Rod Davies has signed to play rugby for the next two seasons with Biarritz Olympique in France. It is a very sad, more to the point another sad, day for Queensland and Australian rugby fans.  Sad in two respects:

1. Rod Davies is a talismatic player for the Reds.  When he is on the field and the ball is in his hands the crowd lifts.  You can almost here the fans, me included, thinking and saying “go on Rocket!!!”.  He is a player who brings young fans through the gates and will be missed by the team, the members and the fans.
2. Yet again Australian rugby has been unable to retain a player playing in our top domestic competition and perenially on the cusp of Australian selection.  Rather, the player has preferred to play in the second division of French rugby for a team that won 5 of 20 games in the French Top 14 last year.  I am all for players setting themselves up for their careers post rugby but it saddens me that that same opportunity is not afforded to such a player in Australia.

Rod Davies is one of my favourite players to watch and I will miss him running around in a Reds jersey.  I am left to lament now his loss from Australian rugby and to ponder who might be next to chase the money (and future security).