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Saracens make prop Fraser Balmain their sixth signing for 2024/25

Gloucester prop Fraser Balmain (Photo by Rob Newell/CameraSport via Getty Images)

Deposed Gallagher Premiership champions Saracens have ended their long and increasingly desperate search for a new tighthead after making Gloucester’s Fraser Balmain their sixth signing for next season.

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The 32-year-old Loughborough University-educated Balmain made 139 appearances for the Cherry and Whites since joining in 2017. He had been touted for a move to the Top 14 or Pro D2 in France but will instead remain in the English top flight and link up with Saracens.

The former Leicester Tigers ace, who has played England in an uncapped game against the Barbarians, only signed a new deal with Gloucester in March 2023 but will now move to London next month.

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Rassie Erasmus on Test at Twickenham

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Rassie Erasmus on Test at Twickenham

Balmain played 17 times for Gloucester in their 2023/24 campaign and his last start came in their European Challenge Cup final defeat to the Sharks, the South African United Rugby Championship outfit, at Tottenham last month.

A 2013 Premiership final replacement for the Tigers, the club where he spent six seasons before joining Gloucester, Balmain will be a direct replacement for Christian Judge, who is heading off to the south of France to join Beziers.

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He will join fellow new signings Sam Spink from the Western Force, Wales loosehead Rhys Carre, Crusaders fly-half Fergus Burke and the Newcastle Falcons pair, loosehead Phil Brantingham and fly-half Louie Johnson, at the StoneX Stadium.

The signing of Balmain, who was released by Newcastle in 2010, will help alleviate concerns that Saracens have been making little headway with their recruitment drive in the last few weeks. RugbyPass understands that with the signing of Balmain, who once turned down an academy contract with Northampton, across the line that they have switched their attentions to signing a new lock

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It is also believed that they are looking for a winger after Sean Maitland and Alex Lewington’s retirements or a centre to cover for ACL injury victim Olly Hartley, but someone for the second row is the new priority.

 

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M
Mzilikazi 2 hours ago
Does the next Wallabies coach have to be an Australian?

Great read on a fascinating topic, Nick. Thanks as always.


My gut feel is that Joe Schmidt won't carry on through to the next RWC. He is at the stage, and age, in his life , that a further two years in a very high pressure coaching job would not be a good thing for either himself or his family. The fact that he remains based in Taupo seems a significant pointer, I would have thought. I believe he has a round trip of 12 hrs driving just to get on a plane to Australia.


Amongst the many good things Joe Schmidt has achieved to this point is that the WB's are now a more enticing prospect to coach going forward.


Tbh, the only Australian coach I would see stepping up and developing the WB's further would be Les Kiss. He has far more in his CV than any other Australian. He now has 23 years of coaching Union,starting with a defence role with the Boks, then back to Australia with the Waratahs. Overseas again for nine years in Ireland, which included 5 years as defence coach with the national team, during which he was interim head coach for two games, both wins. His last years in Ireland were with Ulster, even then a team beginning a decline. So that spell was his least successful. Finally the spell with London Irish, where I felt Kiss was doing very well, till the club collapsed financially.


Of the other Australian options, Dan McKellar has a lot to prove post the year with Leicester. Stephen Larkham has not, in my view, yet shown outstanding qualities as a coach. Nether man has anything close to Kiss's experience. Some may see this as being harsh on both men, ignoring good work they have done. But is how I see it.


Looking outside Australia, I would see Vern Cotter as a strong possibility, if interested. His time with Scotland was outstanding. Ronan O'Gara, I would think, might well be another possibility, though he has no international experience. Jake White ? Maybe .

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