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Fissler Confidential: Bears' fight to keep LRZ, England star on the move
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Fissler Confidential: Ireland international is Premiership bound
By Neil Fissler
Kieran Treadwell, the Surrey-born former Ireland international lock, could return to the Gallagher Premiership to rejoin his former club Harlequins when his contract with Ulster runs out at the end of the season. The 29-year-old spent two years at The Stoop between 2014 and 2016, making six appearances before crossing the Irish Sea, where, thanks to his Irish-born mother, he has won 11 Test caps.
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He won his last cap of the bench against England in the 2023 Guinness Six Nations and has played 169 games for Ulster, including nine this season which is looking like being his last with the United Rugby Championship outfit.
Sale Sharks have agreed terms on a new contract with rising England front row star Asher Opoku-Fordjour that will keep him in the North-West for at least the next three years. The Coventry-born 20-year-old spent time with Worcester Warriors and Wasps before moving to Sale in November 2022 when the former Premiership and European champions went out of business.
He has been a regular at tighthead for the Sharks this season and can also play loosehead. He made his England debut against Japan in the Autumn Nations Series and is tipped to feature in Steve Borthwick’s 2025 Six Nations plans.
Lee Barron is set to join Leinster teammate Michael Milne in making the switch to Munster when his contract with the URC pace-setters runs out at the end of the season. RugbyPass exclusively broke the news on Friday afternoon that Milne was close to making the switch. It has since been reported in Ireland that the 23-year-old Barron will be joining him in switching provinces.
Leinster are well stocked in the hooking department with Dan Sheehan, Ronan Kelleher, John McKee and Gus McCarthy on their books, which has opened the door for Barron to join Milne in moving on.
Kane Douglas is set to extend his career for at least another year after it emerged that he is close to staying in La Rochelle for next season. The 35-year-old veteran lock arrived at the club last summer and has formed a formidable partnership with another Australian, Will Skelton. According to Midi Olympique, he will be putting pen to paper on an extension.
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The former Wallaby has played in France since joining Bordeaux in 2018 after leaving the Queensland Reds. Earlier in his career, he had spells with Leinster and NSW Waratahs but he is now likely to stay with La Rochelle until he retires.
Max Malins, who is on the sidelines with an achilles tendon injury that he ruptured in training, could have played his last game for Bristol Bears as he is weighing up a move to France when his contract runs out this summer.
He joined the Bears on a permanent deal in 2023 after eight years on the books of Saracens, signing off with a try in the Premiership final victory over Sale Sharks. The 28-year-old, who had a loan spell with the Bears after Saracens were relegated to the Championship in 2020, has won 22 England caps but hasn’t featured since the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
Bath boss Johann van Graan is set to turn to a relatively unknown South African as he looks to continue strengthening his squad for next season, with Bulls scrum-half Bernard van der Linde the latest player in his sights.
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The Pretoria-born 24-year-old has made seven appearances and scored two tries for the URC side against Lyon in the Champions Cup in October 2022. Due to make his first appearance of the season in Saturday’s Champions Cup clash in Castres, he has held talks with van Graan about switching to The Rec when his contract runs out this summer.
Jonny May, who celebrates his 35th birthday in April, believes fans at his Pro D2 club Soyaux-Angouleme will see the benefits of him having his first Christmas off for 15 years. The former England flyer has only scored one try since arriving in France in the summer, and that came against Brive, but he told Midi Olympique this week that having Christmas and new year off will be like a new beginning.
“After Christmas, I think it will be better. I also think that I was tired after a very busy summer, between moving and adjusting to a new life with my family,” said May, who has also struggled with a muscle strain and a virus.
There are fears around Leicester Tigers that head coach Michael Cheika, who replaced fellow countryman Dan McKellar, could depart Welford Road when his contract runs out at the end of the season. Those fears are only going to grow the longer it takes for the club to agree to a new contract, with the clock ticking down on his existing one-year deal.
Rumours even circulated over Christmas that his name is on the RFU’s shortlist of potential replacements for England boss Borthwick should the axe fall on his head and that he had already been sounded out.
