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Stuart Olding nearing deal with new club

Stuart Olding in action for Ulster in October 2016 against Exeter Chiefs.(Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

After having his contract revoked by the IRFU this month, former Ulster centre Stuart Olding has been looking for a new club and sources have confirmed to RugbyPass that Sale Sharks are close to finalising his signing.

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Olding, along with former provincial teammate Paddy Jackson, was part of a high-profile criminal investigation over the last few months and although found not guilty of rape, his conduct in the event was deemed unacceptable and his position at Ulster became untenable.

Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond has taken on players with chequered pasts before, helping them turn around their careers, and he will be hoping he can have a similar effect on Olding, should the Irish centre agree to terms with the Premiership club.

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Diamond and Sale are not afraid to ruffle feathers and have also been aggressively pursuing Israel Folau, who made controversial comments about homosexuality on social media earlier this month and is currently facing a backlash from fans and players alike.

With the club losing Will Addison and Mike Haley to Ulster and Munster respectively, there are obvious holes in the Sale squad at centre and full-back, making the on-field decision to pursue both Olding and Folau understandable.

With the Olding deal nearing competition and Sale having since, per RugbyPass sources, increased the previously reported £750k offer to Folau, the club will have to prepare for an inevitable PR hit if they sign one or both players.

Diamond and the new Sale ownership are keen to flex their muscle and push Sale further up the table and it seems as if they are willing to give Olding the fresh start he craves, and they are comfortable with the risks associated with that.

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JW 1 hour ago
Scott Robertson explains the new halves pairing for the All Blacks ahead of France

More indecision and excuses from Razor.


You've given a spot at 6 to Finau whom you haven't even had the courage to use off the bench in the last two games. Now the young enforcer is going into a big much with no rugby, we should expect a similar result to how Aumua struggled to impact a game after he'd hardly been given any chances of the bench either.


Weve now dropped a back three player who also wasn't even given any game time off the bench for someone coming in cold when they really need to have been playing constantly to perform at their best. There are just so many better pictures that should have been present rather than this mickey mouse selection.


I really hope Finau can overcome this, it won't be the first time he's had to. How is the bench even made up? Could you not just have included these changes in the article as well? I actually like BB coming back in, it highlights how courageous he is after sitting out through another concussion that could just as easily sent him back into months of symptoms again.


Dmac was also off his game last week, as was Ratima, with the poor platform Razor and his team have been setting the players up with. He needs to freedom to clear his mind from the clutter that saw him make so many bad decisions last week. It will still probably be a net loss for the team performance not having him on from the start but it should be better for them in the long run if he's allowed to just come on late and play his game trying to claw things back for the team.


With Roigard starting that might prove an outlet for the team to actually get on top first however. Along with Ardie busting a gut in his new role and emptying the tank by halftime, and being replaced by another new star, might mean that Dmac is just icing on the cake at the end.

13 Go to comments
F
Flankly 1 hour ago
Jake White: If I was England coach, I’d have been livid

I am not an England fan, but still very disappointed at what Borthwick is serving up. Regardless of winning or losing, they should be executing the basics at a world class level. That was the reason they replaced Eddie with Steve. After two years England has not built the solid foundations that the RFU were presumably after. Its hard to see it as anything other than a coaching problem.


Having said that I really hope that Rassie has got his team fired up for the game. The Boks at maximum intensity and with no crises (eg red cards) would be expected to win this game. But it does not take much reduction in pressure for Bok teams to lose. The Boks lose when complacency sets in.


On Felix Jones, my guess is that they can't agree on a non-compete so they kept him on payroll for the duration of the Nov tests. The risk was that he would be hired by Rassie or Razor prior to the tests.


As relates to law tweaking, it feels like WR are more comfortable discussing changes in laws than insisting on implementation. For my money the biggest thing they could do is to be strict and consistent in officiating ruck behavior. In every game we see flopping, lazy lying, clearing of unbound players, making plays while off your feet, delays in placing the ball, side entry, offside line infringements, and similar nonsense. It's really really bad, and the WR attitude seems to be that we should turn a blind eye in pursuit of "flowing rugby". In truth it's just boring, because it randomizes the outcome.

11 Go to comments
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