These are your rugby headlines on Saturday, January 6.
Farrell switch twist emerges
Racing 92 have denied they’re near signing Owen Farrell after the England captain was linked with a shock transfer to the Top 14 membership.
The Saracens fly-half is lacking the Six Nations to take care of his psychological heath however is reportedly on the verge of quitting English rugby altogether, with a transfer to France set to finish his worldwide profession. But whereas French media claimed on Friday that Farrell was in superior switch talks, these have been dismissed by Racing, who’re coached by former England boss Stuart Lancaster. Get the latest rugby information despatched straight to your inbox at no cost with our day by day e-newsletter.
A membership assertion issued on Friday night learn: “Racing 92 is recurrently underneath the aegis of quite a few speculations regarding actions inside its workforce. We are delighted with the attraction of our membership Racing 92.
READ MORE: Why Gatland actually cannot have all these gamers go away Wales as steadiness must be discovered
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“However, we deny any settlement regarding the English participant Owen Farrell.”
The hypothesis comes after England coach Steve Borthwick admitted there was no guarantee that the 32-year-old, who turned his nation’s main factors scorer on the World Cup, would return to Test rugby after he made his choice to take day trip from the game.
“We are all hopeful Owen will return to the England workforce at some point, however that is going to be a choice Owen makes,” Borthwick mentioned on Thursday. “Owen and I spoke proper on the finish of the World Cup. We have been truly in Paris. We took a walk and he shared a few of his ideas and what he was considering at that time limit.
“Then he took a interval of reflecting and we met a few weeks later and he instructed me of his choice to step away. He expressed a few of his emotions, which is clearly a confidential dialog. The very first thing I’ll say there’s I’m stuffed with admiration for this man – as a person, a participant and a frontrunner. It takes a variety of braveness to do what he is accomplished.”
Wales completely written off
Wales have been fully written off by bookmakers, lower than one month earlier than they begin their Six Nations marketing campaign towards Scotland in Cardiff.
Warren Gatland’s facet are so long as 33/1 to win the title with some bookies, in comparison with odds of 14/1 this time final 12 months and 6/1 in 2022. Wales are tipped to complete in fifth place, forward of solely Italy, who in addition they play at home, together with favourites France. Difficult away journeys to Dublin and Twickenham full the 2024 Six Nations fixture listing.
While the lengthy odds are defined by a poor marketing campaign in 2023, Gatland shall be quietly hopeful the advance in type proven on the Rugby World Cup is usually a catalyst for a extra optimistic match this time round.
Various young and thrilling gamers are rising this season, with new faces set to be named within the squad, which shall be introduced in lower than a fortnight. You can see who Gatland is being backed to choose right here.
France are favourites for the 2024 Six Nations at 5/4, adopted by Ireland (6/4), England (6/1) and Scotland (14/1).
Injured Sheedy misses shock win
Welsh Six Nations hopeful Callum Sheedy was pressured to overlook Bristol Bears shock win over Sale Sharks after selecting up an damage.
The Bears went into the conflict at Salford Community Stadium on Friday as underdogs, with the Sharks having received all of their final 12 home video games to place them third within the Premiership desk. But a spirited workforce efficiency and tries from Gabriel Ibitoye, Jonny Hill and Max Malins noticed the guests triumph 14-22.
However, fly-half Sheedy performed no half within the thrilling encounter having been dominated out by damage pre-match. Instead, he was changed by USA worldwide AJ MacGinty who made his long-awaited return for the Bears towards his former membership having torn his hamstring on the opening night time of the season.
It is a setback for Sheedy who has impressed in recent weeks with a sequence of assured performances. The 16-cap worldwide has caught the attention of Warren Gatland forward of the Six Nations because the Wales boss appears for extra fly-half choices – and he shall be hoping that this knock is not going to jeopardise his place within the Welsh squad.
MacGinty put in a strong efficiency on his return, scoring seven factors from the tee to safe the win for Bristol.
England gamers power RFU payout
The RFU have been pressured to pay England gamers a six-figure sum as a dispute over match charges for his or her World Cup third-place play-off conflict with Argentina was lastly settled.
The dispute arose as whereas there have been pre-agreed charges for reaching the ultimate and profitable the match, the Elite Player Squad settlement contained no set price for showing within the third-place play-off. However, the Rugby Players’ Association, performing on behalf of England gamers, argued {that a} clause within the contract acknowledged that these showing in matches not individually specified ought to nonetheless obtain an applicable price.
After taking it to the impartial Sports Resolution physique, a ruling has now been made in favour of the RPA, Telegraph Sport experiences. As a outcome, gamers will now obtain a match price of round £12,000, which is equal to what they earned for taking part in in pool matches, though these are shared with the broader 33-man squad.
Steve Borthwick’s facet claimed third place ultimately 12 months’s World Cup, beating Argentina 26-23 within the play-off on the Stade de France after narrowly dropping to eventual champions South Africa within the semi-finals.
An RFU spokesperson mentioned: “The contracts for the England Men’s workforce on the most recent Rugby World Cup included bonus funds. Such funds are at all times budgeted for in planning for tournaments.
“As the position on the Bronze Final was not clear, it was agreed that this might be independently determined, with a dedication that the RFU was pleased to fulfil any confidential contractual cost primarily based on the impartial choice.”
