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Warrick Gelant the latest Bok picked off by French heavyweights - report

By Stefan Frost
Warrick Gelant /Getty

Stormers back Warrick Gelant looks set to fill the void left by Teddy Thomas when he leaves Racing 92 at the end of the season.

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According to Rapport, Gelant is reported to be joining the Parisians from the Cape Town URC franchise on a salary of around €450,000 (R7.7 million) per season.

Gelant will move to Paris at the end of the season to plug the gaps created in Racing’s back three following Simon Zebo’s departure to Munster last summer and Thomas’s scheduled move to La Rochelle.

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Zebo on Farrell

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Zebo on Farrell

A fullback by preference, Gelant was part of South Africa’s World Cup winning squad and will leave Cape Town after Western Province and the Stormers failed to persuade the 26-year-old star to extend his contract, which ends in June. Negotiations have been ongoing since late last year and ultimately failed, ending Gelant’s two year stretch with the Stormers.

In the opening two United Rugby Championship games of this season, Gelant was named on the bench for the Stormers, watching on as fellow Springbok Damian Willemse started at fullback. Gelant’s first start came in a 20-10 victory over the Sharks at Cape Town Stadium. He also started at 15 against the Lions at the weekend, with Willemse at 12.

Gelant will become the latest in a long line of South Africans to migrate to France, joining the likes of Cheslin Kolbe who is now at Toulon.

RugbyRama are reporting that Tongan scrum half Sonatane Takulua will join Pro D2 side Agen at the end of the season. He plays his rugby with relegation threatened Toulon at present, having spent the bulk of his career with the Newcastle Falcons.

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His transfer comes after reports that Agen scrum-half Paul Graou, a standout player in the French second division, is moving to Toulouse for the 2022/23 season.

Graou joined Agen last off-season from US Montauban on a two-year contract and is now using a clause in that deal to push a move to the Top 14. The clause must be activated before the end of February if Graou is to reunite with his friend Antoine Dupont in Toulouse.

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Ed the Duck 2 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Hey Nick, your match analysis is decent but the top and tail not so much, a bit more random. For a start there’s a seismic difference in regenerating any club side over a test team. EJ pretty much had to urinate with the appendage he’d been given at test level whereas club success is impacted hugely by the budget. Look no further than Boudjellal’s Toulon project for a perfect example. The set ups at La Rochelle and Leinster are like chalk and cheese and you are correct that Leinster are ahead. Leinster are not just slightly ahead though, they are light years ahead on their plans, with the next gen champions cup team already blooded, seasoned and developing at speed from their time manning the fort in the URC while the cream play CC and tests. They have engineered a strong talent conveyor belt into their system, supported by private money funnelled into a couple of Leinster private schools. The really smart move from Leinster and the IRFU however is maximising the Irish Revenue tax breaks (tax relief on the best 10 years earnings refunded at retirement) to help keep all of their stars in Ireland and happy, while simultaneously funding marquee players consistently. And of course Barrett is the latest example. But in no way is he a “replacement for Henshaw”, he’s only there for one season!!! As for Rob Baxter, the best advice you can give him is to start lobbying Parliament and HMRC for a similar state subsidy, but don’t hold your breath… One thing Cullen has been very smart with is his coaching team. Very quickly he realised his need to supplement his skills, there was talk of him exiting after his first couple of years but he was extremely shrewd bringing in Lancaster and now Nienaber. That has worked superbly and added a layer that really has made a tangible difference. Apart from that you were bang on the money… 😉😂

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