Boer considering next move
Former Gloucester skipper Jake Boer is considering his next move after leaving the club he served for so long.
Boer had retired from the game but decided to play for Gloucester again when he was asked to help sort out an injury crisis. He has admitted that his second spell at the club was always due to end prematurely.
Boer could represent a solid signing for another club in the Premiership or even in the Championship. However, it's difficult to see what big feats he could achieve now during his career at the age of 36.
He has a number of qualities as a player that would make him a very good signing for another club, even if it were only for a single season. However, his age and the fact he can't play for a club he clearly loved may now force him into another form of the game.
Playing qualities
The biggest asset that Boer possesses is his vast experience. He played 191 games for Gloucester and you do not play that volume of matches without learning a few tricks of the trade. He can use this experience to fit in to another team and play with a mature confidence.
He clearly feels that he can still do a job at the highest level of rugby in England inside the top two divisions. If he didn't then there is no way that he would have returned from retirement in 2009. He has experienced life without rugby and he may not want things to end again just yet.
He remains one of the best passers of the ball in the whole game. He developed an ability at Gloucester to pass the ball from one side of the pitch to the other with a flat directory. This is very unique and not something that all players can do. It could be appealing to another club.
He said: "I'm looking at all my options it's not a case of limiting it to rugby only. The natural progression for me would obviously be getting involved in coaching whether it's younger kids or a first division side or just below. Unfortunately, after quite a lengthy process of negotiations things didn't pan out as I'd hoped. The bottom line is sport is a business and there was no room for me in the business."
Next move
Boer's next move could go in any number of directions. It seems that he strongly wants to become a coach and give something back based on the experience that he has built up over the course of many seasons.
However, he could be an appealing individual for a broadcaster to approach over a punditry position. There will be very few people in the game who know more about the sport and Gloucester than he does and a media career can be a very interesting prospect to many retired or about to retire players.
Betting advice
Any team that Boer may now join will be better off for having him under contract. If he does join another side then you can be confident that he'll make that team a better unit. This means they will be more organised and less likely to lose a high volume of matches.
He will have a similar effect as a coach and you can beat on any team that he goes on to coach with confidence. He would not have had such a long and distinguished career if he did not know how to play the game and he has the right attributes to spread the experience of his success across a younger team.
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