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Paddy Jackson to start for Perpignan against Connacht

Paddy Jackson before his Ulster exile (Photo by Charles McQuillan/Getty Images)

Paddy Jackson is to start at fly-half on Friday as Perpignan take on Connacht, who are in high spirits after winning four games in a row. Jackson will be hoping to steer his team to victory in what has been a disappointing season for Perpignan, who are 11 points adrift at the bottom of the Top 14 table.

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All eyes will be on the 26-year-old to see how he performs against a Connacht side that primarily consists of academy graduates.

Continue reading below…

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Connacht go into the game against Perpignan with four wins in a row in all competitions, and Head Coach Andy Friend says it is important to keep that momentum as Connacht face into the Christmas interpro series;

“We have gained some real momentum with four wins in a row that included our back to back victories in South Africa. It was important to get the win over Perpignan last weekend to keep our interest alive in this competition, but we know that the return fixture will be a completely different game. Perpignan are in search of a win and the longer they go without that win, the more dangerous they are. They are a different proposition when they are playing at home and we will need a huge performance to challenge them”, Friend said.

Perpignan are not able to qualify for the next stage of the Challenge Cup, however they will be desperate for a strong performance tomorrow to push them on to Top 14 survival, however improbable that seems.

 

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J
JW 8 hours ago
The Fergus Burke test and rugby's free market

Haha and you've got Alzheimers you old b@astard!


You haven't even included that second quote in your article! Thanks for the share though, as I found a link and I never knew that he would have been first school boy ever to have a contract with NZR if he had of chosen to stay.

n an extraordinary move, Tupou will walk away from New Zealand despite being offered extra money from the NZRU — the only time they have made such an offer to a schoolboy.While Tupou has fielded big-money offers from France and England, he said it was best for him and his family to live in Australia, where his older brother Criff works as a miner and will oversee his career.

Intersting also that the article also says

“They said that ‘if you’re not on a New Zealand passport and you’ve been here for four years, you can play for the team’,” Tupou said.“But I’ve been here for four years and they said I can’t play for the New Zealand A team. It’s not fair. Maybe I’m not good enough to stay here.“But that’s one of my goals this year — to play for the New Zealand A team. If I can play with them, then maybe I’ll change my mind from going to Australia. If I have the chance to play for the All Blacks, I’ll take it.”

And most glaringly, from his brother

Criff Tupou said: “What people should understand is that this in not about what Nela wants, or what I want, but what is best for our poor little family.“Playing rugby for New Zealand or Australia will always come second to our family.“My mum lives in Tonga, she would not handle the weather in New Zealand.“And I have a good job in Australia and can look after Nela.“If things don’t work out for him in rugby, what can he do in New Zealand? He is better off in Australia where I can help him get a job.“New Zealand has more rugby opportunities, but Australia has more work and opportunities, and I need to look after my little brother.“We haven’t signed a contract with anyone, we will wait and see what offers we get and make a decision soon.”

So actually my comment is looking more and more accurate.


It does make you wonder about the process. NZR don't generally get involved too much in this sort of thing, it is down to the clubs. Who where they talking to? It appears that the brother was the one making the actual decisions, and that he didn't see the same career opportunities for Taniela as NZR did, prioritizing the need for day jobs. That is were rugby comes in, I'm sure it would have been quite easy to find Criff much better work in NZ, and I highly suspect this aspect was missed in this particular situation, given the discussions were held at such a high level compared to when work can normally be found for a rugby signing. How might his career have paned out in NZ? I don't really buy the current criticisms that the Aussie game is not a good proving ground for young players. Perhaps you might have a better outlook on that now.


So you TLDR shouldn't be so aggressive when suffering from that alzheimers mate👍


Well I suppose you actually should if you're a writer lol

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