Fissler Confidential: New favourites emerge for England's George Martin

Saracens have moved into pole position to snatch Leicester Tigers and England lock George Martin from under the noses of Gallagher PREM rivals Sale Sharks.

Nottingham-born Martin, 24, has been out of action since having an operation on nerve damage in his shoulder after being injured against France in the Six Nations in February, and is expected back in the New Year.

The Sharks were the first team to make a move for Martin, who the Tigers haven’t offered a new deal and is expected to be heading to North London unless any last-minute hitches cause the move to collapse.

Former England scrum-half Dan Robson is set to stay in France next season after agreeing a deal to join Provence Rugby when his contract with Top 14 high-flyers Pau runs out at the end of the season.

Stoke-on-Trent-born Robson, 33, has played in France since November 2022 after Wasps went out of business and has clocked up 71 appearances, scoring his sixth try in the win over Stade Francais in September.

But according to Midi Olympique, he will leave Pau this summer and move to Aix-en-Provence, where his new club, in fourth place in the ProD2 table, five points behind leaders Vannes, hope to be playing in the top flight.

Springbok international full-back Quan Horn is at the centre of a tug of war between the Sharks and the Bulls when his contract with the Lions runs out at the end of the season.

Horn, 24, who hails from Kimberley in the Northern Cape, made his Bok debut in July, scoring a try against Portugal, and has crossed the line once in five appearances for the Lions this season.

Both United Rugby Championship clubs have spoken to the highly rated Horn, who can also play on the wing, as he weighs up his future, which increasingly looks likely to be away from Johannesburg.

Leicester Tigers are the latest Gallagher PREM to be linked with a move for Wales skipper Dewi Lake after sending a delegation to South Wales to speak to an unnamed international about a switch to Welford Road this summer.

Lake, who is out of a contract at the end of the season, and the Ospreys hooker have been linked with clubs in France, R360 and Gloucester, as he weighs up his next move.

Meanwhile, the Tigers have signed winger Ryan Crowley, who is an avionic engineer for the Royal Air Force and following in the footsteps of Rory Underwood in joining the Tigers from the RAF after impressing on trial.

Zac Lomax is being offered to clubs in France following his release by the Parramatta Eels, while an attempt is also being made to drum up interest in him from clubs in Japan.

Kangaroo superstar Lomax, 26, has been linked with R360, but like a lot of players Down Under, is having second thoughts with the NRL threatening ten-year bans on anyone who moves directly to the rebel league. So players are looking to get around the rules by moving to France or Japan before the latter introduces a cap on overseas players, and then move to R360 after contracts run out in an attempt to avoid lengthy bans.

Rumours reached Fissler Towers this week linking former Gloucester boss Dean Ryan with a return to Kingsholm as director of rugby in a new look structure working alongside Alex Brown and George Skivington.

Former England international Ryan, 59, who was an assistant coach at the club between 2002 and 2005, before spending four years, has been out of the game since leaving the Dragons in January 2023.

However, the favourite for the role remains Red Roses World Cup-winning boss John Mitchell, who is nearing the end of his RFU deal and has been working with the club this month.

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter says the club hopes to announce the names of the two new coaches set to replace Ricky Pellow on the Sandy Park coaching staff early next month.

Pellow, a former team-mate of Baxter’s at the Chiefs, leaves the club after tomorrow’s PREM Rugby Cup clash with Bristol Bears, but Baxter says they are just finalising contracts with his replacements.

“It is going to be tough to see him go. We are pretty much done on the two, but we can’t make any announcements yet based on contractual situations,” Baxter told Fissler Confidential earlier this week.

Sale Sharks are keen to strengthen their squad and are looking to dip into the loan market and return to South Africa, which has been a fruitful recruiting ground for them over the years.

The Sharks are already trying to get a four-month loan deal with Currie Cup champions Griquas to sign their highly rated winger Gurshwin Wehr over the line.

And we are hearing that the Sharks have also got their eye on Stormers centres Dan du Plessis, who recently played for the Barbarians against an All Black XV and the much less experienced inside centre Jonathan Roche.

Bristol Bears are in advanced talks with inside centre Jimmy Williams about extending his stay at the club after he made his return to the side following an ankle injury.

Williams has made 54 appearances for the Bears and is held in high regard by the club’s coaching staff, especially boss Pat Lam and head of academy John Barnes, who told the Bristol Evening Post this week. “He’s done brilliantly here. The last couple of seasons, he’s been one of the first names on the team sheet, and he really gels the team.”

Former Melbourne Storm enforcer Nelson Asofa-Solomona could switch codes after being released from the final two years of his deal by the NRL giants.

Asofa-Solomona has attracted interest from the NRL, with the New Zealand Warriors and Parramatta Eels said to be interested in him, but salary cap limits are reducing the prospect of him crossing the Tasman Sea.

He has also been linked with R360 despite the prospect of a 10-year ban, and Japan Rugby League One clubs are also interested in speaking with him.