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Fissler Confidential: Bath's Ben Spencer issue, Paddy Jackson rumours
By Neil Fissler
Bath are considering Harlequins scrum-half Will Porter as a potential replacement for Ben Spencer, who is out of contract at the end of the season.
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Porter, 25, was born in Philadelphia and moved to London when he was one. He was educated at Merchant Taylors’ School. Northwood played for Wasps and Bristol Bears before joining Quins at the start of last season.
Ex-Saracens man Spencer was brilliant in Bath’s 38-16 win over Premiership champions Northampton Saints on Friday but hasn’t agreed on a new deal, which has led Bath to vast admiring glances in the direction of the former England under-19 international.
Positive news from Sale Sharks about England fly-half George Ford putting pen to paper and signing a new contract is expected imminently.
RugbyPass revealed a couple of weeks ago that Ford, who is set to reach a century of his caps this autumn, is now in the final year of his present agreement and has opened talks with the Premiership club.
We now believe that the deal is on the verge of completion, and Ford admitted in a recent round of media commitments that he had his eye on playing in the 2027 World Cup and will remain at the club until then.
New Zealand Olympic sevens star Moses Leo is set to cross the Tasman Sea and will cross codes after agreeing to join the NRL’s Melbourne Storm in 12 months.
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Leo and the Storm have agreed to a deal, but talks to buy him out of the remaining year of his NZRFU contract were unsuccessful, and he will have a year to make the switch.
Takapuna-born Leo, 27, was part of the NZ side that recently finished fifth in Paris and has been contracted to the NZRFU since 2021, but the Storm have been in talks for months about a long-term deal.
Bayonne have insisted that Tevita Tatafu won’t be joining Top 14 rivals Bordeaux next season because he is still under contract to them until June 2026.
Agents for the Tongan tighthead, 21, who has played 58 times for Bayonne, announced at the start of last week he would be joining his cousin with the same name at Bordeaux next season.
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But in an embarrassing move, Bayonne said that he is under contract to them, and Tatafu, who recently changed agents, will not be taking up the four-year deal he signed with Bordeaux and will be seeing out his contract with them.
Whispers reached Fissler Towers last week that one of the most controversial players from any of the home nations, former London Irish fly-half Paddy Jackson, was looking to return to the Premiership next season.
Ex-Ireland star Jackson, 32, has been playing for Lyon since July 2023 after the Exiles went out of business, making 27 appearances in the Top 14 and Champions Cup, scoring 184 points.
He joined Lyon, signing an initial one-year contract, but then signed a two-year extension until 2026 earlier this year, making a move to the Premiership an almost certain non-starter.
Bordeaux-Bègles tight head Carlu Sadie still has to decide whether to return to South Africa when his contract runs out at the end of the season or extend his stay in France for at least another couple of seasons.
Former South African under-20 international Sadie, 27, who hails from Bellville, Western Cape, is well-travelled, having played for the Stormers, Lions, Sharks and Stade Francais before moving to Bordeaux at the start of last season.
Sadie, a hulking front-row presence who weighs 138 kg (21 stone), has made 26 appearances for Bordeaux, including starting their wins over both Paris sides this season.
Bristol Bears, who have got AJ MacGinity out of contract at the end of the season, have started to look at potential options at fly-half for next season.
Dublin-born USA international MacGinity, who will be celebrating his 35th birthday next February, started his career with Connacht and then spent six years at Sale Sharks before moving to the Bears in 2022.
The Bears are still working out their strategy, which will see them splash out on a big name, sign someone in the mid-range, or just keep MacGinity, who has scored 240 points in 37 appearances since signing.
Springbok winger Makazole Mapimpi, who in 2019 became the first South African to score a try in a Rugby World Cup Final, has been linked with a switch to LA Rochelle when his Sharks contract runs out next summer.
LA Rochelle boss Ronan O’Gara is looking to replace another Springbok, Raymond Rhule. He has a list of players that he would like to sign, and that list includes Mapimpi, who will be 35 next summer.
But it’s by no means certain that Mapimpi, who has won back-to-back World Cups and scored 36 tries in 78 games for the Sharks, will move to France in the twilight of his career.
Former Yorkshire Carnegie, Bath, and Harlequins scrum-half Max Green will be plying his trade in France this season after joining Périgueux in the French third-tier Nationale.
Former Swedish under-18 international Green, 28, who was born in Bradford, joined Quins in September 2023 after spending six seasons at The Rec, during which time he had loans with Jersey Reds and Bristol Bears.
Green’s initial short-term deal was extended in December. He made one start in the 11 appearances he made in all competitions before being released at the end of last season. He has been searching for a club since then.
I thought Paddy Jackson was finally going to prison but alas… it was a different rumour..