Fissler Confidential: Worcester to lure ex-England star out of retirement?

Kurt-Lee Arendse’s immediate future looks to be with the Bulls after the United Rugby Championship side dramatically pulled the plug on talks that would have seen him move permanently to Japanese side Mitsubishi DynaBoars.

The Bulls have been locked in talks with the Springbok winger and his advisors for the last few weeks in a bid to agree a deal to rip up the final year of his contract with Jake White’s side and stay with the DynaBoars, where he is on loan.

Fissler Confidential understands they were on the verge of agreeing a fee of between £225,000 and £250,000, but the Bulls board blocked the deal because they want to set an example and keep him in Pretoria.

Alex Goode is set to retire at the end of the season and has joined the Saracens coaching staff, according to whispers coming out of North London.

Goode, who turned 37 earlier this month, has played 400 games since making his debut against Bristol in May 2008 and has won six Premiership crowns and three European Cup titles.

Another player leaving the club, Wales star Liam Williams, 34, says he will be fit for the start of next season after recovering from a knee injury he suffered while playing in the Six Nations at the start of the year.

Exeter Chiefs boss Rob Baxter could go back into the transfer market after Ulster tighthead Corrie Barrett, who is set to join the club this summer, recovers from injury.

Barrett, 26, signed a deal with Ulster last summer after spending four years in England with Saracens, Bedford Blues and Doncaster and has made nine appearances, scoring three tries for the province he supported as a boy.

Ulster revealed three weeks ago that Barrett would be one of eight players leaving at the end of the season, but he will miss the first months of next season with an Achilles injury, which could force Baxter to seek a short-term replacement.

Saracens tighthead Fraser Balmain is the latest Premiership player to be linked with a move to Worcester Warriors, who will be bidding for promotion back to the Premiership at the first attempt next season.

The former Leicester Tigers and Gloucester star, 33, who helped take the Premiership title to Welford Road in 2013, has started eight games for the North London side this season and is believed to have spoken to the Warriors.

Another name linked to the Warriors is former England international Billy Twelvetrees, 36, who, despite retiring after leaving Ealing Trailfinders at the end of last season, could put on his boots for another year.

Former Scotland international Sam Johnson looks set to leave Pro D2 outfit Brive, with the club unlikely to renew his contract when it runs out at the end of the season, according to sources in France.

Inside centre Johnson, 31, who made 104 appearances for Glasgow Warriors after starting his career at Queensland Reds, has spent two campaigns with Brive, making 30 appearances and scoring three tries, including two in 11 this season.

Johnson won 27 caps for Scotland, scoring six tries, but hasn’t played this year after suffering a cruciate ligament injury in December, which has prevented him from playing a part in their bid for the French second-tier title.

Ruan Ackermann’s next move isn’t clear despite him being one of 19 departures that Gloucester announced last week, and his future could be closely linked to what his father Johan does next.

Ackermann, 29, was keen to depart Kingsholm last summer after talks with the Lions and amid interest from Japan, but the Cherry and Whites dug in their heels and insisted that he would be seeing out his new deal.

The No.8’s future could now be closely linked to where Johan, who is working as a consultant to the SA Rugby Union, is helping with the Junior Springboks after his deal for a technical advisor role with Japan’s Urayasu D-Rocks ended.

Nice continue their massive squad overhaul, with former Cheetahs and Scarlets back-row Uzair Cassiem set to become the latest veteran star to join them as they look to return to the Pro D2 at the first attempt.

Nice have let 27 players leave the club after their relegation from the French second tier was confirmed and have already announced that 14, including Welsh international Owen Williams, mainly veterans, will be joining them.

Cassiem, a No.8 who can play anywhere across the back row and has won eight Springbok caps, has played 93 times for Bayonne since leaving South Wales five years ago.

Former Leicester Tigers and England fly-half Freddie Burns could be set to continue his career in Romania after Bucharest-based side Romanian Wolves made contact to offer him a deal.

Burns has revealed that he will be leaving Japanese Second Division champions Toyota Shokki Shuttles when his one-year contract runs out, and the *Daily Mail* are reporting that his next move could be a surprising one.

Lupii, who compete in the Rugby Europe Super Cup and play at Arcul de Triumf National Rugby Stadium in Bucharest, are keen to land Burns, who celebrated his 35th birthday last week.

Castres are closing in on a deal that will see them lure highly rated dual-code star Vuate Karawalevu to the Top 14 next season, according to Midi Olympique.

Karawalevu, who started his career with North Sydney Bears and Sydney Roosters before moving to the NSW Waratahs, only joined Fijian Drua last year and has scored four tries in 12 appearances.

The 24-year-old has mainly played at full-back or wing, but inside centre is the only position he hasn’t played in the backline. He is in advanced talks about joining Castres this summer.

Exeter Chiefs are still refusing to confirm that Dave Walder has joined Rob Baxter’s coaching staff, despite him being pictured in a team huddle on their own Instagram account.

Fissler Confidential exclusively confirmed that Walder, who was due to join the club this summer, had started work at the club just hours after Rob Hunter and Ali Hepher, who have now both left the club, were put on gardening leave.

Walder was pictured speaking to players during the captain’s run before last Sunday’s win over Northampton — a game he didn’t attend — whereas, interestingly, Hepher was spotted by television cameras enjoying a pint in the stands.