Fissler Confidential: Contract tabled for England star Tommy Freeman

Northampton Saints are understood to have tabled an early contract offer to England winger Tommy Freeman, who will be entering the final year of his contract at Franklin’s Gardens later this summer.

Freeman, who scored his 20th try in 22 appearances for club and country this season during yesterday’s thrashing against arch-rivals Leicester Tigers at Welford Road, has scored 75 in 115 games for Saints.

The indications are that talks are going well, no problems are anticipated at this stage, and they could be successfully concluded before the end of the season, as Saints seek to avoid him being able to talk to rival clubs in July.

Former Saracens performance director Phil Morrow could return to the Gallagher PREM outfit as part of a new-look coaching set-up after the World Cup in Australia next year.

Morrow, who joined Saracens in 2011 and was part of the most successful period in their history, winning five Premiership titles, three European crowns, and an Anglo-Welsh Cup, before linking up with the RFU at the end of last season.

But the whispers are that he could be going back after the World Cup, where he could be joined by Ireland boss Andy Farrell, who has already been linked with a return to North London when his contract with the IRFU runs out.

Bristol Bears have released Argentine full-back Benjamín Elizalde from the rest of his contract to get some match action under his belt before he joins Gallagher PREM rivals Newcastle Red Bulls on a two-year deal later this summer.

Elizalde, 21, who has won four caps for his country, made the last of his 27 appearances for the Bears, scoring two tries in a Prem Rugby Cup defeat against Sale Sharks in February, as Pat Lam battled EPS regulations, and has joined Tarucas on a short-term deal.

“My most important thing is how these guys continue to develop, and because he’s non-EQP and can’t play any rugby here, I wanted to give him a chance to be with his family and play in the Argentinian Super Rugby Americas,” Lam told Fissler Confidential.

Waratahs cult hero Charlie Gamble is edging towards the exit door and securing a lucrative move to Japan when his contract runs out later this year.

Tahs boss Dan McKellar has already secured his replacement at openside flanker with Brumbies and Wallabies star Luke Reimer moving to Sydney next year, leaving the door open for him to move to Japan’s Rugby League One.

Gamble, who was educated at St Bede’s College in his native Christchurch, New Zealand, has played nine games for the Tahs this season, scoring one try against Fijian Drua in February, and has clocked up 65 appearances over the last six seasons.

Former England star Matt Banahan is attracting the interest of United Rugby Championship side Cardiff, who are believed to be interested in offering him the backs job in the Welsh capital this summer.

Banahan, 39, who was part of England’s 2011 World Cup squad, has been an assistant coach for Gloucester-Hartpury for the last year, having worked as an assistant coach for Scotland for two years before that, and has a growing reputation in coaching circles.

Jersey-born Banahan, who played for Bath and Gloucester, could fill any of the back five positions and is a target for Cardiff head coach Corniel van Zyl, who is looking to revamp his coaching staff this summer.

Harlequins are closing in on appointing an attack coach for next season, head coach Jason Gilmore told Fissler Confidential this week after they recently announced that club legend Nick Evans was leaving the club at the end of the season.

Gilmore says that they have spent a lot of time in the last few weeks working in the background on replacing Evans, who is the club’s all-time leading points scorer, but the deal isn’t quite done.

“We’re working through that at the moment. We’re not announcing at the moment in terms of appointing people for the next couple of years, but it won’t be too far away. We’re not quite there yet,” said Gilmore.

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter admits that there is still some wriggle room in his salary cap spend if he needs to go shopping for another player to bolster his squad for next season.

But he says he might have to wait until Bill Foley’s Black Knight Sports Group completes its takeover before he can go for a specialist in any position.

“We’ve got a little bit of room, but not loads and loads. If you ask, can we go out and get one player? Yes, of course we can. But on the whole, we’ve got a pretty settled senior squad there with a good group of players,” he told Fissler Confidential last week.

Former France international fly-half Jules Plisson announced his retirement after Provence’s 34-31 win over Pro D2 leaders Vannes on Thursday evening.

Plisson, who will be 35 in August and is from the Paris suburb Neuilly, began his career at Stade Francais in 2010, where he won a French Championship, and played for La Rochelle and Clermont Auvergne before joining Provence at the start of last season.

He scored 68 points in 18 appearances for his country but has been injured for most of the season, has only played five games, and has decided to call time on his career and move on.

Former Leicester Tigers star Julian Salvi is returning to club coaching next season after joining the staff of Paris giants Racing 92 and has already been spotted at games.

The ex-openside flanker, who was the defensive coach at Exeter Chiefs before moving to Tbilisi four years ago, was an assistant coach under Richard Cockerill before his former Tigers boss was sacked in December.

He had been linked with jobs in Gallagher PREM and the United Rugby Championship, but has secured his future with a move to Racing, who have been looking to revamp their coaching staff this summer.

Wallabies flanker Lachlan Swinton is considering returning to Australia from France, where he has been playing for Bordeaux Bègles for the last couple of years.

Swinton, 29, who played seven games for his country, has only made two appearances this season because of a serious knee injury that he suffered last season, and made 56 appearances for the New South Wales Waratahs before moving to France.

And, according to reports in Australia, he is considering his future, and that could involve him moving home after Bordeaux said they wouldn’t be giving him another deal when his two-year deal runs out this summer.