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Gallagher Premiership

Saracens turn to South Africa to fix tighthead issue with 128kg recruit

Saracens players huddle together prior to the PREM Rugby Cup match between Harlequins and Saracens at The Stoop on November 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Patrick Khachfe/Getty Images)
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Saracens have signed former Junior Springboks tighthead prop Corné Weilbach from the Stormers ahead of next season.

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The deal for the 24-year-old has come after the club announced earlier this month that former Wallabies tighthead Jermaine Ainsley will not be joining the club at the end of the season, having signed a deal in February.

With Italy international Marco Riccioni on his way to Perpignan ahead of next season, Saracens were looking light on the right-hand side of the scrum for next season. But Weilbach will provide options there, with Saracens shopping in the right place for props.

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“I’m incredibly excited to be joining Saracens,” Weilbach said. “It’s a club with a huge history and a culture of excellence, and I’m looking forward to learning, growing and giving everything I can for the team and supporters.”

Director of rugby Mark McCall added: “Corné is a young prop with real potential. We believe joining Saracens will provide a fantastic environment for him to continue his development and grow into a top-quality tighthead in the years ahead.”

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Hill, who is equally at home at lock or in the back row, has been stuck on five England caps for nearly a year, having last represented his country against the USA in July 2025.

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Latest Long Reads

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Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

The Australian ecosystem needs to take inspiration from the thought-leaders of yesteryear as it battles to capture hearts, minds and eyeballs

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The chasing pack shouldn't give up hope, Bordeaux can be caught but for an English or Irish to topple them, would be some feat

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Comments on RugbyPass

j
johnz 6 minutes ago
Report: Scott Hansen to succeed Rob Penney as Crusaders head coach in 2027

Hansen vs. Holland will be very interesting. In theory Hansen will have the better cattle. My money is on Holland getting more out of his, though.

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G
GrahamVF 55 minutes ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

Bordeaux were fantastic but I think they were made to look better than they were by what seemed to be a serious lack of commitment by Leinster both in the tackle and carry. I’d love to see the stats regarding post contact movement both on defence and attack. The rush defence hinges on lots of dominant tackles and continuity in attack hinges on quick ball which only comes by getting over the ad line. They will definitely beat any provincial and many international teams on any given day, but an aggressive defence and determined cary would make it into a much tighter game. Jamison Gibson Park’s defence has been shown up a lot recently.

11 Go to comments
N
NoLongerARuck 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

Nick you are spot on with most of your calls and I agree with that. The coaching is failing the Reds and now the very same head coach of that failing team is being elevated. What a shame. Speaking of the Tahs what on earth is wrong with them? They have a cracking team yet produce garbage week in week out. Most dissatisfying Aussie Franchise for a number of years now. The Force have never been great, thats their excuse. The Tahs are simply inept.

11 Go to comments
T
TT. 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

Did some of the games Reds have played this year give you a better opinion of Less Kiss ability to coach the Wallabies ? To me, it’s not truly convincing but, at least, he seemed to be the best of the actual Australian Super Rugby coachs… Maybe winning a play-off game could give him a bit of legitimacy, however, it would be a very thin consolation prize in an unentertaining environment !

Nevertheless, I totally agree with you that they seem to have the players and are just lacking their coaches to find a way to make them click together ! I Due to the age of a good part of their core group of players (McReight, Frost, Wilson, C. Gordon, McDermott, Jorgensen, …), could you see them, if rather successfull in this WC, begin a cycle who could get them to peak at the 2031 WC ?



...

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NB 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?



Hey Nick - do you really want to bring the NZ coachphobic D out of the woodwork

I did think of him when I wrote it - alas too late now G!🤣



...

11 Go to comments
N
NB 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

There has been a more coherent approach for sure, but in response to your last comment, they had the chance to elect one of the two best attacking innovators in Irish rugby to the job in succession to Joe Schmidt, but they opted not to take him. I doubt they’d take McNamara either.

If they had given the job to either of those there would have been an immediate dividend paid out in the watchability of the domestic game, and long term with the WBs too. There are some exciting players in the country for goodness sakes!



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11 Go to comments
N
NB 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?



Ask any person how Australia play now and they will be at a loss. The first thing AR sides need to do is create an identity that recognises the limitations of the player pool and works to their strengths.

This is the nub of it. Tha Tahs play like a copy of the Brumbies and we do not know what to expect from the Reds. It can be very good, it can be lack-lustre.



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11 Go to comments
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GrahamVF 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

Hey Nick - do you really want to bring the NZ coachphobic D out of the woodwork 😆

Australia were strong when there were three provinces and their resources were concentrated and the interprovincial competition was strong. There are just not enough players (85k odd) nationally to justify four teams. That has contributed hugely to a loss of national and provincial identity with the fiercer traditional rivalry between primarily the reds and the blues contributing hugely to the rugby ethos.



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11 Go to comments
N
NB 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

I agree that Michel Cheika came closest to reversing the trend: he played Pocock and Hooper together in the back row and even jockeyed to change the perception of Aussie scrummaging at the 2015 WC!

Guys who have spent significant time abroad and have something to offer, like Andy Friend, do not appear to be valued. We know how highly he is regarded at Connacht.



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11 Go to comments
M
MM 1 hour ago
Four issues Leinster need to fix to close Champions Cup gap

Athleticism in the back? Vayasi is the only one above 100kg. LBB, Lucu, jalibert are more 80/85jh, moefana, penaud 95kg. Leinster has bigger backs. Leinster scrum was also heavier than UBB…

3 Go to comments
R
RW 1 hour ago
A number of 'top South African players' linked with Stormers

He has also been playing at Fly-half for the Suntory Guys.

5 Go to comments
J
JD 1 hour ago
Joey Carbery addresses Leinster return following Leo Cullen comments

11 games at 10 out of 36 when you’re playing with the incumbent Ireland 10 and are only 21 isn’t a bad return there. He just rightly saw that it was best to look elsewhere for minutes.

No one was going to get a crack over Sexton.



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r
rs 1 hour ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

In fairness to RA, I think they’ve done a good job overall over the last few years, considering where they were a few years ago. They’ve established a more stable environment, from a financial perspective and coaching level. Although it doesn’t impact their results so far, it should give them more flexibility to invest in talent. You can see that they should become a more competitive team.

However, the issues around their lack of watchability need to be a more pressing issue for RA to resolve.



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E
Ed the Duck 2 hours ago
Joey Carbery addresses Leinster return following Leo Cullen comments

Very firmly in the ‘harsh but fair’ category!

If he’d been better than JS, or at least close, he’d have played plenty more games at ten. Jeez js didn’t play any away URC games for Leinster for how many years???



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N
NoLongerARuck 2 hours ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

One of the big question is why has coaching in Australia fallen so far behind the rest of the world? As you mentioned they always seemed a step ahead but now its devoid of quality or innovation. Its clear that no NZ coach can step up and fix this mess. So someone with brains and talent and enough balls to take risks needs to be backed. Les Kiss doesnt seem to be that man. Cheika was an outstanding coach with the balls to make big calls. I feel that since he left its just been a woeful with zero innovation shown. What AR badly needs is for coaches to go out and come back quickly. Yannick Bru recently spoke about how coaching in SA changed him and how it has led to his current success. Why dont AR send their coaches out as part of a program to Northern teams or South Africa to expose them to new systems and develop them during the off season? Such a program would surely lead to tangible gains and new ideas.

11 Go to comments
J
JD 2 hours ago
Joey Carbery addresses Leinster return following Leo Cullen comments

I said it was wrong to say he was a Leinster reject, which is what you have called him. I have not commented on anything else so unsure why we’re already going on a tangent?

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E
Ed the Duck 2 hours ago
The next Kiwi recruit who could help Leinster get back to European glory

“Prend still developing”

And the award for euphemism of the year goes to…😂



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31 Go to comments
E
Ed the Duck 2 hours ago
Joey Carbery addresses Leinster return following Leo Cullen comments

So you agree that it wasn’t correct to say “they had him taken off them” then!

Bottom line is he’s not fulfilled his potential at 10, for various reasons, anywhere he’s been and so relying on him now, as he approaches the back end of his career, to help bridge the gap to teams like UBB is optimistic. To say the least, and yes, his move back absolutely highlights the increasing failure of the unequal resources Leinster are privy to just not delivering!



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N
NoLongerARuck 2 hours ago
Can Australia look to the greats of yesteryear to kickstart the next generation of innovation?

What a woeful season for the AR Super Franchises. Been utterly disgraceful. That 4 Kiwi teams lead the pack is a resounding rebuke of AR hopes of reclaiming the Bledisloe let alone winning a world cup. The stats speak for themselves, they are way behind the curve and way behind their rivals from NZ. Its so frustrating watching Australian teams circle the toilet bowl. Somehow they need to get out of it. They wont do it playing the NZ way. Whats clear is Australia has lost its identity. Ask any person how Australia play now and they will be at a loss. The first thing AR sides need to do is create an identity that recognises the limitations of the player pool and works to their strengths. Right now the style of play is not leveraging those strengths, the way players are selected as well seems sub optimal and nobody in the system seems to have confidence or creativity. Australia and its players seem to be in a state of stagnation. If they want to get out then they cant keep doing the same thing over and over again. They have to commit to something, stick with it and see it throught to the bitter end.

11 Go to comments
T
Tom 2 hours ago
Mick Cleary: 'The manner of UBB’s victory should provide an inspiration to others.'

Hard to argue against a team which just beat Ireland + Reiko Ioane by 20 points. Don't forget Penaud and LBB, what a ridiculous wing pairing.

9 Go to comments
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