Fissler Confidential: Jacques Nienaber set for early Bok return?

Springboks boss Rassie Erasmus is keeping a close eye on any developments regarding Jacques Nienaber’s future with Leinster after he said this week that he doesn’t feel ‘valued’ by the fans and media in Dublin.

Leo Cullen says that Leinster are lucky to have Nienaber as their defence coach and that he hopes that he will decide to see out the final year of his contract, which runs out at the end of next season.

Nienaber, 53, is expected to return to the Springboks to help them claim a hat-trick of World Cup crowns in Australia next year, and well-placed sources have told us those plans could be brought forward if he leaves the URC giants this summer.

Ross Byrne’s long-term future is far from settled, with Gloucester still haggling with Perpignan over the size of the transfer fee for the final two years of his contract, even though it’s widely accepted that the former Ireland international’s days at Kingsholm are numbered.

Gloucester have already started looking to see who is available to replace him, even though it won’t be a direct replacement, with an inside centre who can cover on their shopping list.

It is understood that they are still some way apart on their valuations and that talks are continuing in a bid to reach an agreement for a player who hasn’t featured since February and hasn’t made the squad for their final game of the season against Newcastle Red Bulls.

Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam has hinted that he might not have finished his recruitment for next season and that he could have space in the squad and in the budget for one more player.

Lam told Fissler Confidential this week that he might target another lock, with James Dun heading to Harlequins next season and Steele Barker joining Cornish Pirates, potentially leaving him short.

“You look at our second rows, and you know, we probably still have a space for one more person there, potentially,” said Lam, who has signed four players – Sol Moody, Tobi Wilson, Ethan Staddon and Louie Sinclair for next season.

The Scarlets have been linked with a potential move for former Wales star Gareth Anscombe, who has been restricted to just 165 minutes of action with Top 14 outfit Bayonne this season because of injury.

New Zealand-born Anscombe, 35, will leave the Basque club when his one-year contract runs out at the end of June, and he had been open to the idea of remaining in France next season, but a move to the Scarlets will test that.

As well as a fly-half, Scarlets boss Nigel Davies wants to sign a tighthead after solving one of his problem positions by reuniting 6ft 9in lock Alex Groves from the Stormers with Parc y Scarlets on a one-year deal.

Cross-code star Zac Lomax could be heading to the Shute Shield to get him ready for national service after Western Force ended their Super Rugby campaign with a win over the NSW Waratahs last weekend.

Former State of Origin star Lomax scored two tries in seven appearances for the Force after joining them earlier in the year, after a legal wrangle blocked his return to the NRL.

Lomax, who played for St George Illawarra Dragons and the Parramatta Eels before switching codes, has been tipped for a Wallabies call-up, but there is a school of thought that he could do with some time on the pitch before dropping into international action.

Gloucester could finally end their search for a new tighthead with a move for Samoan international Marco Fepulea’i, who started last season in the Top 14 with Bayonne but ended it in Pro D2 with Mont-de-Marsan.

The Stade André et Guy Boniface-based outfit have announced that Fepulea’i, who started his career in the NPC with Auckland before playing in America for American Raptors and LA Giltinis, then moving across the Atlantic in 2022 to join US Colomiers, will move on.

The Cherry and Whites have been looking for a tighthead and have moved for Fepulea’i after being knocked back by several players, including Glasgow Warriors and Scotland ace Jamie Bhatti, who opted to return to Bath.

Northampton Saints are poised to promote internally to replace Lee Radford, who is leaving Franklin’s Gardens at the end of the season to join Scotland on a full-time basis at the end of June.

Saints announced in October that Radford would be leaving the club, and they are promoting academy coach Jim Henry after he impressed during their Prem Rugby Cup campaign.

Henry, who was an assistant coach with Bedford Blues, will join the senior squad when they return for pre-season training in early July after Saints decided to look within rather than outside the club.

Manex Ariceta, who is one of Spain’s biggest rising talents, is being chased by Biarritz, Narbonne, Colomiers and Agen ahead of his departure from Bayonne when his contract runs out this summer.

Lock Ariceta, 22, who can also play anywhere across the back row, has won 11 caps for his country and made his debut for Bayonne in 2023 but will become one of 12 senior players to leave the club this summer.

The Los Leones ace, who has played 16 games this season, has his pick of several clubs who have all been beating a path to speak to him since it was announced he will become a free agent.

The Ospreys could make a loan move for Cardiff’s Wales Under-20 international fly-half Harri Wilde, with Mark Jones looking for back-up to first-choice Dan Edwards.

The Western Mail are reporting that Cardiff, who are poised to bring in Jarrod Evans from Harlequins, could be prepared to allow Wilde to leave on loan if they are given assurances about the amount of game time he will get.

They are also keen on Carcassonne’s Johnny McPhillips, the former Ulster and Leicester Tigers playmaker, but it is thought that he has lined up a move elsewhere.

Former England scrum-half Richard Hill, who played for Bath and coached Harlequins, Gloucester, Bristol and Worcester Warriors, is returning to the West Country next season.

Hill is back living in Bath after a long stint on the staff of Rouen Normandie Rugby in France and has been appointed to the coaching staff at Wiltshire outfit Melksham in Counties 1.

Melksham recently appointed Kevin Moggridge, who has just returned from Hong Kong after coaching the national women’s side’s scrum, as their new head coach.