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Vannes add ex-All Black to ambitious recruitment drive

Francis Saili, Steven Luatua and Charlie Faumuina could all theoretically represent Manu Samoa next year. (Photo by Andrew Cornaga/Photosport)

Vannes continue to prepare for life in the Top 14 after signing former All Black centre Francis Saili, as predicted in Fissler Confidential two weeks ago.

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They had been sniffing around Saili, who earlier in the year was a target for Bayonne for some time. Now that his deal with Racing 92 has ended, he has signed a two-year deal to move to Brittany.

Vannes will be the third French club that he has played for after moving across the English Channel in 2020 from Harlequins to play a key role in helping Biarritz secure promotion to the French top flight.

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Sarah Hirini on retiring legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe

New Zealand Sevens star Sarah Hirini gets emotional when asked by Finn Morton about Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who will retire after the Olympics.

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Sarah Hirini on retiring legend Portia Woodman-Wickliffe

New Zealand Sevens star Sarah Hirini gets emotional when asked by Finn Morton about Portia Woodman-Wickliffe, who will retire after the Olympics.

Saili, 33, who was a Junior World Cup winner in 2011, won the first of his two All Blacks against Argentina in Hamilton two years later when he was playing for the Blues.

He moved to Munster in 2015 and, two years later, helped them reach a Pro12 final before crossing the Irish Sea to join Quins but now looks set to finish his career in France.

The inside centre, who can also play on the outside, made 19 appearances for Racing 92 last season, scoring one try and is the latest player to join Vannes in the last 48 hours and they step up their recruitment drive.

Castres and Fiji winger Filipo Nakosi has signed on for the next two seasons, while Chilean Iñaki Ayarza, 24, who can play anywhere in the back five positions. He signed up for four years.

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Ayarza, who was part of Chile’s World Cup squad, will leave Soyaux-Angoulême XV Charente. After joining them a season earlier, he helped them win promotion from Nationale in 2022.

They also landed former England and British & Irish Lions prop Mako Vunipola after he decided to end his illustrious career with Saracens, where he won Premiership and European Cup honours.

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EllenMoody 3 hours ago
Great moments in Lions tour history – JPR’s drop goal and the All Blacks' brutal revenge

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JWH 4 hours ago
'Matches between Les Bleus and the All Blacks are rarely for the faint-hearted.'

Do you hear yourself? Do you have any concept of world view? Have you tried looking into why people call Ireland ‘arrogant’? Obviously not.


We started calling you arrogant when you called our captain a ‘shit Richie McCaw’. In New Zealand. On our turf. Don’t think that kind of behaviour really calls for respect, does it.


NZ don’t really talk ourselves up, if anything the rugby does it for us. No kiwi goes in the media and says: ‘We are gonna win the RWC’. However, I have found many instance of IRISH media saying that the Irish should win, without a doubt. THAT is disrespectful.


The All Blacks have played good rugby, even some of the best rugby ever, at many points in history, but I don’t think you could find a single instance of one of those players, or the NZ media, saying that they should whitewash their opponents. Ever.


Now, onto your analysis. Ireland DID choke the QF. They beat the champions, they were ranked first coming into it, a lot of players at the peaks of their powers. Its hard to say that they didn’t choke. Obviously, their preparation was just not as good as NZ, and thats all there really is to it.


If Ireland had repsected that ABs team and that QF more, maybe they would’ve prepared properly for it and won. But they didn’t.


Maybe if Ireland had won their QF last RWC, they wouldn’t have to be in the same pool as SA and Scotland. I mean, its called a draw for a reason. NZ got third last RWC, so of course they should get a reasonable pool, and they were ranked pretty highly too. If you want to talk about easy pools, look no further than Pool 3 with England, Australia, Fiji, and Georgia I think?


Now, obviously you don’t remember how that QF ended, so I’ll go ahead and rectify that. Ireland reclaimed the ball off kickoff and marched for 20ish phases into the opposition half. Savea then won a turnover, but the referee refused to give it, so play went on. Finally, at the NZ 22, after not giving up a single penatly in 25 phases of hard defense, Sam Whitelock, the most capped All Black of all time, wins the game with an incredible steal.


Now, NZ players having a go at Ireland. Do you cry when you get hit after making the first swing? We all know Sexton is a prick on the field, its just the truth. And Ioane never backs down from a clash, so he thought he should humble a player who has never won an international knockout game who thought he was all that. Don’t really see the issue, its poetic justice really.

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