Delve facing Super 15 dilemma

Gareth Delve
12 April 2012

Recalled Wales forward Gareth Delve is weighing up the possibility of joining England castaway Danny Cipriani in Australia next season.

The lure of new Super 15 franchise Melbourne Rebels threatens to leave Cardiff-born Gloucester captain Delve facing a huge dilemma, because if he follows Cipriani Down Under, it could end all hope of World Cup selection in New Zealand next year. And having landed his first RBS 6 Nations start against Ireland at Croke Park on Saturday, it would be no surprise if the in-form number eight stayed on British shores - either at Gloucester or possibly Cardiff Blues.

"I am still in negotiations, but I can clarify that I haven't signed for anybody," said Delve.

"In terms of negotiations, the people I have been speaking with I have been speaking with for a little while now.

"I need to make decisions based around the future as much as the present. The World Cup is a huge draw. I haven't had the best of times with World Cups in the past, so the chance to possibly make one would be fantastic.

"I have been in the mix for the previous two World Cups and picked up injuries just beforehand. These (career) decisions have got to be based around fantastic opportunities that present themselves, but also big sacrifices.

"I am seeing this for what it is. I have been called into the team this week to perform against Ireland, and if I do that then hopefully there is another chance for me the week after.

"I have got a chance on Saturday that I am hugely looking forward to, and it is a case of looking at everything from a pretty wide angle and seeing what would be the best in the long term for my whole career."

The 27-year-old replaces injured Wales skipper and number eight Ryan Jones in Dublin, while two other changes following a 26-20 loss to tournament favourites France last time out see starts for hooker Matthew Rees and lock Luke Charteris.

Flanker Martyn Williams will celebrate breaking Colin Charvis' 94-cap record for a Wales forward by leading his country, while Dwayne Peel replaces his fellow British and Irish Lion Mike Phillips - unavailable after suffering a knock last weekend - on the bench.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in