Friday’s rugby news has Mogg heading overseas, Giteau unsure of his Test return, the Tahs still recruiting McCalman and the WRU withdrawing a dual contract.
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Mogg joining Top 14
Jesse Mogg will be the next Wallaby to make the move to France, joining Montpellier on a two-year contract. Mogg turned down a three-year offer to stay in Canberra, opting instead to join team-mate Nic White in the Top 14, reuniting with former Brumbies coach Jake White and former Test captain Ben Mowen.
The Brumbies full-back said that he had planned to head overseas last year but undergoing a shoulder surgery made him reconsider giving more time to Test ambitions. “I am happy with the decision I made, things were moving along slowly with the Brumbies and part [of the decision] was security,” said Mogg, who has been limited to a handful of games this season. The news will be softened by Robbie Coleman’s decision to re-sign with the Brumbies for two seasons.
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Giteau unsure of Test intensity
Matt Giteau is offering “no promises” that he’s up to representing Australia after a four year absence from Test rugby, but he is hoping to find out at this year’s World Cup. Giteau, Drew Mitchell and veteran flanker George Smith are all in the mix for a Wallabies recall following the ARU’s decision last month to relax eligibility rules to select overseas-based players with 60 caps and seven years’ national service.
Giteau, though, admits it would be a leap of faith to pick him for a Test comeback after almost four years at Toulon. “The game over here is a bit slower to Super Rugby,” Giteau said. “If am chosen, if I am selected, I would love to be a part of it (but) I haven’t played at that level, so I don’t know if I am up for it.”
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Tahs still hoping to sign McCalman
The Waratahs are still chasing Ben McCalman with the news that the Force have not completed contract talks with the Wallabies back-rower. Michael Cheika emphasized the boost that Mcalman would offer the Tahs, especially after the news that Jacques Potgieter will be heading back to South Africa, but also realized that the move will be difficult. “One thing in speaking to Ben, he has loved his time and his footy at the Force,” Cheika said.
The Waratahs coach also emphasized the danger presented by the Force this week, despite their suffering 10 consecutive losses. “The Force’s performances haven’t really told the tale of their place on the table at all. I genuinely think they’ve had a bit of bad luck,” he said.
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WRU withdraws contract offer
The Welsh Rugby Union has withdrawn its offer of a national dual contract to Wales’ Taulupe Faletau after he missed a signing deadline. Faletau has a year left on his current Newport Gwent Dragons deal and he said that changing his agent had delayed his signing of the dual contract, which would be co-funded by the WRU and the region.
“It put me in a bit of a difficult situation when players and agents have been told a deadline,” Warren Gatland said. “To go back on that when others have signed would not have been fair, we couldn’t make an exception.” It now appears that Faletau will have to wait until next season for the same offer to be extended again, although he has been previously linked with a move to English Premiership side Bath.
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