Wednesday’s rugby news has a positive Force signing, a new Tahs boss, the Brumbies hitting the road and a few changes for the Welsh team.
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Force re-sign Faulkner
The Western Force have solidified their front row for the near future, re-signing promising prop Tetera Faulkner for another two Super Rugby seasons. Faulkner had his breakthrough season last year, rewarded with his first two Test caps on the tour of Europe.
The 26 year-old is able to play on both sides of the scrum and commented, “We have a great bunch of boys and a great coaching staff which made this a pretty easy decision.” Fellow front-rowers Pek Cowan, Nathan Charles and Oliver Hoskins have also renewed their contracts until the end of next season.
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Tahs name new CEO
The NSW Waratahs have announced that Greg Harris will be their new chief executive, five months after current boss Jason Allen announced his decision to step down. “His previous roles as CEO of RUPA, the Western Force and Sydney University Sport provide him with a wide range of expertise across both commercial and high performance components,” said Waratahs chairman Roger Davis.
Harris’ immediate focus will be on selecting a successor to coach Michael Cheika, who will relinquish his post after the Super Rugby season to concentrate solely on coaching the Wallabies.
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Brumbies braving road run
Nic White has emphasised that his team is unconcerned by their horror away record going into Saturday’s clash in Melbourne. The team has lost their past six road matches after their last second defeat at the hands of the Chiefs last week.
“It’s probably not something we’re thinking too much about,” White said, emphasising that the team was 30 seconds away from a win playing at Waikato. The ACT halfback may also be relieved of the captaincy duties with Stephen Moore likely to return to the starting line-up this week.
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North returns
Wales have recalled winger George North in place of Alex Cuthbert for the Six Nations match against France. North missed the 26-23 win over Scotland on Feb. 15 after suffering concussion in the opening defeat by England.
Lock Luke Charteris, prop Samson Lee and hooker Scott Baldwin were also named in a changed starting line-up. “We have made some tough calls and there were some tight decisions, but it is a very strong team we are putting out,” coach Warren Gatland said. A Wales victory would keep them in the Six Nations title mix before hosting reigning champions Ireland on 14 March.
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