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Fissler Confidential: Chase is on for England pair, Pollard's huge offer
By Neil Fissler
England wingers Ollie Sleightholme and Tom Roebuck are both out of contract at the end of the season and appear on the wanted list of several rival Premiership clubs.
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Slightholme won two England caps against New Zeland in the summer after helping his hometown club, Northampton Saints, win a Premiership crown last season, while Inverness-born Roebuck played against Japan in June.
Saracens, Harlequins, Bath, Exeter Chiefs and Gloucester are all looking at back three options for next season and are understood to be keeping a close eye on developments with a view to making a move if the talks stall.
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Scotland tight-head Will Hurd could be heading North of the border at the end of the season, where it is understood that Edinburgh are interested in taking him to play in the Scottish capital.
Ashby-de-la-Zouch born Hurd who qualifies for Scotland through his maternal grandmother, made his test debut against Canada in the summer and was named by Gregor Townsend in his squad for the Autumn International Series.
Hurd, who has only made one appearance for the Tigers this season, was educated at Cardiff Metropolitan University and was named in the BUCS Super Rugby team of the year in 2020.
The Stormers are understood to have pulled out of the bidding to sign Lions scrum-half Sanele Nohamba when his three-year contract with the Lions runs out at the end of the season.
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Lions playmaker Nohamba, 25, who started his career with the Sharks, had been lined up to replace Paul de Wet, but Fissler Confidential now understands that John Dobson is now looking elsewhere.
The CV of the former South Africa under-20 international who also plays as a fly-half can now be found on the desks of several heads of recruitment of Japan Rugby League One clubs who are now looking into a potential signing.
Exeter Chiefs are keeping close tabs on Harlequins’ former England under-20 international hooker Nathan Jibulu who will be on the bench when the London side visit Devon in the Premiership tomorrow afternoon.
Wimbledon College-educated Jibulu, 21, who has had loan spells at Esher and London Scottish, has scored four tries in 19 appearances for Quins after making a try-scoring debut in the Premiership Cup against Saracens in September 2021.
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Rob Baxter, who this week admitted the club are ‘miles off the salary cap’, has been cleared to bring in replacements this season and is also understood to be looking for a scrum-half.
Leicester Tigers look to be facing an uphill battle to keep their back-to-back World Cup-winning fly-half Handre Pollard at Welford Road after Suntory Sungoliath entered the bidding to sign him when his contract runs out.
Tigers want Pollard, 30, to cut his £600,000 a season wages while he can expect a pay rise if he opts to move back to Japan’s Rugby League One, where he had a spell with Osaka Red Hurricanes before joining Montpellier.
Suntory Sungoliath is the home of his long-time Springbok team-mate winger Cheslin Kolbe, who moved to the club when he departed Toulon last year.
Jaco Coetzee, who has scored two tries in six appearances off the bench this season, could be on his way out of Bath at the end of the season after being offered to Top 14 outfit Bordeaux and South African teams.
Pretoria-born No. 8 Coetzee, 28, who can play on either side of the flanker, moved to the Rec from the Stormers in February 2021 while he was recovering from a knee injury and has been hindered by injuries throughout his stay.
He penned a year’s extension earlier this year and hasn’t started a game since a defeat at Harlequins in March but could find opportunities for a move-home limited.
Former dual-code international Kyle Eastmond has returned to rugby league to take up his first head coach role after joining second-tier Championship Halifax Panthers on a three-year contract.
Eastmond, 35, who was capped six times by England after switching to union with Bath in 2011, had started his coaching career in union at Rotherham and Jersey Reds before they went out of business.
The former St Helens ace, who also had spells with Wasps and Leicester Tigers before retiring four years ago, had been doing some work at Super League Warrington Wolves and has moved to the Shay Stadium immediately.
Montpellier are expecting an imminent decision from All-Black scrum-half Finlay Christie about whether or not he will be taking up an offer to join them when his deal with the New Zealand Rugby Union runs out next year.
Montpellier, who have already beaten Saracens to secure the signature of Harlequins inside centre Lennox Anyanwu, have also got Leinster and Ireland fly-half Ross Byrne on their shopping list.
Ospreys, Wales and Lions 6ft 8in lock, Adam Beard, who is in the final year of his contract, is also a target for the club according to Midi Olympique. Bernard Laporte’s side are again struggling near the foot of the Top 14 table this season.
Saracens have won the race and beaten off United Rugby Championship sides to sign highly-rated teenage South African fly-half Luke Davidson, according to South African media outlet PlugSports.
Davidson, 18, is being educated at Michaelhouse, a private boarding school in Balgowan Valley in the Midlands of KwaZulu-Natal earned rave reviews for his form in the recent Craven Week.
His father, Brett, was a hugely successful schoolboy rugby player and, in 1990, was named in the Natal Craven Week team before going on to have a successful business career with interests in restaurants, takeaways and tyres.
Racing 92 president Laurent Travers has denied that he is on his way back into coaching as director of rugby at Top 14 rivals Bayonne.
Travers, who won a European Cup title with Brive, spent a decade with Racing after starting his coaching career with Montauban and Castres took over as president from Jacky Lorenzetti.
“I would like to clarify that I am the only person authorized to talk about my future. Fully invested in my duties as chairman of the Racing 92 management board, I deny any agreement with other clubs,” he said in a statement.
No brainer for Pollard. Playing in Japan will extend his career too.
Pity we can’t keep Luke Davidson in SA.