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Fissler Confidential: Prem club to ringfence Six Nations star
By Neil Fissler
Gloucester have moved early to try and tie down Wales scrum-half Tomos Williams on a long-term deal, despite him being under contract until the end of next season.
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Williams, 30, spent a decade with Cardiff before crossing the English border last July and has been hugely impressive, playing a key role in the Cherry and Whites’ charge up the Premiership table this season.
He will be able to speak to clubs when he enters the final year of his contract, but talks are now understood to be at an advanced stage and could be wrapped up before the end of the season.
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Marco Bortolami – who is leaving United Rugby Championship outfit Benetton at the end of the season – could move to the Premiership, with his CV doing the rounds of clubs.
Bortolami, 44, who spent four years playing in the Premiership for Gloucester between 2006 and 2010, clocked up over 110 appearances for the Azzurri before going into coaching in 2016.
He had been Benetton’s head coach since 2021 and is close to Sale Sharks boss Alex Sanderson, but a move to the North West doesn’t appear to be on the cards at this stage.
Len Ikitau is still locked in talks with Rugby Australia about signing a long-term contract that would take him through to the 2027 Rugby World Cup, which is being held Down Under.
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Outside centre Ikitau, 26, has been in outstanding form for the Brumbies this season, scoring four tries in six Super Rugby appearances, including a hat-trick in the 38–21 win over Fijian Drua in their round five clash.
Exeter Chiefs are waiting to announce that Ikitau is joining them later this year, but it is understood the deal is being held up until the outcome of his talks with Rugby Australia is known.
Bristol Bears lock Josh Caulfield is on his way back to London next season when his contract with the Premiership outfit runs out and is set to drop into the Championship to play for Ealing Trailfinders.
Caulfield, 27, started his career at Exeter Chiefs and Wasps before joining London Irish. He has played for the Bears eight times in the Premiership and Premiership Cup this season but is leaving for Ealing.
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The whispers are that the Trailfinders, who were recently blocked from winning promotion to the Premiership, will be paying Caulfield, a Premiership Cup finalist in 2023, £90,000 a year to leave the Bears.
Former England openside Matt Kvesic has been lined up by Worcester Warriors for a third spell at Sixways when the reformed club joins the Championship next season, which was confirmed by the RFU last week.
Kvesic, 32, started his career with the Warriors in 2009, left for Gloucester in 2013 before returning from Exeter Chiefs seven years later, and has spent the last couple of seasons playing for Coventry in the Championship.
It is understood that Cardiff’s Oxford-born fly-half Rory Jennings, who counts Clermont Auvergne, London Irish, Newcastle Falcons and Bath among his former clubs, is another player they are interested in signing.
Johan Ackermann has been sounded out about returning to coaching in Japan next season but is waiting to see what happens closer to home at the end of the United Rugby Championship season.
Ackermann, 54, returned to South Africa last year after several seasons abroad to become a coaching consultant for the Junior Springboks and is a target for an unnamed Japan Rugby League One side.
But the Stormers and the Bulls are reportedly considering making changes to their staff at the end of the season, and Ackermann is waiting to see what happens before committing to a return to Japan.
Leicester Tigers are fighting to keep hold of England Under-20 winger Malelili Satala-Navlivou, who is attracting interest from United Rugby Championship outfit Edinburgh.
Satala-Navlivou, 20, is the son of Fijian international Apolosi Satala, who played for Leeds Carnegie, Gloucester and Sale Sharks and was a bronze medallist at the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
He made four appearances for the Tigers in the Premiership Cup this season, scoring a try against Northampton, and has also played for Nottingham in the Championship. He has not yet agreed a new deal with the Tigers.
Sam Maunder is rumoured to be on his way to join elder brother Jack in France next season as the Exeter Chiefs squad clear-out shows no signs of slowing down.
Former England Under-20 scrum-half Maunder, 25, made four appearances for the Chiefs this season before dropping into the Championship to join Coventry, where he has played six times on loan.
He is now on the radar of an unnamed French club as he looks to join Jack, who signed with Pro D2 outfit SU Agen after leaving Melbourne Rebels, who were disbanded only a year after he left Sandy Park.
Jamison Gibson-Park might not be the only Irish international in the family for much longer after revealing that his wife Patti has resumed competing in judo with a view to representing their adopted nation.
The Ireland scrum-half told the Irish Independent this week that Patti, who was named in New Zealand’s team for the 2014 Commonwealth Games, didn’t take up her place.
“She’s pretty keen to give it another crack. The kids are kind of at the age where she feels like she’s got a bit of time back. They’re over the baby age. She has a bit of time to get after something herself,” he said.
Former Queensland Red and Wallaby star Jordan Petaia has hit the jackpot after it was revealed that his contract with NFL franchise Los Angeles Chargers is worth around AU$6 million (£2.8m).
Petaia, whom the Chargers have picked up to play tight end, impressed the Kansas City Chiefs, Miami Dolphins and Atlanta Falcons after his showing in the NFL’s International Pathway Programme.
He will, however, need to secure a place on the Chargers’ 53-man roster for the big-money clause to kick in, but it is still small change compared to the £203 million five-year deal that Chargers quarterback Justin Herbert has.
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