Re Jeffries, I will reserve judgment until I see how he plays alongside Gale. However as the established player, it would have been surprising if he'd been demoted unless we had actually splashed out on a marquee 6. Sammut strikes me as a man not lacking in confidence, so I doubt it matters a toss to him, or the efforts he'll be making to get into the starting 13.
But I don't think Jeffries is as bad as some seem to want to make out, I do think he has had too much responsibility and instability directly as a result of our problems at No. 7. He is the sort of player that could grow into a decent partnership with a decent partner. But he will have to pull his finger out from day one, and Sammutt will inevitably get an early chance whatever happens, unless Jeffries and Gale tear down all before them.