Fissler Confidential: Northampton face Anthony Belleau battle; Sharks eye Irish 9

Northampton Saints are trying to put together a deal that will persuade French fly-half Anthony Belleau to ignore interest from the Top 14 and stay at Franklin’s Gardens next season.

Belleau, 29, signed a one-year contract with Saints when he moved from Clermont Auvergne in the summer and has scored two tries in eight matches, but he has been out of the squad for the past month.

His CV has been circulating among clubs in France, and it is understood there has been some interest from Toulon, but Saints are keen to keep him if an agreement can be reached.

Ireland A scrum-half, Nathan Doak, is at the centre of a tug-of-war between his current employers, Ulster, and Sale Sharks, who are exploring the transfer market with Raffi Quirke out of contract next summer.

Doak, 24, whose father Neil played for Ulster before moving into coaching, won his second Ireland A cap against Spain in November and has spent six years at the club. He has scored one try in eight games this season.

He has been competing with his housemate, Conor McKee, for the Ulster nine shirt this season and has been in talks with the Befast-based outfit about a new deal, while the Sharks are interested in acquiring his services.

A source close to Saracens star Alex Lozowski, who has been capped five times by England, have denied that he is on the verge of switching his international allegiances to Italy.

Lozowski, who operates at outside-centre and fly half, won the last of his caps against Japan in 2018 and qualifies for Italy through his Italian-born grandmother, which has always been an option as hopes of an England recall fade.

The 32-year-old has spoken to Gallagher PREM rivals Sale Sharks about replacing Rob du Preez when he leaves the club at the end of the season. He has only played once for the North London side this season because of an Achilles injury.

Ospreys winger Tom Florence, who is out of contract at the end of the season, has been spotted having a look around the facilities at runaway Championship leaders Ealing Trailfinders.

Unbeaten Ealing, who have won all 11 of their Championship games this season and are nine points clear of Bedford Blues, are keen on Florence, who last played for the Ospreys in October.

The 22-year-old, who is a former Wales under-20 international, is a product of Bridgend Athletic and can play on either wing as well as inside and outside centre has also been linked with a switch to Gloucester.

Newcastle Red Bulls are fighting to hang on to former Worcester Warriors and Gloucester winger Alex Hearle, whose two-year deal at Kingston Park runs out at the end of the season.

Shrewsbury-born, Hearle, 27, moved to the North East to link up with Steve Diamond, who was the director of rugby during his time at Sixways and has scored 10 tries in 34 appearances for the Red Bulls.

But it is understood that Hearle, who can also play outside-centre and full-back, has been attracting interest from across the channel from Lyon in the Top 14, while Northampton Saints are keeping tabs on him from the Gallagher PREM.

Northampton Saints could be in the market for a new hooker, but it depends on whether they can keep Scotland international Robbie Smith at the club next season.

Dumfries-born Smith, 27, moved to Franklin’s Gardens from Newcastle Falcons in 2022, but now that they have been taken over by the Austrian energy drinks giants Red Bull, they want him back.

Smith is having talks about extending his stay in the East Midlands, while Saints’ Phil Dowson is believed to be looking at strengthening his centres ahead of next season.

Veteran former Gloucester head coach Laurie Fisher is still waiting to find out whether he has a future with the Wallabies under new boss Les Kiss, who will take over after next year’s Super Rugby campaign.

Fisher, who will turn 68 in April, will join the squad for a three-day camp in Sydney in early January, but his future remains uncertain beyond that.

Fisher, who spent three years at Munster in Ireland, was brought back into the Wallabies fold by Joe Schmidt after the disastrous second tenure of Eddie Jones and immediately helped stabilise the ship.

England coach Steve Borthwick could win his battle with Pro D2 outfit Brive for the services of forwards coach Joe El-Abd and avoid another coaching re-shuffle.

Brive wanted Brighton-born El-Abd to become their next head coach, but ran into problems with his RFU contract, which runs through until after the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Now reports from Midi Olympique are suggesting that Brive’s interest has cooled, and they could now turn to Franck Azéma, who left Perpignan at the end of October but is now being courted by the Georgian national team.

Newcastle Red Bulls are rumoured to have offered Exeter Chiefs full-back Josh Hodge around £275,000 a year to return to the North East next season.

Hodge, 25, who was once in Preston North End’s academy, won England A honours against an All Blacks XV and Spain this season, is out of contract in the summer and has had talks with the Red Bulls about returning to the club.

Another player linked with a move to Newcastle next season is Saracens winger Brandon Jackson, who also plays at outside centre and has scored against them in both the PREM and PREM Rugby Cup this season.

Nick Easter’s stock continues to rise at Chinnor after helping them to win six of their last seven games in the Championship and seven from 11 overall.

Easter, who also helped the USA qualify for the World Cup, has taken Chinnor from National League One to fifth place in the second tier with the league’s second-lowest budget.

It begs the question why Gloucester or his former club, Harlequins, who are both looking for new bosses, haven’t taken a look at him to improve their fortunes.