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Fissler Confidential: Sam Simmonds' future in France
By Neil Fissler
Pau are again taking a close look at reuniting Montpellier No8 Sam Simmonds with his younger brother Joe at Stade du Hameau next season. The 29-year-old was part of the Exeter Chiefs Premiership and Champions Cup double-winning side in 2020.
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He is in the second and final year of his contract with Montpellier but is believed to have an option for a third season. Pau was keen on signing the England and 2021 British and Irish Lions pick earlier this summer before Montpellier won their battle against relegation, and there are indications that they will make another attempt if an option isn’t taken up.
Steve Hansen’s Toyota Verblitz have emerged as the clear favourites to land former Scotland lock Richie Gray, whose departure from Glasgow at the end of November was confirmed on Friday. The 35-year-old returned to the Warriors four years ago after stints with Sale Sharks, Castres and Toulouse.
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He has collected 79 Scotland caps and another for the British and Irish Lions during their 2013 tour of Australia. Glasgow have “agreed to allow the second-rower to pursue a new playing opportunity abroad”, according to a press release, and Fissler Confidential understands that the Aichi-based Verblitz will be his destination.
Solomone Tukuafu is finally set to arrive on the Basque coast and could make his Biarritz Olympique bow against Brive next Friday after the Pro D2 pacesetters enjoyed this weekend off. The 28-year-old tighthead was a regular for Waikato in the NPC for three seasons, making a handful of Super Rugby appearances for the Chiefs and Highlanders before signing for the French club earlier this summer.
The drawn-out process of obtaining a work visa has so far prevented him from playing for Biarritz, who have won four of their first five games. That red tape has now been cleared and Tukuafu was due to arrive this weekend.
Leicester Tigers have opened talks with captain and England lock Ollie Chessum about a new deal that will secure his long-term future at Mattioli Woods Welford Road. The 24-year-old, who can also play anywhere in the back row, joined Nottingham straight from school, signed for the Tigers in 2020 and has clocked up almost 60 appearances for the Gallagher Premiership club.
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One of seven players to sign a contract extension in August 2022, Chessum is one of several senior players entering the final year of their deals at the Tigers and the club are keen to tie him down as quickly as possible.
Stormers utility back Suleiman Hartzenberg, who is being tipped to be part of the Springboks’ 2027 Rugby World Cup squad, is a player appearing on La Rochelle’s radar. The Cape Town-born 21-year-old has won South Africa U20 and A caps. He has scored 12 tries in 36 appearances for the Stormers and is someone that La Rochelle are keen to lure to the Top 14.
The speedster can play wing, inside and outside centre and is being touted for international selection if Rassie Erasmus decides to give fringe players a chance to impress when he names his squad to tour the UK next month.
Wallaby maverick James O’Connor had offers on the table from France and the United States before agreeing a move to New Zealand with the Crusaders. The 34-year-old utility back signed a one-year contract with the Crusaders as Rob Penney looked for another body to replace Fergus Burke, who has signed for Premiership side Saracens as Owen Farrell’s replacement.
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Having opted for a move across the Tasman, O’Connor could then look to wind up his career with a follow-on move to Major League Rugby as offers will still be on the table then.
Former England flyer Jonny May has told the French media that he is disappointed that he never got the chance to win a British and Irish Lions cap despite being his country’s second-highest try scorer of all time.
The 34-year-old is now playing for Soyaux Angouleme in the Pro D2 where he has touched down once in four appearances. He scored 36 tries for England, 13 behind the all-time leading try scorer Rory Underwood.
“Regrets? No, that’s not the word. Disappointment, on the other hand, yes. A lot. I feel like I gave everything I could and I was not selected. I couldn’t select myself. I just feel like I did my best without being caught. That’s how it is,” he said.
Sale are close to agreeing to a new three-year deal with England back-rower Tom Curry that will take him through until after the next World Cup in 2027. The 26-year-old, whose career was saved last season by a hip operation, rejected the chance to join Leicester Tigers in 2022 to put pen to paper on a contract with the Sharks.
That deal is due to expire at the end of this season but he is set to commit his future to the club and is also close to agreeing on a new deal of similar length with England fly-half George Ford, who is also in the final year of his current contract.
Gloucester are getting close to agreeing on new deals with a trio of highly-rated players, with Arthur Clark, Seb Blake and Caolan Englefield edging towards signing long-term contracts. The trio are in the final year with the Cherry and Whites, who have been looking to get all of their business done early and started to talk to them about new deals in the middle of pre-season.
Sources in the west country indicate that unless there are any last-minute hitches, they are expecting them all to put pen to paper and agree to stay at the club.
Former England and British and Irish Lions coach Jon Clarke is embroiled in a tug-of-war between clubs in the NRL and Super League after it was announced that he would link up with Hull FC next season. The ex-league star, who worked for England during the 2019 World Cup and the Lions when they toured South Africa two years later, had been named by Hull last week as their new high-performance consultant.
However, his current employer, Manly Sea Eagles, have insisted that he sees out the final year of his contract with them and continues to work with another former Eddie Jones assistant, Anthony Seibold.
