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'He has battled through adversity to get to this stage': Ospreys sign Irishman Regan from New Zealand

(Photo by Kai Schwoerer/Getty Images)

Ospreys have confirmed their second signing from the Super Rugby Highlanders, Irish lock Jack Regan following utility back Michael Collins to the Welsh region in the hope that success for the club is just around the corner under Toby Booth. The three-year deal is a fantastic reward for the 24-year-old Irish forward who was told in 2020 that he was being released by Ulster after three years in their academy.

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Fearing his career was over after just a single PRO14 appearance, he followed up a call from out of the blue to play a season for Dunedin in the local Otago leagues by arriving in New Zealand just over a week before the country went into lockdown 15 months ago.

From there he worked his way into the province’s Mitre 10 Cup squad before going on to start the Highlanders’ opening two matches in Super Rugby Aotearoa, exposure that piqued the interest of clubs back in Europe.

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“This is a great opportunity for me with the Ospreys and a team with such a proud history,” said Regan to the Welsh club’s website after inking his deal. “There was interest from other clubs but the squad there is building impressive performances and wins, and you just feel is heading for success.

“I just want to be a part of that and play my role and add some value to the squad.  I cannot wait to get to Swansea and to get going. This a real chance to play at the top level and learn from the quality locks like Alun Wyn Jones, Adam Beard and Bradley Davies.

“I have watched a lot of the Ospreys games and you can see Toby is giving young players a chance. For a young guy, that is very exciting. He trusts all the young lads to do a job for the team – you cannot ask for more than that from a coach. This is just a great opportunity for me to develop as a player after my experiences with Ulster and the Highlanders.”

The compelling story about how Regan gambled on going to New Zealand and saving his stalled career was something he recounted at length recently with RugbyPass, talking us through his career which started at Birr, the grassroots Co Offaly club, and culminated in a Super Rugby debut in February where within two minutes he was singled out for some rough stuff by All Blacks prop Joe Moody.

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“I couldn’t believe it,” said Regan at the time. “It was two minutes into the game and we had a maul. I just grabbed the collar of his jersey and he just lost his s***, didn’t he? I couldn’t believe it. I was getting hit in the head. In my head I was like, ‘Happy days, he is getting a red card here’. So I didn’t retaliate, I just left him to hit me.”

His new coach Booth added: “One of the great things about Jack is his back story, he has battled through adversity to get to this stage in his career. His determination and resilience are massive attributes for us to utilise going forward.”

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AM 37 minutes ago
'Freelancer' Izaia Perese shows the need for true inclusivity in Australian rugby

That's Cron's job though. Australia has had one of the most penalised scrums in international rugby for a long time. Just look at the scrum win loss percentage and scrum penalties. That is your evidence. AA has been the starter during that period. Pretty simple analysis. That Australia has had a poor scrum for a long time is hardly news. If bell and thor are not on the field they are woeful. So you are just plain wrong. They have very little time for the lions so doing the same old things that dont work is not going to get them there.


Ainsley is better than our next best tighthead options and has been playing well at scrum time for Lyon in the most competitive comp in the world. Superstar player? No. But better than the next best options. So that is a good enough guide. The scrummaging in the Prem is pretty good too so there is Sio's proof. Same analysis for him. Certainly better in both cases than Super, where the brumbies had the worst win loss and scrum pen in Super. Who plays there? Ohh yes... And the level of scrummaging in Super is well below the URC, prem and France with the SA teams out.


Nongorr is truly woeful. He's 130kg and gets shoved about. That just should not be happening at that weight for a specialist prop who has always played rugby cf pone with leauge. He has had enough time to develop at 23. You'd be better off with Pone who is at least good around the field for the moment and sending Nongorr on exchange to France or England to see if they can improve him with better coaching as happened with Skelton and Meafou. He isn't going to develop in time in super if he has it at all.


Latu is a better scrummaging hooker than BPA and Nasser. and he's the best aussie player over the ball at ruck time. McReight's super jackling percentage hasnt converted to international level but latu consistently does it at heniken level, which is similar to test level in the big games. With good coaching at La Rochelle he's much improved though still has the odd shocker. He should start the November games.

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