Fissler Confidential: Ex-Lion Stuart Hogg on brink of clubless status

Leicester Tigers are pondering a move to bring former Exeter Chiefs outside centre Sean O’Brien back to the Gallagher PREM from Munster when his contract runs out next summer.

O’Brien, 28, who also plays inside centre and on either wing, is close to making 50 appearances for Munster since returning to Ireland, where he started his career with Connacht from Sandy Park four years ago.

The Tigers are in the market for a centre and are looking at several players, including O’Brien, who penned a two-year extension to his initial agreement in February 2025, which runs out at the end of the season.

Former Scotland full-back Stuart Hogg looks set to be looking for a new club when his contract with Top 14 outfit Montpellier runs out at the end of the season.

Ex Lion Hogg, 34, has 100 Scotland caps to his name and has made four appearances for Montpellier this season and 31 in total since joining them three years ago after coming out of retirement.

He could look for another club in either the Top 14 or Pro D2, with a move to either the Gallagher PREM or the United Rugby Championship looking extremely unlikely after much-publicised court cases.

Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson says that he is weighing up sending Italian wonderkid Edoardo Todaro out on loan to the Bedford Blues, who are bottom of the Champ Rugby table, to speed up his return to full fitness.

Todaro, 20, scored ten tries for Saints in 13 games last season and is closing in on a return to action after being ruled out since February with a serious knee injury that he picked up preparing for the Six Nations.

“We are being conservative reintroducing him to training and making sure we manage his load, and then it’s very different to go from full training into games. How we try and manage that. Do we get minutes with a loan club, or do we throw him straight in via the bench?” Dowson told Fissler Confidential.

Scotland and Lions star Sione Tuipulotu prompted a burst of activity at Fissler Confidential Towers earlier this week when a scoop scout spotted him sitting in Burger King at Bristol Airport.

Tuipulotu, 29, still has 18 months left on his contract with Glasgow Warriors, which runs at least until the summer of 2028, and he’s set to make his second URC appearance this season against Connacht on Friday night.

The Lion seems unlikely to move to the Gallagher PREM with over a year left on his contract, so the purpose of his visit to the West Country, which ended with a teatime flight back to Glasgow, remains a mystery.

Tom Staniforth won his first French caps last summer when he played in the Nations Championship, but he could be in his sixth and final season with Castres, with his contract due to expire at the end of the season.

Former NSW Waratah Staniforth, 32, has made over 100 appearances for Castres and has become one of the most respected locks in the Top 14 but hasn’t agreed to a contract to stay at the club next season.

According to Midi Olympique, that has opened the door to interest from Clermont, Toulon, Lyon and Bayonne, while a club in Japan’s Rugby League One has also made an enquiry.

Bristol Bears fly-half AJ MacGinty admits that he draws inspiration from Jimmy Gopperth, but is likely to stop short of extending his playing career into his forties like the former Wasps legend.

MacGinty will celebrate his 37th birthday before the end of the season and aims to go to the World Cup in 12 months, but he isn’t thinking much beyond then, unlike Gopperth, who was still playing for Provence after his 40th birthday.

“I probably draw inspiration from Jimmy Gopperth. He was playing until he was 42. I haven’t had that ambition or that vision for myself to play into my forties,” he recently told Fissler Confidential.

Tom Willis admits he is at peace with his decision to return to France in the summer to rejoin Bordeaux, even though it ends his England career until he chooses to ply his trade in the Gallagher PREM again.

Brother Jack, who has just retained his Top 14 Player of the Year crown, is reportedly considering a switch to play for Ireland, but the younger sibling says he has no problem with the RFU’s rules.

“I understand both sides. I understand the benefits for the PREM, and I knew the rules before making my choice. I don’t have a problem with that,” Willis told the French media this week.

Bayonne is looking to see which inside centres are available, with former England centre Manu Tuilagi now in the final year of his contract, three years after crossing the Channel.

Tuilagi, who will be 36 early next year, has made 44 appearances for Bayonne, which is only two fewer than he managed in his time with Sale Sharks after leaving Leicester Tigers.

It remains to be seen if Tuilagi will call time on his career or look for another year elsewhere, either in the PREM, France or Japan, where he has long been touted for a move.