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France's Section Paloise announce the signing of Chiefs midfielder, Wallabies lock and Fijian sevens rep

By Online Editors
Chiefs midfielder Tumua Manu. (Photo by Dianne Manson/Getty Images)

Chiefs midfielder Tumua Manu has signed a two-year contract with Section Paloise in the Top 14.

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The 27-year-old centre played 16 times for the Chiefs last year, missing only the side’s loss to the Sunwolves in round two. Minutes haven’t been quite as easy for Manu to come by this year, with the powerful back asked to play just two games by new coach Warren Gatland.

Manu was previously called up by the Blues in 2018, scoring three tries in four matches.

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New coach Dave Rennie has his sights set on a Wallabies revival after finishing up with Glasgow.

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New coach Dave Rennie has his sights set on a Wallabies revival after finishing up with Glasgow.

The Samoan-born midfielder forged a strong partnership with TJ Faiane for Auckland over three seasons with the team. In 2018, he helped Auckland to their first provincial title in 11 years, starting in the epic Mitre 10 Cup final against Canterbury which finished 40-33 after extra time.

“The Section will also be able to count on the services of promising Chiefs centre Tumua Manu for the next two seasons,” Section Paloise’s website announced.

“Explosive and opportunistic, Tumua Manu does not miss any opportunity to advance his team’s position! After having played twenty matches in Super Rugby and as many in the Mitre 10 Cup in New Zealand, Samoan Tumua Manu is taking on a new challenge for the Section and in TOP 14!”

While there’s no set date for the Top 14 to resume, given the current Coronavirus pandemic, Manu won’t be expected to turn out for Pau until the end of the Super Rugby Aotearoa season.

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Section Paloise also announced the signings of Rebels and Wallabies lock Matt Philip, Fijian sevens representative Aminiasi Tuimaba and La Rochelle wing Elliot Roudil.

Former All Blacks Ben Smith, Colin Slade and Tom Taylor all represented Pau until the 2019-20 season was called off due to the global pandemic. Taylor was still signed to the club for next season but had his contract terminated after leaving France without authorisation from the club.

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Jon 8 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

41 Go to comments
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