10 times rugby players signed for rival clubs as Wales prop swaps regions

Thursday, 30 April 2026 at 16:30

byTom Sansom

Loyalty now only gets you so far in the professional game. Due to the demand of securing the world's top talents and aspiring future stars, it has has grown increasingly common for players to drop all regional allegiances and agree transfers to their perceived 'rival' clubs.

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This morning, the news was confirmed that Wales international prop Corey Domachowski, will leave Cardiff Rugby at the end of the season with a move lined up to the Scarlets. Back in the heyday of the amateur era, such a move across the Welsh regions would have been considered treason in the Valleys.

Yet the truth remains, that players in the modern game see no reason stopping them from making the move to their 'local' rivals, with families and finances understandably at the forefront of their minds.

In this article, we take a look at 10 rugby transfers that saw players swap their club colours to that of their bitter rival teams. Let's kick this off with a titanic South African, who sent shockwaves through the Irish provinces back in 2020.

10 RUGBY PLAYERS WHO SIGNED FOR THEIR RIVAL CLUBS

1. RG SNYMAN - MUNSTER TO LEINSTER (2024)

This move stung the Red Army for quite some time. Munster's beloved Springbok behemoth RG Snyman decided to swap Irish provinces ahead of the 2024 United Rugby Championship season, as he made the unforgivable drive up the M7 from Limerick to Dublin after four years in the red jersey.

You could forgive the South African for not quite understanding the extent of his departure, as he ditched his engine room partnership with Tadhg Beirne for a fresh pairing alongside James Ryan. However, It's been said that mohawks are banned at Thomond Park as a result of Snyman's exit some two seasons ago.

2. SIYA KOLISI - STORMERS TO SHARKS (2020)

Whilst you could hand a slight benefit of the doubt to RG Snyman, had he not quite known the extent of his Irish provicial shake-up, the same cannot be said for his Springboks captain Siya Kolisi. The back-to-back Rugby World Cup winner swapped South African franchises back in 2020, as he ended a seven year run with the Stormers for a move to the Sharks.

To say this upset the Cape Town locals would be an understatement. Kolisi cut his teeth in the Stormers system, as he made his senior Super Rugby break-through with the club in 2013. However, after a series of Parisian sabbaticals with Racing 92 and yo-yoing in and out of the Sharks set-up, Kolisi is confirmed to be returning back to the Stormers, with his long awaited comeback taking place this Summer.

3. GARETH ANSCOMBE - CARDIFF TO OSPREYS (2019)

Next up is arguably a more unforgivable transfer to that of Corey Domachowski's move from the Welsh capital to the Scarlets. If you were to ask a Cardiff fan, who would you rather support - the Ospreys or Scarlets, after the obligated 'neither' answer is moved past, you would be hard pressed to find any self-professed blue and black bleeder that would reply 'Ospreys'. The rivalry runs that bit deeper than Cardiff and the Scarlets, which made Gareth Anscombes' move to Swansea in 2019 all the more brutal.

The Wales fly half departed the capital after five years at the Arms Park, having been a mainstay in the blue and black from his 2015 arrival from New Zealand's Chiefs. The Kiwi native made the 44 mile drive along the South Wales coast-line to link up with locker room leaders Alun Wyn Jones and Justin Tipuric, and was probably ordered to drop all previous allegiances to where he had just come from.

4. HUGH TIZARD - HARLEQUINS TO SARACENS (2022)

From the Welsh capital city to the big smoke of London, our next entrant on this list is the 2022 transfer of Hugh Tizard from Harlequins to Saracens. At just 21-years-old, Tizard was a break-out star in the famous quarters of the Twickenham club, having made 27 appearences for Quins since his debut in 2019.

A product of the Harlequins Academy system, Tizard knew all too well how he was turning his back on his boyhood club, but had to do what was best for his career at the time. Tizard has not looked back since he made the move from West to North London, and settled into the surroundings of Stone X. Tizard admitted that the move was an 'incredibly hard decision' at the time, yet he has since gone on to prosper as a man in black - much to the churgrin of the technicoloured Quins.

5. LOUIS REES-ZAMMIT - GLOUCESTER TO BRISTOL BEARS (2025)

Now, this next entrant has quite the unique asterisk, as Wales wing Louis Rees-Zammit did in-fact depart Gloucester in January of 2024, and found a new home at Bristol Bears in the Summer of the following year. The British & Irish Lion enjoyed a brief career gap in pursuit of the 'American Dream', as he jumped across the pond to join the NFL's International Player Pathway.

Rees-Zammit impressed the scouts out Stateside, and was initally signed by the defending Superbowl Champions, the Kansas City Chiefs. However, LRZ never did manage to get onto the pitch with Patrick Mahomes and co, and was soon released into free agency, and later picked up by Jacksonville Jaguars. Again, the flying Welshman was unable to progress further than the practice squad, and decided to make his return to rugby union with a new deal on the table with his old West Country rivals, Bristol Bears.

6. JAMIE GIBSON - LEICESTER TO NORTHAMPTON (2015)

It's often debated as to what is the very best rivalry within the English club rugby game. For some it is the capital city crunch between Harlequins and Saracens, for others it's the old West Country barn-burner between Bath and Gloucester (more on that shortly), but most agree upon how Leicester Tigers and Northampton Saints hold the heritage of the Premiership's deepest inter-club hatred.

It seems like Jamie Gibson never got the memo, as in 2015, the promising back row talent made the hop across the East Midlands, with a move from Tigers to the Saints. Gibson was by no means an unused squad member at Welford Road, as across three seasons he'd racked up over 50 caps and nailed his name to the starting back row. Gibson cited wanting to play a 'different style of rugby' as a reason behind his treacherous transfer, as he would go on to enjoy seven seasons and over 100 caps at Northampton.

7. EDUARD COETZEE - BAYONNE TO BIARRITZ (2011)

Now, this next entry may fly a little under the radar at first, but let us assure you that there a fewer intense rugby rivalries today than that between Bayonne and Biarritz out in France. Known as the Basque Derby, the on-field encounters between these two sides offer wince-enducing collisions and often end in out right violence. Separated by just eight miles of the Basque coast-line, the rivalry has always been regional, but can trace it routes back to Bayonne's triumph over Biarritz in the 1934 French Final.

It can be safely assumed then that no-one told South African prop Eduard Coetzee, who made the move from Bayonne to Biarritz after two seasons with the Pyrenees club. Coetzee would have experienced first hand the intensity of these 'classique' derby matches, yet made the move to Biarritz all the same in a fearless move from the front rower. The fixtures have become steadily fewer to come by in recent years, as since 2021, Biarritz have dropped off down to the Pro D2, whilst Bayonne fly high in the Top 14.

8. JAMIE BHATTI - GLASGOW WARRIORS TO EDINBURGH (2019)

This is quite the gutsy move. Whilst the there is no denying that the two professional clubs in Scotland have a tendency to share their players - look at the likes of Darcy Graham or Ali Price - these moves have often been short-term loan deals, or broken up by a middle-move to an English or Welsh club to soften the blow. However, Jamie Bhatti had no regard for such pleasantries, as the prop ended a three year stint at Glasgow to sign for Edinburgh in 2019.

This would not be the only time Bhatti would play with Scottish fire, as after his brief run with Bath was disrupted by the Covid Pandemic, he returned to Edinburgh to see out the one-and-done Rainbow Cup. He would then make the move back to Glasgow Warriors in 2021, where the prop has since remained up to the ongoing United Rugby Championship season. That's quite the journey for the 36-capped Scotland international, who certainly turned a few heads in the process.

9. CHRIS HARRIS & SANTI CARRERAS: GLOUCESTER TO BATH (2025)

A double whammy now for the Cherry and Whites, as Bath poached both Chris Harris and Santi Carreras at the end of the recent 2024/25 Gallagher Premiership season. It was a brutal blow for Gloucester fans, who were forced to watch two of their favourite back-line stars swap their club colours for the iconic blue, black and white of their bitter West Country rivals.

The Scotland and Argentine internationals have quickly settled into their new surroundings at the Rec, which probably made for all the more frustrating viewing for Gloucester fans. Johann van Graan's side are on the cusp of a first Champions Cup title since 1998, and are flying high at the upper end of the PREM table with the play-offs in sight. Gloucester meanwhile, had an unceremonious run in Europe and are sat at eighth in the league table. It's been a tough 12 months for the Kingsholm faithful.

10. QUADE COOPER: REDS TO MELBOURNE REBELS (2019)

We end this list with a trip to the land down under, when Wallabies legend Quade Cooper ended his career long commitments with the Queensland Reds and signed with Melbourne Rebels. The veteran play-maker owed his Super Rugby breakout to the Reds, as Cooper was a stalwart of the side for 11 seasons from 2006 to 2015. However, when Cooper took a season-long sabbatical to Toulon in 2016, the warning signs were there for the Reds to keep their talisman under contract.

Cooper returned for his 12th and final Super Rugby season with the Reds in 2017, before he swapped the Queensland franchise for a fresh lease on life down in Victoria. Cooper's move to the now defunct Melbourne Rebels sent shockwaves across the Australian club game, as the prodigal son of the Reds had donned new Super Rugby colours for the first time in his career. Whilst the Melbourne move was short-lived, with Cooper bound for Japan in 2020, the transfer is remembered as a gut punch for the Reds fans.

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