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Amid odd Toulon statements, speculation mounts around club's two biggest signing

Semi Radradra and Malakai Fekitoa are yet to be officially announced at Toulon.

It’s no huge surprise, given the huge amount of money sloshing about, that the Top 14 is a storm-tossed maelstrom of rumour and speculation. Some of it is way off the mark. Some of it turns out to be entirely accurate.

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Right now, little more than a month before the new Top 14 season kicks off, two clubs are at the centre of three player mysteries in Malakai Fekitoa, Semi Radradra, and Johan Goosen.

Much of the current rugby talk in France – despite some fairly heavy and insistent denials from his agent – is all about whether sometime All Black Malakai Fekitoa will head to Toulon at the end of the Super Rugby season.

It’s no secret that the player has been a long-term target for the club. A deal seemed set in unofficial stone until the player’s 14-minute cameo in the third Test against the Lions. Then, doubt, apparently, crept in.

President Mourad Boudjellal reignited the Fekitoa speculation fire at a fan event earlier this week when he declared that the ‘imminent arrival of a world champion All Black centre’, would be ‘the biggest coup of the summer transfer market’.

Forty-eight hours later, the club poured cold water on its owner’s provocative come-on, insisting in an official statement that no player news can be officially considered official until it is officially announced – which Boudjellal’s comments, apparently, were not – and that anything prior to an official announcement, should one be made officially, was nothing more than wild and unsubstantiated speculation.

Following Toulon’s Fekitoa logic, there is no official news, either, about forgotten signing, Parramatta flyer Semi Radrada.

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The player’s management team are clear that he will head to France in September.

So is Radradra. He told Australia’s Daily Telegraph that he was looking forward to heading to France at the end of the NRL season, when he also shattered Fijian hopes that he would join the national side for the rugby league World Cup.

So far, however, Toulon have remained stonily silent. And Radrada’s name was noticeably absent from the list of squad players announced at the same fan event that prompted the new feeding frenzy over Fekitoa. Official announcements, etc…

Meanwhile, on the outskirts of Paris, there’s a hint that Racing 92 and South African utility back Johan Goosen may have mended the bridges they had apparently not just burned but nuked, dissolved in acid and buried in concrete midway through last season.

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Unlike Fekitoa and Radrada, no agents are visibly involved. Like Toulon, the club has made no official announcement. But the player’s bio is on the squad page of club’s website for the 2017/18 season.

The 24-year-old – who was voted Top 14 player of the 2016/17 season following a Brennus-winning campaign – suddenly quit Racing in December, despite earlier signing a contract extension to remain at the club until 2020.

He announced his retirement rather than continue to pick up the reported €40,000 a month his five-year Racing contract would have earned him, and became commercial director of a stud farm in his native South Africa for a reported 10% of his previous salary.

In March, rumours surfaced that Goosen was reconsidering his decision. Some even speculated he was ready to make a shock return to the Top 14 and the club he had suddenly quit. That never happened. But last month, French sports newspaper L’Equipe tracked him down in Bloemfontein, where they took photographs of him practising his kicking while sporting the shorts of his former (and possibly future) club.

It’s worth repeating that, as with the Toulon duo, there is no official news from the club on Goosen’s future. And French rugby media would have exploded if he had been spotted at the club’s Plessis-Robinson training ground. They got excited enough over the Bloemfontein pictures.

The image on the website may be there in error. But it has been up a while. It may be a subtle reminder to other clubs and rugby agencies that there’s – officially at least – unfinished legal business over Goosen’s December departure.

It may be that there is some huge news still to come.

Such is the Top 14. Such is modern, professional rugby. The only truth is that, sometimes, we just have to wait and see.

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Oh no, not him again? 2 hours ago
England internationals disagree on final play execution vs All Blacks

Okay, so we blew it big time on Saturday. So rather than repeating what most people have all ready said, what do I want to see from Borthwick going forward?


Let's keep Marcus Smith on the pitch if he's fit and playing well. I was really pleased with his goal kicking. It used to be his weakness. I feel sympathy for George Ford who hadn't kicked all match and then had a kick to win the game. You hear pundits and commentators commend kickers who have come off the bench and pulled that off. Its not easy. If Steve B continues to substitute players with no clear reason then he is going to get criticised.


On paper I thought England would beat NZ if they played to their potential and didn't show NZ too much respect. Okay, the off the ball tackles certainly stopped England scoring tries, but I would have liked to see more smashing over gainlines and less kicking for position. Yes, I also know it's the Springbok endorsed world cup double winning formula but the Kiwi defence isn't the Bok defence, is it. If you have the power to put Smith on the front foot then why muzzle him? I guess what I'm saying is back, yourself. Why give the momentum to a team like NZ? Why feed the beast? Don't give the ball to NZ. Well d'uh.


Our scrum is a long term weakness. If you are going to play Itoje then he needs an ogre next door and a decent front row. Where is our third world class lock? Where are are realible front row bench replacements? The England scrum has been flakey for a while now. It blows hot and cold. Our front five bench is not world class.


On the positive side I love our starting backrow right now. I'd like to see them stick together through to the next world cup.


Anyway, there is always another Saturday.

7 Go to comments
C
CO 3 hours ago
Scott Robertson responds to criticism over All Blacks' handling errors

Robertson is more a manager of coaches than a coach so it comes down to intent of outcomes at a high level. I like his intent, I like the fact his Allblacks are really driving the outcomes however as he's pointed out the high error rates are not test level and their control of the game is driving both wins and losses. England didn't have to play a lot of rugby, they made far fewer mistakes and were extremely unlucky not to win.


In fact the English team were very early in their season and should've been comfortably beaten by an Allblacks team that had played multiple tests together.


Razor has himself recognised that to be the best they'll have to sort out the crisis levels of mistakes that have really increased since the first two tests against England.


Early tackles were a classic example of hyper enthusiasm to not give an inch, that passion that Razor has achieved is going to be formidable once the unforced errors are eliminated.


That's his secret, he's already rebuilt the passion and that's the most important aspect, its inevitable that he'll now eradicate the unforced errors. When that happens a fellow tier one nation is going to get thrashed. I don't think it will be until 2025 though.


The Allblacks will lose both tests against Ireland and France if they play high error rates rugby like they did against England.


To get the unforced errors under control he's going to be needing to handover the number eight role to Sititi and reset expectations of what loose forwards do. Establish a clear distinction with a large, swarthy lineout jumper at six that is a feared runner and dominant tackler and a turnover specialist at seven that is abrasive in contact. He'll then need to build depth behind the three starters and ruthlessly select for that group to be peaking in 2027 in hit Australian conditions on firm, dry grounds.


It's going to help him that Savea is shifting to the worst super rugby franchise where he's going to struggle behind a beaten pack every week.


The under performing loose forward trio is the key driver of the high error rates and unacceptable turn overs due to awol link work. Sititi is looking like he's superman compared to his openside and eight.


At this late stage in the season they shouldn't be operating with just the one outstanding loose forward out of four selected for the English test. That's an abject failure but I think Robertson's sacrificing link quality on purpose to build passion amongst the junior Allblacks as they see the reverential treatment the old warhorses are receiving for their long term hard graft.


It's unfortunately losing test matches and making what should be comfortable wins into nail biters but it's early in the world cup cycle so perhaps it's a sacrifice worth making.


However if this was F1 then Sam Cane would be Riccardo and Ardie would be heading into Perez territory so the loose forwards desperately need revitalisation through a rebuild over the next season to complement the formidable tight five.

28 Go to comments
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