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Gallagher-Prime Minister
England international insider center Max Ojomoh has opened negotiations with former Gallagher PREM champions Bath on the extension of the contract, which expires at the end of the season.
Ojomoh, 26, scored a try in his only appearance against England Argentina last season and has the international record of two tries in two games. He entered the final year of his contract in July, but Bath started talks early.
He was a target for Leicester The Tigers have been in the past but have always opted to stay at the Rec and Bath are hoping to wrap up talks again in the next few weeks.
Fijian Olympic gold medalist Iosefo Masi, who was in the final year of his contract Top 14 the Lyon team, put on paper a two-year extension and will stay at the Stade de Gerland until 2029.
Masi, 28, who won gold at the 2021 Tokyo Games and then silver in Paris four years later, joined Lyon of Fijian Drua made 14 appearances and scored four tries at the start of last season.
Lyon have moved quickly to tie down the inside center to a new long-term deal after he started the season with two tries in his opening three games.
Ex Ireland and Lions side Stephen Ferris thinks Ulster two or three signings are needed to restore the glory days of the province.
He says he wants a return to the days when Ulster attracted World Cup winners and iconic players such as Ruan Pienaar, Johann Muller and John Afoa plying their trade in Belfast.
“I think Ulster need two or three signings to make the roof off their shopping spree and it may not be at the end of the season, but moving forward it’s clear where they need to get,” the Premier Sports pundit told Fissler Confidential.
Bristol Bears boss Pat Lam admits finding replacements for his growing list of long-term injuries is not easy, with clubs looking to keep players in their squads.
Bears owner Stephen Lansdown has tightened everything this season, but Lam has managed to bring in seven senior signings and has been hit by a series of lingering injury problems.
“We’re fine at the moment, but we’ve got one eye on options and so on. But with everyone starting their season, it’s probably less available than most people would think,” he said.
Alex Sanderson expects Sale Sharks to be much quieter in recruitment this season after signing 12 senior players ahead of him in a mad summer.
Fissler Confidential understands the two main areas they want to improve are inside center and scrum-half, despite the signing All black people XV ace Xavier Roe of Chiefs.
“We’re just targeting one or two players to add to this group which should be together for at least the next two years. At this stage it’s about keeping the core group together and adding to the gene pool,” he said.
Newcastle Red Bulls are stepping up their search for another scrum-half, with England international Raffi Quirke set to miss the first three months of the new season.
RugbyPass broke the news on Monday that Quirke, who only moved to the North East from Sale Sharks suffered a knee injury this summer and is now not expected to return until the fall.
The season has only just begun, but new Red Bulls boss Dan McFarland, fresh from helping the Kobelco Steelers to the title in Japan, already has almost the entire starting XV on the table.
Gloucester boss George Skivington has made a strong return to the top of his shopping list for head of recruitment Rob Burges to chase ahead of the 2027/28 season.
Skivington has brought in the likes of Dewi Lake, Jac Morgan and Jean Kleyn this summer, and told this column he expects similar business next summer.
“I think we’ve shown our intent in recruiting with what we’ve done this season. That’s the way we want to go, and we intend to recruit in a similar way this season and next season,” he said.
Saracens Boss Brendan Venter is known not to be a fan of media commitments and the club was fined £5,000 after being the only Director of Rugby to not turn up for the season opener at Twickenham recently.
And he was once again absent from midweek call-ups ahead of their Gallagher PREM opener against Leicester Tigers, leaving head coach Joe Shaw in charge.
Meanwhile, the club have advertised for a third media guru in less than six months after well-regarded Oli Shapley and Will Roberts left.
