Fissler Confidential: Faf's PREM return, Paddy Jackson eyes new club

Springbok scrum-half Faf de Klerk is considering his options for a return to the Gallagher PREM next season, as his contract with Japan Rugby League One side Yokohama Canon Eagles runs out.

De Klerk, 34, began his career with the Lions before spending five years in PREM Rugby with Sale Sharks, where he made over 100 appearances before leaving for Japan four years ago.

A member of Rassie Erasmus’s squad that won back-to-back World Cup Finals has just returned to pre-season training in Japan and could attract interest from the Sharks and Newcastle Red Bulls, who are looking for a scrum-half.

Northampton Saints winger James Ramm has spoken to Newcastle Red Bulls about a move to the North East when his contract with last season’s Champions Cup Finalist runs out at the end of the season.

England-qualified Ramm, 27, has scored four tries in three games this season and joined the Saints in 2022 from the NSW Waratahs but faces increased competition at Franklin’s Gardens after the emergence of Edoardo Todaro.

Ramm, who is suspended for the next two weeks after being sent off against Pau in the Champions Cup last weekend, may choose to leave the East Midlands club if it means more game time.

Former Ireland and London Irish fly-half Paddy Jackson is on the lookout for a new employer as he looks set to leave Top 14 strugglers Lyon when his contract runs out next summer.

Jackson, 33, who won 25 Ireland caps, joined Lyon after the demise of the Exiles in 2022, has scored 227 points in 37 appearances, but is set to become one of several players to leave the Stade de Gerland.

He spent a season with Perpignan after leaving Ulster and could look to extend his career by joining another French outfit, with his options elsewhere likely to be limited after his high-profile 2018 court case.

Former England scrum-half Raffi Quirke could be leaving Sale Sharks when his contract runs out at the end of the season, and has a deal on the table from a rival PREM Rugby outfit.

Quirke has made six appearances for the Sharks this season but has fallen behind Scotland international Gus Warr in the pecking order and could move on to kick-start his career elsewhere.

He came close to joining Exeter Chiefs last season but signed a new one-year deal with the Sharks and had spoken to Gloucester when they were looking to replace Saracens-bound Tomas Williams.

Richard Cockerill appears likely to be pushed out by ambitious Georgia after failing to secure a desired victory over a Tier One nation during the Autumn International Series.

The former interim England head coach, 54, who has managed Leicester Tigers, Toulon, Montpellier, Edinburgh, and Black Lion, has been Georgia’s head coach since January 2024.

However, he is expected to be replaced in the short term by Levan Maisashvili while they search for a full-time head coach following defeats to Japan, South Africa, and Ireland, after victories over the USA and Canada.

Exeter Chiefs have lined up Bath inside-centre Will Butt to move to Sandy Park as Rob Baxter’s first signing next summer, when his contract with the Premiership champions runs out.

Butt, 25, who was capped by England A against Ireland Wolfhounds in February, was part of the Bath team that won the Premiership Rugby Cup Final against the Chiefs and their Challenge Cup final victory over Lyon.

Educated at Canford School and later at the University of Bath, where he played in BUCS Super Rugby, he equalled Coventry’s club record of four tries in a match against Jersey Reds in May 2021 during a loan spell.

Saracens are in advanced talks with former Wallabies tighthead Jermaine Ainsley about a move to North London when his contract with Lyon expires next summer.

Ainsley, 30, who won the last of his three caps for Australia against England at Twickenham in November 2018, is widely expected to move to join the former Premiership and European champions.

Born in Clyde in Central Otago, he moved to Western Australia to start his career with the Western Force and has played for Melbourne Rebels, the Highlanders and Otago before moving to Lyon at the start of last season.

Northampton Saints and England under-20 lock Alex Moon is set to leave Bayonne at the end of the season to sign with Top 14 rivals Bordeaux after agreeing on a three-year deal.

Ipswich-born Moon, 29, who had some interest from PREM Rugby clubs, was on the verge of an England call-up before crossing the Channel after helping the Saints to win a Premiership title in June 2024.

He had been talking to Bayonne about signing a new deal, but has turned down the terms on offer, and, according to leading French sports paper L’Equipe, he is on his way to Bordeaux until 2029.

Springbok scrum-half Grant Williams, who is leaving the Sharks when his contract runs out at the end of the season, appears to be heading to Japan.

Williams, who has won 29 test caps, has been superb for the Kings Park outfit for the last six seasons, but has told the club, who have ready-made replacements in Jaden Hendrikse and Ross Braude, that he wants to move on.

Sources in Japan are telling Fissler Confidential that Williams is being lined up to replace Faf de Klerk at Japan Rugby League One side Yokohama Canon Eagles for the 2026-2027 campaign.