but with all the young prospects who hope to have the opportunity to prove that they're ready for regular first-team rugby next season. There's value to be had among the players we've named in this article, but some of them probably have more to offer at this stage of their career than others. Will we see any of them in the Premiership again, or have they already taken their final bow? We hope not – but you never know in this sport.
