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Fissler Confidential: Wallaby medical and England prop faces axe
Exeter Chiefs will complete the signing of Hunter Paisami after the Wallaby centre underwent a medical Down Under ahead of the move.
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It was reported last week that the Chiefs were locked in a tug-of-war with Rugby Australia over Paisami, who can play in either centre position.
But Fissler Confidential understands that the 26-year-old Queensland Reds ace, who has won 26 test caps, had the vital checks last week.
Rob Baxter had a centre at the top of his wanted list despite the club hanging onto England star Henry Slade, as we revealed on Thursday, and has quickly snapped up the Samoan-born ace.
Montpellier are weighing up dumping former England tighthead Harry Williams just a season into a two-year deal he signed after leaving Exeter Chiefs last summer.
Williams, 32, has started seven of his 12 appearances for Montpellier but could become the victim of an end-of-season clear-out after they slipped to 13th, five points behind Bayonne with President Mohed Altrad looking to make huge changes.
Sale Sharks, Saracens and the Scarlets are all looking for a tight head for next season, and Williams, who would be hammered when his 45 per cent take rate increases with a higher rate pay-off tax, could become a target for any of them.
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Sweden are keen for Harlequins scrum-half Max Green to join their growing band of UK and Irish-based talent as they eye up their highest-profile swoop to improve Alex Leybourne’s Rugby Europe Men’s Trophy squad.
Bedford-born Green, 28, won Swedish under-18 international honours as a 16-year-old fly-half before helping England under-20s win the 2016 Junior World Cup. However, Sweden, ranked 33rd in the world, have now targeted Green for full international honours.
Green qualifies for Sweden through his mother and could join Axel Kalling-Smith, who plays for the Rams, Newcastle University’s Elias Granath and Coventry’s Raymond Kanyasa in Leybourne’s side.
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Richie Murphy is poised to stay with cash-strapped United Rugby Championship outfit Ulster next season as Fissler Confidential sources in Ireland suggest that he will sign the one-year contract that is on the table.
Murphy became Ulster’s interim head coach until the end of the season following Dan McFarland’s departure, and his fly-half son Jack’s joining from Leinster is being taken as a strong indicator that he is staying.
It would appear that the permanent appointment will not be formally announced until the club has appointed a new chief executive following Johnny Petrie’s departure.
Gloucester are set to make changes to their academy coaching structure ahead of next season and the departure of talent who have turned down a contract for next season.
It is understood that a player seen as one of the brightest was unhappy about the quality of the game, and that has been the catalyst for Gloucester’s change. The club has struggled in the Premiership this season, with only Newcastle Falcons below them in the table.
The news suggests that Director of Academy and Development Carl Hogg and Kevin Harman appear to be in the firing line, with their heads firmly on the chopping block.
Cardiff have snapped up former full-back Jonny Goodridge to fill a hole as assistant attack/skills coach in Matt Sherratt’s Matt backroom team at the Arms Park following the departure of Richie Rees.
The highly-rated Goodridge knows Sherratt well from their time together at Worcester and has been working at Hartpury University since the demise of the Premiership outfit but found a move to Cardiff hard to resist.
Meanwhile, Saracens could be looking for a new academy, and women’s forwards coach Juan Figallo is being lined up for a potential move to Italy at the end of the season.
Bulls’ hooker/prop Jan-Hendrik Wessels has turned down a possible return to France next season after penning a two-year extension to his Loftus Versfeld deal.
Wessels, 23, who has made ten appearances for Jake White’s side this season, had a spell at Clermont Auvergne as a youth before returning to South Africa to start his professional career with the Bulls.
“I have enjoyed my time here since joining the senior squad. I want to continue representing this proud union, which has shown faith in me by making the offer to stay,” said the Bloemfontein-born front-row star.
Clermont Auvergne have given veteran fly-half Benjamin Urdapilleta another one-year contract despite him celebrating his 38th birthday in March.
Argentinean Urdapilleta, who joined Harlequins back in 2010, has been rewarded for making 14 appearances in the Top 14, scoring 102 points by putting pen to paper on a contract until the end of next season.
He moved to ASM last season after playing 178 games for Castres, whom he helped win a fifth Top 14 title in 2018 following a move from Oyonnax, where he played 48 times when he first moved across the channel.
Alex Codling admits that he is ready to return to rugby following his disastrous spell in charge of the Premiership’s basement side, Newcastle Falcons. During his tenure, he saw them lose all 11 of their league matches.
Codling has used LinkedIn to advertise that he is ready to take on his next challenge and return to his first love: line-out coaching.
“To become a line-out expert as a player, or as Keith Wood used to call me, a “line out naws” was my Everest. I am ready to go back to that first love, line-outs, and to help a new team benefit from this obsession,” he said.
Leicester City’s billionaire owner, Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha, wants to help Thailand and launch a partnership with the city’s rugby team, Leicester Tigers.
Srivaddhanaprabha wants to create a rugby academy in his homeland. He owns the Thai travel retail group King Power, which is based in Bangkok and sends Thai players to England to learn from the Tigers.
Comments on RugbyPass
One tough SOB!
15 Go to commentsI’ve put on 4/5 kilos since the beginning of the season too. Not good kilos. Bad kilos.
1 Go to commentsSurely there’s a ‘no knobheads’ policy ?
2 Go to commentsWallaroos have no chance of beating the Black Ferns unless Canada upsets them in Christchurch tomorrow but I doubt that as well!
1 Go to commentsWhat a joke. Could the victim do a course to reverse the long term CTE damage from the cheapshot?
2 Go to commentsTruely great player. In social media and opinion pieces he was held up and flogged for the results. People wanted someone to crucify, and he was the captain. He was still an immense presence respected by his peers. His battles with Siya Kolisi belong up with with Collins vs Burger in my opinion. Unlucky to be carded in the final, but I don’t agree that his red card was the defining moment. Not when you look at the dominant performances of the Springboks (PSDT in particular.) I think Cane should be remembered for the spirit and physicality that is special to test rugby.
15 Go to commentsSam was the man until he got injured .
15 Go to comments_Crusaders versus Leinster _at the moment might be a rout! But I would like to see the Blues play Toulouse, the Hurricanes front up against Stade Francais, and the Chiefs go against Toulon.
157 Go to commentsLove it when we overlap! Promise it was not forethought.
18 Go to commentsjfc can this guy plz stay out of the news for one week
2 Go to commentsIf stormers aren’t available. Based on form and likely availability at the time of the wales Test, you’d think Masuku would be a no-brainer to start. But starting Jordan also makes sense having Masuku come off the bench to close out the game.
2 Go to commentsGlad Tom Curry not playing needs time to recover such a great player also his brother Ben how well is he playing now .
1 Go to commentsLet’s examine what might be irking the brainless E: Up until 20 years before this coming Julys tests: 16 games: 14 wins for SA; 1 win for Ire; 1 draw From 20 years until July’ tests Ireland V SA: 13 matches Ireland won 8; SA won 4; 1 draw Points scored Ireland 261; SA 189 Ave Winning Margin: Ireland 11 points; SA 4 points (away 3, home 6) Away win record: Ireland 33.33%; SA 25% Neutral matches 1: Ireland win RWC France 2023. Last SA win June 2016 (8 years ago) They boast 3 World cups in that period (they do boast). The above record is not good, probably not much better than theirs against NZ for same period. That’s why the dopey E is starting fights in his head. He will probably ship a yellow when things don’t go their way in the first test.
127 Go to commentsGoode is like a wet fart on The Rugby Pod and should be shoved aside. Jim knows what he is on about and can get on better without Goode’s nasty little cheap shots.
127 Go to commentsBrumbies will win, crusaders are pretty awful this year
1 Go to commentsThis has the makings of a good match. That’s Leinster’s second team but its a good one (stronger than the teams in SA recently). Ulster are really turning a page. Ryan back is huge, and Keenan too. This could be a cracker.
1 Go to commentsThe Farrells are one of the great father and son combinations. Andy was an RL great, and had he played Union as his first sport, I would be sure he would have been avery significant forcewas in League. And Owen, a Union great, who had he played League, would could have been a great there too i all probability. I feel my attitude to Owen has mellowed as he has aged, and in the post Jones era, evolved and shown his full range of talents. He really is an all round player, and I have wold hope his move to France will be successful. He may even be the piece in the jigsaw that Racing need to rise to challenge Toulouse and LAR. He is ofc now approaching 33 years of age but should still have enough left to make a big contribution in France for at least2/3 years.
45 Go to commentsI reckon it may be Jordan at 10 and Nohamba at 9, both players have played together alot and both have been on the Radar for a long time. After Pollard got injured in 2022 with Elton sidelined on a path of self destruction Erasmus and Nienaber indicated that the other options in the country at the time were thin but that Jordan and Manie were the 2 they were looking at. In the end Frans steyn played flyhalf, Willemse slotted in there on the end of year with Libbok as back up. Jordan was right there in the thinking back then so expect him to take the Jersey either as the starter.
2 Go to commentsHaha did he also* say it in a sarcastic teacher sort of manor or was it the petulant English snob sort of wail?
45 Go to commentsWell said Mils. It is a big boost at last having Fergus Burke back at 10 for the Crusaders. Had a great season last year as the article says. Mils is also right about captain Codie Taylor’s performance in his return to the Crusaders last week. He was all class.
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