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Lyon won't be signing Marcus Smith but they have taken interest in an Irish player's CV

(Photo by Jacques Feeney/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images)

Attempts by Lyon to try and tempt in-demand Harlequins out-half Marcus Smith into signing for the Top 14 club are over, but they have now reportedly taken an interest in ex-Northampton No10 JJ Hanrahan, who these days has been playing out of his native Munster. 

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The soon-to-be 22-year-old Smith has still to decide whether he is staying on at Harlequins. The dynamic at the London club has recently changed with the sudden departure of Paul Gustard as director of rugby and the on-going root-and-branch club review by Owen Eastwood.

Prior to Gustard’s exit, Smith had been linked with moves to the Top 14 and elsewhere in the Gallagher Premiership. Finding an out-half has been a major priority for some months now at Lyon, but the uncapped Smith has decided that a switch to France isn’t worth having to shelve his England international prospects for.  

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With Rhys Priestland expected to be leaving Bath at the end of the season, Smith was also linked some months ago with a move to The Rec but as it stands his future remains unresolved and there could be every chance now with Harlequins bringing in a new director of rugby that he will opt to stay on at The Stoop. 

With Lyon securing the signature of Smith no longer a possibility, Midi Olympique have also reported that the club are instead weighing up the credentials of La Rochelle’s Ihaia West, who is also wanted by Clermont, and Hanrahan, who spent two years at Northampton before returning to Munster in 2017. 

The 28-year-old kicked nine from nine when Munster pulled off an incredible Heineken Champions Cup comeback victory at Clermont in December, winning 39-31 at Stade Marcel Michelin after trailing 9-28 just 24 minutes into the game in France. 

Another possible out-half transfer in France is veteran Francois Trinh-Duc leaving Racing 92 at the end of the season to provide back-up to Matthieu Jalibert at Bordeaux, the club that Ireland back row CJ Stander has also been linked with. Bordeaux, though, are now expected to sign Louis Picamoles as their new No8.

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Eliza Galloway 36 minutes ago
Geoff Parling: An Englishman roasting the Lions?

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J
JW 1 hour ago
James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum

Lol you need to shoot your editor for that headline, even I near skipped the article.


France simply need to go to a league format for the Brennus, that will shave two weekends of pointless knockout rugby from their season and raise the competitions standards and mystique no end.


The under age loophole is also a easy door to shut, just remove the lower age limit. WR simply never envisioned a day were teams would target people under the age of 17 or whatever it is now, but much like with Rassie and his use of subs bench, that day was obviously always going to come. I can’t remember how football does it, I think it’s the other way around with them, you can’t sign anyone younger than that but unions can’t stop 17 or 18 yo’s from leaving for a pro club if they want to. There is a transaction that takes place of a few hundred thousand for a normal average player. I’d prefer rugby to be stricter and just keep the union bodies signoff being required.


What really was their problem with Kite and co leaving though? Do we really need a game dominated by Internationals? I even think WR’s proposed calendar might be a bit too much, with at minimum 12 top tier games being played in the World Championship. I think 10 to 12, maybe any one player playing 10 of those 12 is the best way to think of it, for every international team is max, so that they can allow their domestic comps to shine if they want, and other nations like Japan and Fiji can, even some of the home nations maybe, and fill out their calendar with extra tours if they like them as a way to make money. As it is RA don’t have as good a pathway system, so they could simply buy back those players if they turn good. Are they worried they’ll be less likely to? We wait for baited breath for the new season to be laid out in front of us by WR.

It could impose sanctions on the Fédération Française de Rugby, but the body which runs the Top 14 and the ProD2, the Ligue Nationale de Rugby, is entirely independent.

It’s not independent at all. The LNR is a body under, and commissioned by, the FFR (and Government control) to mediate the clubs. FFR can simply install a new club competition if they don’t listen, then you’d see whether the players want to stay at any club who doesn’t tow the line and move to the new competition, as they obviously wouldn’t fall under the auspice of world rugby. They would be rebels, which is fine in and upon itself, but they would isolate themselves from the rest of the game and would need to be OK with that. I have no doubt whatsoever that clubs would have to and want to fall in line to remain part of the EPCR and French rugby. Probably even the last thing they would want is to compete with another French domestic competition that has all the advantages they don’t.


All those players would do good for a few seasons in France, especially the fringe ones, with thankfully zero risk of them being poached if they turn good. New Zealand had a turn at keeping all of it’s talent, and while it upticked the competitiveness of the Super Rugby teams into a total dominance of Australian and South African counterparts (who were suffering more heavily than most the other way at that stage), it didn’t have as positive an effect on the next step up as ensuring young talents development is not hindered does. Essentially NZR flooded the locate market with players but inevitably it didn’t think the local economy could sustain any more pro teams itself, so now we are seeing a normal amount of exodus for the availability of places again. Are Australia in exactly the same footing? I think so, finances where dicey for a while perhaps but I doubt they are putting money constraints on their contracting now. It’s purely about who leaves to open up opportunity.

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LONG READ
LONG READ James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum James O'Connor, the Lions and the great club v country conundrum
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