Wales
Taulupe Faletau would 'benefit' from Bath switch, says Ryan Jones
ESPN Staff
June 29, 2015
Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau holds off England's James Haskell
Wales number eight Taulupe Faletau holds off England's James Haskell© GLYN KIRK/AFP/Getty Images

Former Wales captain Ryan Jones believes Taulupe Faletau would benefit from a move to Bath, although he accepts losing another high profile player is a blow for the Welsh regions.

Faletau has been strongly linked with a transfer away from Newport Gwent Dragons with Bath reportedly willing to pay up to £250,000 to buy him out of the last year of his contract.

Jones, who has played alongside the 24-year-old for Wales, believes a move to the Premiership "would benefit his rugby".

"He's going to be playing for a top-flight English club in the top competitions in Europe, which is what we need for our players," Jones told the BBC.

"They need that exposure and they need that experience and that helps make them better players."

Faletau has had his offer of a central contract with Wales withdrawn, having missed the deadline, and national coach Warren Gatland appeared to rubber stamp his switch to Bath last week.

Jones admits it is not good news for the Dragons or the other regions, but believes they need to become consistently more competitive in Europe if they are going to convince the country's best players not to move abroad.

He added: "Wales needs its best players playing rugby in Wales, but to do that we have got to offer them the opportunity to play in the upper echelons of the game.

"We've got to be competitive on the European stage, the biggest club competition we've got.

"But the sporting world is transient, players will come and go.

"They need to look after themselves and their personal circumstances will dictate that as well."

© ESPN Staff

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