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Fissler Confidential: Ex-NRL superstar to link-up with Owen Farrell in new club
By Neil Fissler
Former NRL Superstar Joey Manu is poised to sign a one-year deal with Racing 92 when his contract with Japanese club Toyota Verblitz runs out at the end of the Japan Rugby League One season.
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Manu, 28, has been playing under Steve Hansen this season, and it had been suggested that he could return to the Sydney Roosters, but he is set to move to the French capital this summer.
He will be playing alongside Owen Farrell, who, according to sources in France, will see out his contract because he feels bad about struggling with injuries since moving from Saracens at the end of last season.
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Johan Ackerman and Dawie Snyman have emerged as the two most likely contenders to take over at the Stormers if under-fire boss John Dobson falls on his sword at the end of the season.
The Stormers have lost their last three URC games and are three points outside of the final play-off place, and the suggestions are the Stormers owners, Red Disa Investments, could force out Dobson.
Ackerman is seen as the favourite for the job unless he decides to wait for Jake White to move upstairs at the Bulls and bring in a head coach, and could open the door for a promotion for backs and attack coach Snyman is also on the cards.
Perpignan are set to step up their interest in signing Harlequins, and Italy lock Dino Lamb when his contract with the Premiership club runs out at the end of the season.
Lamb, 26, who can also play in the back row, qualifies for Italy through his father, has played over 100 games for Quins since joining them in 2026 and was part of the side that won a Premiership title in 2021.
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He has played for Quins ten times this season and has won 11 caps for the Azzurri but looks set to be lured to Basque Country, especially now that Quins have recruited locks Guido Petti and Keiran Treadwell for next season.
Former Premiership and European champions Saracens have added Exeter Chiefs’ former England under-20 tight head Marcus Street to their shopping list as they ramp up their recruitment for next season.
Street, 26, who has made 99 appearances for his hometown club since joining in 2016, was a Premiership Finalist in 2021, coming off the bench for Harry Williams in the defeat against Harlequins.
Saracens are understood to have Ollie Hoskins, Marco Riccioni, and Fraser Balmain all out of contract at the end of the season and are keen on Street, who has made 14 appearances for the Premiership strugglers this season.
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Scottish lock Ewan Johnson is on Bayonne’s radar for a move from Oyonnax when his contract with the Pro D2 outfit runs out at the end of the season.
Johnson, 25, who qualifies for Scotland through his father, won the last of his four caps against Portugal has played 29 times for Oyonnax and has also had spells in France with Vannes and Racing 92.
Bayonne decided to move for him after failing to lure Springbok Salmaan Moerat and Wallaby Lukhan Salakaia-Loto into moving to France next season, and they have both signed new contracts with their existing clubs.
Former England under-20 international tight head Biyi Alo has been linked with a return to the Premiership and move to Leicester Tigers, according to whispers coming out of West London.
Hip Hop artist known as Biyi, 30, who was educated at Loughborough University has played for Saracens, Bedford Blues, Worcester Warriors, Coventry, Wasps, Racing 92 and now Ealing Trailfinders.
Ironically, the Tigers signed Sweden international prop Ale Loman on loan from Nottingham, and he played 40 minutes in the Premiership Cup victory over Coventry was a guitarist in a Swedish Death metal band called Bred.
Northampton Saints boss Phil Dowson wants to strengthen his back row for next season, and one of the players who has caught his attention is Exeter Chiefs ace Richard Capstick.
Capstick, 25, who was educated at Exeter University, can play anywhere across the back row, and the lock has made 18 appearances for the Chiefs this season to prove he is over the injury problems that started in November 2022.
A Premiership finalist in 2021 has made 83 appearances for the Chiefs and has been named on the bench for England A’s clash with Ireland A at Bristol City’s Ashton Gate on Sunday afternoon.
Bulls full-back Henry Immelman is set to leave the club this summer and will make the move to a Japanese Rugby League One side when his contract runs out.
Immelman, 29, who has also played on the wing and outside centre, has enjoyed travelling far and wide during his career, starting with five seasons in Montpellier before spending two at Edinburgh and moving to the Bulls in July 2023.
But he has struggled for game time, making only five appearances, with two this season against the Scarlets in the URC and then in a Champions Cup defeat against Castres in January.
Eddie Jones will be back in Australia in March as the prodigal son returns home to lead Japan Under 23s on a three-game development tour to allow him to look at players ahead of the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
They will play twice at the Coffs Harbour Festival of Rugby against the Australian Barbarians and then a NSW Country team before taking on Jones’s former club, Randwick, at Coogee Oval.
It will be a warm-up for the grudge match that will see the Wallabies play the Brave Blossoms in Tokyo on October 25, the first time he will have faced his former employers since their disastrous World Cup campaign.
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I don't know much about Joey Manu other than highlight reels… but this seems like exactly the sort of vanity signing that Racing should not be making. They've splashed so much cash on so many high profile flops. I'm sure for the money they're speculating on JM they could get a couple of gnarly warhorses with 100 test caps between them to give them some grit in the pack and steady the ship.