Fissler Confidential: Courtney Lawes now better placed to quash the rumours

Former England and Lions star Courtney Lawes could finally make some progress regarding his future now that Brive have appointed Grégory Patat as head coach on a three-year deal.

Veteran flanker Lawes, who will be 38 next February, has spent the last two seasons playing in France but has been left in limbo while Brive, who are sixth in the Pro D2 table, sorted themselves out.

It has been reported that the Northampton Saints legend was approached by Leicester Tigers for a move to Welford Road, but his preference was to stay with Les Coujous for at least another campaign.

Jamison Gibson-Park appears to be closing in on a new deal with the IRFU, despite French clubs taking a close look at his CV.

The whispers from Ireland are that Gibson-Park, who has been a mainstay of Andy Farrell’s set-up and won his 50th cap in the win over Wales in Dublin last weekend, is close to an agreement.

And that appears to have been backed up by respected Irish pundit Bernard Jackson, who said on RTE television before the Wales game that he believed Gibson-Park had already committed his future.

Harlequins are preparing to finally announce who their new head coach for next season will be after a whole series of delays and knockbacks from a number of potential candidates.

The club, who entertain fellow strugglers Gloucester at the Twickenham Stoop, next Saturday, told a fans forum this week that they were hoping to make an appointment in the near future.

Meanwhile, while fans were attending the event, thieves broke into three cars in the club car park and stole various items.

Ulster look set to make a move in the transfer market for a big-name foreign tight-head to cover Tom O’Toole following his switch to loose-head for Ireland.

The United Rugby Championship outfit were initially in the market for a loose-head. But it appears the IRFU want to see O’Toole, who has played 135 games for Ulster, stay in that position.

He will replace Wallaby star Angus Bell, who is going back Down Under to play for the Waratahs, and because of that, their Dublin-based paymasters are ready to let them dip into the market for a No.3.

Saracens held off a late bid from Ealing Trailfinders to sign Northampton Saints scrum-half Tom James after losing Gareth Simpson to the West London side next season.

The former Gallagher PREM and European champions are also set to see Ivan van Zyl, who is being released from the final of his agreement to return to South Africa, so they needed replacements.

“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Saracens for the next chapter of my career. The club has such a fantastic history, and famously has such a strong culture and reputation for success,” he said.

The Sharks have confirmed that a quartet of players, including Vincent Koch, who two weeks ago we revealed had turned down a move to the Sale Sharks, have put pen to paper on new deals to stay with the United Rugby Championship outfit.

Koch, who will be 38 by the time his new deal ends, was sounded out by Sale for a move, but the tighthead is remaining in Durban despite a better deal being on the table in the North-West.

Lock Coetzee Le Roux is staying at the club until 2027, back row Matt Romao is staying until 2029 after signing a three-year extension, while back-to-back World Cup-winning hooker Bongo Mbonambi has signed on for two more years.

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter admits that the club are yet to offer former Gloucester scrum-half Charlie Chapman a contract to keep him at Sandy Park beyond June when his one-year deal runs out.

Chapman, 27, has made 22 appearances for the Chiefs this season, but they announced earlier this week that Sam Wolstenholme will be moving to Devon from Bristol Bears this summer, leaving him in the cold.

“Charlie’s off contract, yes, end of the season, and we haven’t offered him a contract extension at this stage, no,” Chiefs boss Rob Baxter told Fissler Confidential earlier this week.

The US Eagles have suffered a blow with the news that American Football convert, tight-head Pono Davis has quit the sport and has returned home to Hawaii.

The 28-year-old, who spent the whole of his MLR career with the Houston SaberCats, won 13 caps for his country since making his debut against Canada two years ago, and wants to go into farming and start a family.

Davis, who was playing American Football for the Seattle Sea Dragons before their 2020 campaign was cancelled due to COVID, was left at a loose end and joined the American Raptors to learn rugby.

Angus O’Brien has agreed a new deal with the Dragons to remain with the United Rugby Championship outfit after his current contract runs out at the end of the season.

The Dragons’ co-captain, 31, who was born in Caerleon, was named the club’s Player of the Season in 2023 and has made 120 appearances for his home club.

A product of the Dragons Academy system, O’Brien, who plays fly-half and full-back, is in his second spell with the Men of Gwent after a stint with the Scarlets, and is understood to have signed a two-year agreement.

Pro D2 strugglers Béziers have completed the signing of young Leicester Tigers loose-head Tubuna Maka, as they continue their rebuilding for next season in a bid to revive their flagging fortunes.

The Fijian-born, former England under-20 international, has bounced around the system and been in and out of the PREM with loans at Cambridge, Birmingham, Moseley, and Nottingham.

Béziers have been busy signing players, including All Blacks World Cup winner Malakai Fekitoa, Dragons back row Mackenzie Martin and others such as Jordon Janse Van Rensburg and David Delarue, with more signings likely to be on the way.