I've always thought Weir was a tidy player, he is a good footballer, brave and is faster than you think. However when he moved to us he struggled in a team that was pretty devoid of ideas and motivation. He tried too hard but lost his confidence, probably having to cope with very very poor service from our 9s, and then got injured and struggled since. We saw last night what he can bring to a game. With none of our 9s capable of running a game and all pretty poor kicking from hand Weir showed just how to control a game from half back, a bit like their 10 was doing for them before they subbed him - not sure why they did that cause he was running the show for them? Weir is exactly the sort of player a team needs away from home in those conditions - staying calm, making the right decisions and kicking well from hand to get us into the right areas of the pitch. VdW is a decent 10 and will get better but I would still have him behind a fit and confident Weir to be honest, particularly with ball in hand.
I suspect that Weir is going to free up some dosh. Both our new 10s will be less expensive and we desperately need another experienced 9. Hardie is in similar position, although his indiscretions will have also played a part in the decision to let him go too. Hardie was a beast last night.
If we can qualify for the big boys cup we may see some extra cash being made available given the extra revenue that generates for the SRU. Im sure Cockerill will invest it wisely.