REPORT: Telusa Veainu the first of the Leicester 5 to bag new club

Telusa Veainu appears to be the first of five Leicester Tigers players to find a new club after refusing to come to new contract terms with the Gallagher Premiership club. Veainu is one of five Leicester players set to leave Tigers including Kyle Eastmond, Greg Bateman, Noel Reid and Manu Tuilagi.

Reports in France claim that Veainu is one of four new signings for Stade Francis. The Parisian club have already revealed that signing of hard-hitting Pumas back row Marcos Kremer and Georgian prop Vasil Kakovin, and have said they have two more set to sign.

RugbyRama report that the Tongan international is apparently one of the two as yet unnamed players, and is signing a two-year deal with the Hans-Peter Wild owned Top 14 side. Stade had courted him previously, but the deal was never completed and he re-signed with Tigers.

After playing most of his rugby in New Zealand and representing the national side at u20s level, Veainu moved to Australia with Melbourne Rebels. Veainu joined the Tigers after playing for Tonga in the 2015 Rugby World Cup and has since gone on to represent his country again at the 2019 competition.

Most of the media attention has been on the destination of teammate Manu Tuilagi, who both Sale Sharks and Bristol Bears have denied interest in.

Sharks DoR Diamond told RugbyPass: “We have had no discussions about Manu Tuilagi. People see what we are doing and our ability get everything sorted unlike other clubs. I think we are being dragged into it and I know Manu’s agent well and I trust him not to have brought us into it and I don’t know if it is the current club throwing it around to try and force the arm of the individual. I am very direct and, generally, I will say if we are or not.

“If players do become available of a high calibre as long as we are not contravening any regulations then we will look at other players. Financially we would be able to do that, however, we are going through a very intense schedule to get these Premiership games played and we are going to be playing Saturday, Wednesday, Sunday by the looks of it three or four times. Nobody knows where we are with the global season and I am just trying to future proof things.”

??? | @tveainu rejoint Paris !

L'arrière ?? en provenance des @LeicesterTigers s'engage pour 3 saisons ?? 2??0??2??3??

Welcome Telusa ! #SFParis pic.twitter.com/o1uuZqEH57

— Stade Français Paris (@SFParisRugby) July 7, 2020