Fissler Confidential: Wallaby's Exeter move could come with complications

Exeter Chiefs face a battle to keep Wallabies star Tom Hooper at Sandy Park for the full duration of his two-year contract.

Hooper, a 15-cap international, has become a regular for the Wallabies this year, and they are likely to be eager to have him back well in advance of the 2027 Rugby World Cup, which they are hosting, despite his contract with the Chiefs only due to expire months before the tournament starts.

The ex-Brumbies star, 24, who can operate anywhere across the back row or in the second row, is scheduled to arrive in Devon after The Rugby Championship concludes in early October.

Northampton Saints are in advanced negotiations with England and Lions tourist Fin Smith, who is out of contract next summer after entering the final year of his deal at Franklin’s Gardens.

Smith, 23, who started the Lions’ defeat against Argentina in Dublin in June, has begun attracting interest from rival Premiership clubs, with at least two keen to speak to him about joining them in July 2026.

However, Fissler Confidential understands from a well-placed source that the Saints have made their offer and hope to secure a new deal with Smith before he departs for national duties ahead of the Autumn Internationals.

The Stormers are trying to lure Springbok superstar Cheslin Kolbe to the United Rugby Championship when his contract with Tokyo Suntory Sungoliath runs out at the end of the next Japan Rugby League One season.

Kolbe, 31, is keen to return home, even though it will involve accepting a significant pay cut, and the Stormers, who dug deep for Springbok tighthead Wilco Louw, are also keen to sign the two-time World Cup winner.

The winger has not played club rugby in his homeland for the past eight years, since leaving the Stormers in 2017 for Toulouse. He then moved to Toulon before joining Suntory Sungoliath after helping his country retain its World Cup crown.

Newcastle Red Bulls are expected to confirm early next week that Christian Wade is the latest player to join Steve Diamond’s recruitment drive in the North East, following their takeover by the energy drinks giant.

Wade has scored two tries in two appearances for Wigan Warriors but hasn’t featured since July, and sources close to the club have suggested that a deal for him to return to PREM Rugby is now in place.

The former Wasps, Racing 92, Gloucester, and England winger is the second-highest try scorer in the competition’s history and will be hoping to score the nine he needs to overtake Chris Ashton at the top of the charts.

Mark Nawaqanitawase might be the NRL’s leading try scorer this season after scoring 20 for the Sydney Roosters, but it doesn’t mean Rugby Australia will overspend to re-sign him.

Nawaqanitawase appears poised to become a dual-code international this autumn when the Kangaroos tour the United Kingdom, and he is out of contract with the Roosters at the end of the 2026 NRL season. Although he would like to play in a home Rugby World Cup in 2027, the Sydney Daily Telegraph reports that Rugby Australia, who’ve cleared their debts, are refusing to pay over the odds for him.

German champions Frankfurt 1880 have secured a major signing by convincing French tight-head Sami Mavinga to switch from the RFU Championship, where he played for the Ealing Trailfinders, to the Rugby-Bundesliga.

Mavinga, 32, has featured in the Premiership with Newcastle Falcons and in the Top 14 for Stade Francais and Perpignan, also spending time in the French second tier, the Pro D2, at the start of his career.

Frankfurt, who have won the last four titles, announced on their Instagram account that Mavinga was joining them ahead of their season opener against Hannover 78 this weekend.

Concerning news is coming out of Worcester, with the newly-formed Warriors yet to settle all of their rugby creditors, some of whom still owed significant sums from when the club went bust. It is understood that they have been informed that all rugby debts must be settled before they begin their Championship campaign, when Coventry visit Sixways at the start of next month.

It appears that the situation is becoming complicated with the involvement of solicitors and legal red tape preventing former employees from receiving what they are owed.

Former All Blacks tighthead Nepo Laulala has already been making a big impression in Gloucester even before he steps out on the pitch for the Kingsholm outfit.

As part of a pre-season ritual at the club, all new players have to down eight pints of milk under 10 minutes or face having their heads shaved if they don’t complete the challenge.

A lot of new players fail the test and are left reaching for buckets, but not Laulala, who was rehabbing an Achilles tendon injury last season. He not only completed the challenge but asked what was next!

Cronulla Sharks full-back Will Kennedy is coming off contract at the end of the current NRL season, and he hasn’t agreed to an extension, leading to rumours he is being touted for a cross-code switch.

Kennedy, 28, has played 130 games for the Sharks since making his debut seven years ago and currently doesn’t have a deal in place for 2026. It is being reported that he has been offered to R360, but that could be in doubt, with the proposed breakaway competition facing a race against time to kick off as planned in September 2026.