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Grenoble claim they've signed Mulipola, a day after Dean Richards rubbished the move


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Grenoble have claimed that they have signed Samoan tighthead Lologovi’i Mulipola, just a day after Newcastle Falcons Director of Rugby Dean Richards stated the prop hadn’t signed for anyone.

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It was reported last week in France that the giant prop had signed for the ProD2 side, reports that prompted Richards to refute the claims on Wednesday: “I spoke to him yesterday [Tuesday] and he said he hasn’t signed anywhere. You know as well as I do that boys put things out there and they try either to speculate or force people hands by saying they have signed or are going to sign. I never look at the speculation and always speak to the individual. That is how I deal with it.

“You have to work out your budgets and working out what is going to happen next year is almost impossible because things change from one day to another. We are looking at the here and now with one eye on the future. You tend to look two years ahead in terms of contracts and squads.”

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‘I remember Jonny tackling me’

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‘I remember Jonny tackling me’

However, Grenoble claimed on Thursday that Mulipola was one of three signings on Twitter, along with Thomas Fortunel and Romain Barthelemy.

The club, who currently sit in 9th place in the ProD2, also officially unveiled Arnaud Heguy as their new forwards coach at the same media conference.

Newcastle did not wise to make a comment when one was requested by RugbyPass. Mulipola starts at tighthead for the Falcons this weekend against Exeter Chiefs at Kingston Park.

NEWCASTLE FALCONS TEAM
15 Joel Hodgson
14 Adam Radwan
13 George Wacokecoke
12 Matias Orlando
11 Ben Stevenson
10 Brett Connon
9 Louis Schreuder
1 Trevor Davison
2 George McGuigan
3 Logovi’i Mulipola
4 Greg Peterson
5 Marco Fuser
6 Sean Robinson (captain)
7 John Hardie
8 Philip van der Walt

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Replacements
16 Jamie Blamire
17 Kyle Cooper
18 Mark Tampin
19 Darren Barry
20 Connor Collett
21 Sam Stuart
22 Gareth Owen
23 Cooper Vuna

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NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Nations Championship: 'The data shows the north has finally caught up with the south'

The Six Nations produced so many compelling games and so much of action packed moments that you can only conclude that its the best international comp out there at the moment except for a world cup. If Wales improve it will be even better especially given the strides Italy have made in recent times. The Rugby Championship is now taking a hiatus in a year it really should be building toward something better which is terrible considering the competition was so tight last year. The Nations Champs promises much but one gets the feeling that the 6 Nations teams will not be at their peak given its at the end of their long season. In terms of rugby quality and entertainment Id rather watch the 6 Nations over everything else other than a world cup right now. The North arguably offers more in terms of entertainment than the South at club level as well. The Prem, the Champs Cup, URC and Top 14 all feature plenty of scoring and different playing styles while Super Rugby seems to be the same thing game in game out. While the South tries to speed up the game artificially with new trials and law variations the North has shown you can do it with good refereeing which penalises cynical play harshly and encourages positive actions on the field. In terms of entertainment the North wins. In terms of winning? They are making strides but until they win another world cup or get a team to rank number 1 again for an extended time again they cant really say they are better than the South.

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