Exodus 2018

Stargazer

I can't remember it being posted before, but BOP's Monty Ioane has signed with Benetton Treviso in Italy for the rest of the 2017/18 season.

Bones

To be fair, wasn't Gopperth a NZ A player?

canefan

@bones yes

Stargazer

Stade Français has signed Harbour loosie Brandon Nansen as "supplementary player' for the rest of the Top 14 season.

jauzy019

George Moala and Tim Nanai-Williams both linked with a move to ASM Clermont next season, according to Midi Olympique.

Stargazer

Confirmed: Tim Nanai-Williams has signed a 3-year contract with Clermont. He'll join the squad at the end of the 2018 Super Rugby season.

http://www.asm-rugby.com/actus/tim-nanai-williams-s’engage-pour-3-saisons

Stargazer

According to today's Midi Olympique (Midol), Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal wants to part ways with a number of players, including Ma'a Nonu and former Springboks Duane Vermeulen and Marcel Van der Merwe. Guess who - according to Midol - they want to replace Vermeulen with? Jerome Kaino! Midol claims that there has already been contact between the two parties for more than a month.

Wait and see. Midol has been wrong before and Boudjellal doesn't always get what he wants. However, Kaino comes off contract in 2018.

booboo

@stargazer as much as I love Jerome he has run his race. Good luck in Toulon. Always grateful for 2011.

booboo

@booboo said in Exodus 2018:

@stargazer as much as I love Jerome he has run his race. Good luck in Toulon. Always grateful for 2011.

P.S. the very best ever looseforward trio I have ever seen was the 2010 version of Kaino - McCaw - Read...

Better than Whetton-Jones-Shelford. Better than Hill-Back-Dallaglio. Better than Poidevin-Roache- whoever. Better than Shaw-Mourie-Mexted. Better than any saffer trio which would have included Smith and Schalk Burger in the same 3.

They were awesome.

So awesome I was convinced we could win with two of the three.
... then we lost Kieran ...
... then Richie broke his foot ... then broke his foot ... then broke his foot ...
... thank god for Jerome ... my favourite player this century.

canefan

@booboo The 2015 RWC trio of McCaw Read Kaino was pretty good too. McCaw had two functioning feet for a start despite the fact that Read was under an injury cloud

JayCee

Jerome has been my favourite player for a long time.
Probably my all time favourite defensive play:

raznomore

@jaycee I remember seeing ti live with a bunch of people and noone else seemed to notice he'd just picked up Ioane in full flight in what should have been a try scoring run.

He was robbed of the IRB player of the year award that season.

raznomore

I expect Julian will turn up here any day now.

Bovidae

@raznomore said in Exodus 2018:

I remember seeing ti live with a bunch of people and noone else seemed to notice he'd just picked up Ioane in full flight in what should have been a try scoring run.

I had a great view of that tackle from the West stand.

My other memory was watching McCabe change his running line so he was smashed in a tackle by an AB (Read I think). It was hillarious to see.

jauzy019

Charlie Ngatai close to join french club Toulouse according to Midi Olympique.

taniwharugby

@jauzy019 wow, but you can certainly understand why he would be looking at his options and assume he knows his head well enough now that IF their management of head knocks isn't as great, he will know when he is not right.

jauzy019

@taniwharugby what do you think ?

taniwharugby

@jauzy019 I don't watch much French rugby, but based on some isolated incidents on the other side of the channel along with another on the Lions tour (although SBW was missed by our med team) I was just asking the question given we appear to have more players miss rugby due to concussion issues than others.

Stargazer

The same edition of Midol says that La Rochelle have signed Ihaia West for next season. As a Bay fan, I hope it's not true; not sure Falcon is ready to be our number one first-five.

Stargazer

Waikato and Tonga LH prop Latu Talakai and lock/loosie Leva Fifita have temporarily joined French Pro D2 club Grenoble as injury cover.

Dec 10, 2017

The Silver Fern

Exodus 2018

Deux internationaux tongiens rejoignent le FCG