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Carl Fearns secures third-tier deal in France to prolong his career

(Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)

One-time England prospect Carl Fearns has secured a deal to prolong his career back in France following his end-of-season release by Newcastle. The uncapped 34-year-old back row, who toured South Africa under Stuart Lancaster in 2012, initially moved across the Channel in 2015 where he helped to establish Lyon as a Top 14 club before heading back to England in 2021 following a season at second-tier Rouen.

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He is now exploring life in the French third tier following an agreement on a one-year deal to join Carcassonne. They were relegated at the end of last season following their 15th-place finish in the 16-team Pro D2 and Fearns is the 22nd arrival at a club that reportedly had 36 off-season departures.

Carcassonne open their new Nationale campaign on August 26 away to Bressane and Fears has joined with immediate effect following a summer where his ticking-over activities included training recently with Consett, the centenary-celebrating Regional 2 North club in the English grassroots.

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England World Cup kit

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England World Cup kit

Fearns tweeted on July 11: “Went for a run (jog) about with the Consett RFC lads tonight. Great group of lads. Good luck for the season.”

Six days later, he was retweeting the announcement by Carcassonne that he had signed with them for the 2023/24 season in France. A club statement on Monday read: “Very experienced Carl Fearns, a back row of 34 years, arrives straight from Newcastle and commits one year to Carcassonne.

“Born in Liverpool, Carl arrived in France in 2015 where he joined LOU rugby until 2020 and then Rouen Normandie Rugby during the 2020/2021 season. A Newcastle Falcons player since 2021, with whom he played 29 games, Carl will bring all his power and experience to the Yellow & Black group. Welcome Carl!”

Fearns originally made his Premiership breakthrough at Sale in 2008, moving on to Bath in 2011 where his final appearance for them came off the bench in their 2015 Premiership final loss to Saracens at Twickenham.

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Rebeccakirby 30 minutes ago
Peato Mauvaka cops ban for headbutt on Scotland star

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M
Mzilikazi 9 hours ago
'Ulster, though no one wants to admit it, isn't much more than a development province right now.'

“I was wondering if the AIL had clubs that were on the tipping point of wanting to become pro, how close could they get to a current Ulster etc”.


The Irish structure has always been the International team at the top, then the four provinces, then the clubs below that. Before the pro era in each province there were senior clubs playing each other, and that was pretty much “ring fenced”…no relegation or promotion. Then below that a series of junior leagues. The top players in the international scene played in the Five Nations(before Italy came in), and against the touring All Blacks or Springboks initially, then later Australia and Argentina came in. Actually I would need to go back and check the history of the teams coming onto the scene ie other than the Ab’s and Boks.


Those International players would only play for their province three times each year in the Inter Pro games, with the Bok, AB etc games only in tour years. Rest of the time, every single Int. player played club rugby every weekend.


Pro era dawned, and the four provinces became the sole pro teams, feeding up to the Int. team. There is no prospect as far as I can see of any AIL team ever becoming professional. Deepete, or someone living in Ireland would know more than I do, but what happens is fringe and academy players can play in the AIL, giving them game time they would not get otherwise. Top International players would rarely play at AIL level.


I think in Australia the tyranny of distance inhibits an AIL type structure. Ireland is tiny, good rail and road sytems, and it is easy to play in Cork, Limerick, Dublin, any where, weekend after weekend. Imagine an All Australian league, and travelling from Townsville for a game in Margaret River, etc. etc.


“I actually had the tables up and had no idea who was who lol”. Neither do I in some cases. A lot of new clubs since I played/lived in Ireland…I have to check who some are !!


Good discussion here JW. Have enjoyed it.

33 Go to comments
R
Rebeccakirby 9 hours ago
'France may leave top players at home but will still be serious contenders in New Zealand'

Months earlier, I’d sunk $156,000 into what I thought was a golden opportunity, an online cryptocurrency investment promising sky-high returns. The website was sleek, the testimonials glowing, and the numbers kept climbing. But when I tried to withdraw my profits, the platform froze. Emails went unanswered, support chats died, and my “investment” vanished into the digital ether. I’d been scammed, and the sting of it burned deep.Desperate, I stumbled across Alpha Spy Nest while scouring the web for help. Their site/reviews didn’t promise miracles, just results, specialists in tracking down lost funds from online scams. Skeptical but out of options, I reached out. The process started with a simple form: I detailed the scam, uploaded screenshots of transactions, and shared the wallet addresses I’d sent my crypto to. Within hours, they confirmed they’d take my case.What followed was like watching a high-stakes chess game unfold, though I only saw the moves, not the players. Alpha Spy Nest dove into the blockchain, tracing my funds through a maze of wallets designed to obscure their path. They explained how scammers often use mixers to launder crypto, but certain patterns like timing and wallet clustering, could still betray them. I didn’t understand half of it, but their confidence kept me hopeful. Hours later, they updated me: my money had landed in an exchange account tied to the scam network. They’d identified it through a mix of on-chain analysis and intel from sources I’d never grasp. After 24 hours, i got a message, my funds were frozen in the scammer’s account pending review. Alpha Spy Nest had apparently flagged it just in time.  After some back-and-forth, the exchange with the help of Alpha Spy Nest reversed the transactions, and $145,000 of my original $156,000 hit my wallet. The rest, they said, was likely gone forever, siphoned off early. I never met anyone from Alpha Spy Nest, never heard a voice or saw a face. Yet, their methodical precision pulled me back from the brink. My money wasn’t fully restored, but the recovery felt like a win, a lifeline from a faceless ally in a world of digital shadows. If you find yourself in the same situation, you can also reach out to them via: Email: Alphaspynest@mail.com, whatsapp: ‪+15132924878‬, telegram: https://t.me/Alphaspynest,

44 Go to comments
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