Month: March 2023

Ferrari think it’s better to be safe than sorry, so the Scuderia has changed the Internal Combustion Engine on the cars of both Charles Leclerc and Carlos Sainz in Jeddah.

The move – described as a “further precaution” by the Italian outfit – comes after Leclerc suffered two Control Electronics issues in Bahrain.

As a result, Ferrari was forced to add a third CE to the Monegasque’s pool of hardware which will equate to a 10-position grid drop for Sunday’s Saudia Arabian Grand Prix.

But replacing the ICEs of both its cars after just a single race, even out of prudence, is still a worrying state of affairs for Ferrari.

Read also: Leclerc set for 10-place grid drop in Jeddah!

Ferrari isn’t the only team in Saudi Arabia that has undertaken engine changes, with McLaren adding a new Mercedes engine and fresh turbocharger, MGU-H and MGU-K elements to the Briton’s PU inventory.

As a reminder, Norris suffered a pneumatic pressure leak in Bahrain that ruined his race at Sakhir.

Finally, Red Bull has also executed changes in the engine department, with Sergio Perez taking on a new Honda energy store and control electronics.

Save for Leclerc, none of the above changes warrant a grid penalty for any of the drivers mentioned.

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According to RMC Sport Mauro Icardi’s agent (and wife) Wanda Nara has travelled to Istanbul in order to negotiate a potential move with Galatasaray and Fenerbahçe. 

The two Istanbul rivals are both at current interested in signing the player, but the Parisian number 9 also has his conditions: he wants to be starter at a major club, located in a city comfortable for him and his family.

Italy was clearly the preferred choice when the transfer market began. But the player, who was signed for €50m in 2020 by PSG, could seriously consider opportunities in other countries.

Nara was approached by Serie A side Monza, and held meetings with the Italians – who demanded that 60% of the player’s salary is covered by PSG but finally settled on Napoli’s Andrea Petagna.

Manchester United also have made a informal enquiry through intermediaries with the entourage of Paris Saint-Germain striker Mauro Icardi, according to sources contacted by Get French Football News – with the player enticed by the idea of moving across the channel.

The Argentine was confirmed by manager Christophe Galtier to be on the transfer list, with the club looking to find the former Inter forward a new club. After initially impressing in his first season in Paris, Icardi has struggled to hold down a consistent starting place in the last two campaigns in the face of major competition, scoring 18 in all competitions in the last 24 months.

 

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L’Équipe report this afternoon that Milan and Bordeaux are set to hold talks today over a potential move for midfielder Junior Onana, who has already agreed personal terms with the Rossoneri.

Les Girondins have set their asking price for the 22-year-old at €6m, along with €1m in bonuses and a cut of a future sale. A source close to the talks told L’Équipe that an agreement has yet to be reached but is not far.

The Cameroon international has also attracted the interest of two newly-promoted Serie A clubs in Monza and Cremonese, while over in Spain, Girona were also said to be making a move, although it’s the Italian champions who appear to have won the race.

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Onana joined Bordeaux last summer from Lille, having spent the previous season out on loan at Royal Mouscron. He made 23 appearances and scored three goals as the team finished rock bottom after a cataclysmic season, and has been a regular at the start of the club’s campaign in the second tier.

Sir Clive Woodward believes that Steve Borthwick’s England Six Nations squad “promises a stark contrast to the Eddie Jones era”.

Borthwick named his 36-man group for the upcoming Six Nations, and former head coach Woodward has hailed the new boss for injecting new faces and pace in his squad.

Form and pace

“Jones would never have named the likes of Ollie Hassell-Collins and Ben Earl for the Six Nations, as Borthwick did. Under the Australian, England became far too slow from one to 15,” Woodward claimed in his latest Daily Mail column.

“To win a World Cup, England can’t rely on brute power alone. They are not South Africa. There must be a speed and dynamism to the players who are selected.”

Woodward believes that England’s approach and game-plan needs a radical change and added that he was Jones’ ‘No 1 fan’ up until the 2019 Rugby World Cup final but that the team and Jones never recovered from the defeat.

Captain Farrell

Zoning in on the players selected, Woodward added that Borthwick selected his team based on Premiership form and their ability to play at pace. He also backed Borthwick’s decision to name Owen Farrell as captain and to recall Dan Cole.

“Hassell-Collins, Earl and Ben Curry have earned selection on the back of their domestic exploits and that is how it should be. Dan Cole is back at the age of 35 after playing very well for Leicester Tigers. I don’t mind that at all. It shows age is no barrier and that form is rewarded,” Woodward wrote.

“Borthwick’s decision to make Owen Farrell captain is the right one and I would absolutely have him starting at No 10 during the Six Nations. He must begin the Scotland game there.

“The best I saw England play under Jones was when Farrell, Manu Tuilagi and Henry Slade filled the 10, 12 and 13 shirts respectively. Hopefully, we can see that trio reunited in midfield.”

Eddie Jones

Turning his attention back to Jones, Woodward wrote that Australia’s decision to appoint the former England coach made him smile.

“Australia have made a seriously big call by going back to Jones. The decision made me smile because Jones’ return to the international arena does add extra spice to what is already a huge World Cup year,” he continued.

“He will be a man on a mission. His last three years with England have taken a lot of the aura away from him but if I was in charge of Australian rugby, I’d have made exactly the same call.

“Like many others, I have been very critical of Jones as England were going backwards and fast in every aspect of the game, but he is excellent at getting a team into shape in double-quick time.

“There is now the mouth-watering prospect of Jones possibly coaching against Borthwick’s England at the World Cup. England were right to get rid of Jones, but if he comes back to haunt them then big questions will still be asked of the RFU and chief executive Bill Sweeney. There will be finger-pointing if England get knocked out of the tournament by Jones’ Australia.”

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England kick their Six Nations off with two home Tests, the first against Scotland on February 4; they then host Italy eight days later.

As reported by Foot Mercato, newly-promoted Premier League club Nottingham Forest have reached an agreement to sign former Lille, Everton and Monaco defender Djibril Sidibé this summer.

Having been frustrated by his Monaco exit on a free transfer at the end of last season after falling out of favour under Philippe Clement, the World Cup winner has struggled to find a new club after his contract expired at Stade Louis II.

Although a full agreement has been reached between the English club and the player over a one-year deal with an option for a second season, the move is far from certain to go through. Forest have also approached former Tottenham and PSG right-back Serge Aurier in their search for a full-back and he is the preferred option of the Nottingham club’s leadership as it stands. 

Part of the 2018 World Cup winning squad and Monaco’s 2017 Ligue 1 winning side, the 30-year-old Sidibé totalled 174 appearances for Monaco, either side of a season on loan in the Premier League with Everton, during five years at the club.

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Wallabies prop Allan Alaalatoa admits to being “shocked” at the dismissal of outgoing head coach Dave Rennie earlier this month, with Eddie Jones returning to the helm of the national side.

Rennie looked set to continue as Wallabies boss after the Autumn Nations Series, despite a poor win rate of 38% during his tenure.

That was until Jones was sacked by England. Rugby Australia chairman Hamish McLennan admitted it was an opportunity they could not miss to get the veteran coach back in Australia.

Rennie had players’ respect

Alaalatoa, who committed to Australian rugby until 2027, messaged Rennie as soon as he heard the news to underline the players’ support for him.

“I was quite shocked. I wasn’t expecting it and my first reaction was wondering how Dave was,” Alaalatoa told the Sydney Morning Herald.

“I sent him a message and told him that the boys respected him, for the man he was off the field and the world-class coach that he was on the field.”

The prop suggested the sacking was unlucky, given how close their results were in November and with the number of injuries in the Australian camp.

“If anything at the end of last year I was just excited to get stuck into this year,” he said.

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“In terms of the Spring Tour, the results didn’t go our way but we lost three of those games by a few points, and with an injury-hit list.”

Moving into the Jones era

Alaalatoa claims there is a sense of uncertainty amongst the players as to where they will stand with Jones, but the simple focus has to be on playing well at club level, and the rest will work itself out.

“That’s the vibe you get straight away, you just don’t know now, especially with a lot of the boys here now, who haven’t been coached by him before,” Alaalatoa said.

“But what we have spoken about already is we can only control what we can control.

“If you want to be part of those discussions with Eddie you have to train well and perform well in your state union.

“So again, you will see a lift in the Super Rugby competition, and that’s awesome. That’s what you want.”

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has closed the door to a prospective departure for Portuguese midfielder Bernardo Silva, who was being linked to Paris Saint-Germain in the last few weeks.

In Friday’s press conference, the Spaniard insisted that the 28-year-old would be going nowhere this summer and that the club had not received any offers.

L’Équipe had indicated earlier in the week that the Ligue 1 champions had reignited their interest in the former Monaco man and had submitted a bid worth €70m, which did not convince the Premier League side.

PSG’s sporting adviser Luís Campos has been especially keen on bringing in his compatriot, having been the one who first brought him to France in 2014 during his time in the Principality.

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Despite Silva’s reported openness to a move, he has no intention of actively pushing for a transfer, and remains under contract for another three seasons. As a result, a Ligue 1 return for the Portuguese international will not be for this summer.

Scarlets made it four from four in the group stages of the Challenge Cup by securing an impressive 20-7 triumph over Bayonne.

The Welshmen controlled the first half and went into the break with a 13-0 advantage through Jonathan Davies and Joe Roberts tries, while Leigh Halfpenny added a penalty.

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Steff Evans then crossed the whitewash, with Halfpenny converting, to effectively seal the victory for the Scarlets with half-an-hour remaining.

Bayonne did respond in the final quarter when Bastien Pourailly went over, but the visitors comfortably saw out the rest of the game

Meanwhile, Benetton finished behind Scarlets but ensured a home tie in the next stage following a bonus-point 35-32 win against Stade Francais.

A brace from Mattia Bellini, and additional tries by Tommaso Menoncello and Rhyno Smith, paved the way for the Italian side to edge out their French opponents in a closely fought contest at the Stadio Comunale di Monigo.

Brive deny Newcastle to claim last-16 place

Cardiff failed to take top spot in Pool A following a 37-24 defeat at Brive, with the Frenchmen making sure of their place in the next round.

The Welsh side had already secured a place in the last 16 prior to Saturday’s fixture, but knew a bonus-point victory would see them move ahead of Toulon and Glasgow Warriors.

However, Cardiff trailed 17-3 at the interval following tries from Motu Matu’u, Mathis Ferte and Kevin Fabien.

Arthur Bonneval extended Brive’s advantage in the second period, and despite James Botham, Jason Harries and Rhys Priestland responding, the visiting side were comprehensively beaten.

Finally, Newcastle ended their campaign with a 35-21 victory over Connacht at Kingston Park, but it was not enough to qualify.

Following three straight defeats in Pool A, Michael Young, Matias Orlando, Mateo Carreras, Josh Barton and Pete Lucock all scored tries to help restore some pride.

Connacht had already booked their spot in the Challenge Cup knockout stages, but the defeat means they will miss out on home advantage in the round of 16.

The Australian Rugby community is mourning the loss of Wallabies legend Rob Heming, who passed away last week aged 90Heming was born in Namatanai in New Ireland off New Guinea, making the move to Australia on the last boat out after the Japanese invaded the area.He excelled as a swimmer initially, narrowly missing out on representing Australia in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.Heming would make the move to Rugby, joining Manly at age 23 as his remarkable leap and long limbs saw him stand out as a number eight and lock.It took two seasons before he was selected for New South Wales against the 1957/58 Wallabies but was unavailable for the tour to New Zealand after he bought an optometry practice.From here, he would work his way into the Test side in 1961 at age 28, making his debut against Fiji at lock alongside John Thornett in the 2nd Test, a 20-14 victory at the S.C.G. When he returned to the side in 1963, a bulked-up Heming established his status as one of the greatest line-out forwards in the game, helping Australia to back-to-back wins over the Springboks in South Africa, the first time it had occurred that century.“Without him [Heming] it is doubtful whether Australia would have won two Tests,” leading South African Rugby writer A.C Parker wrote at the time.The following year, Heming toured New Zealand and was part of the 20-5 3rd Test victory, the largest ever All Blacks’ loss at home at the time. The Australian and NSW Rugby community is mourning the loss of Wallabies and Waratahs legend Rob Heming, who passed away last week aged 90.Heming, born in Namatanai in New Ireland off New Guinea, made the move to Australia on the last boat out after the Japanese invaded the area.He excelled as a swimmer initially, narrowly missing out on representing Australia in the 100 metres freestyle at the 1956 Melbourne Olympics.Heming would make the move to Rugby, joining Manly at age 23, with his remarkable leap and long limbs helping him stand out at number eight and lock.It took two seasons before he was selected for New South Wales against the 1957/58 Wallabies, becoming Waratah #939, but had to wait another three years for his Test debut as he was unavailable for the tour to New Zealand in 1958 after he bought an optometry practice.Heming worked his way into the Test side in 1961 at age 28, making his debut against Fiji at lock alongside John Thornett in the 2nd Test, a 20-14 victory at the S.C.G.When he returned to the side in 1963, a bulked-up Heming established his status as one of the greatest line-out forwards in the game, helping Australia to back-to-back wins over the Springboks in South Africa, the first time it had occurred that century.“Without him [Heming] it is doubtful whether Australia would have won two Tests,” leading South African Rugby writer A.C Parker wrote at the time.The following year, Heming toured New Zealand and was part of the 20-5 3rd Test victory, the largest ever All Blacks’ loss at home at the time.“A star is born” exclaimed legendary Kiwi journalist T.P. McLean as Heming went on to play a leading role in Australia’s first series win against South Africa in 1965.During the final Test of the series and the game in the balance, Heming was knocked out in a ruck. He came onto the sideline, shrugged off the ambulance guys, and charged back out there to win the very next line-out with a magnificent leap, inspiring them to victory.Heming would bring up the final of his 21 Tests in 1966/67 when he toured for the final time with the Fifth Wallabies to Britain.In ‘The Top 100 Wallabies’ written by Peter Jenkins, Heming was selected by a panel of seven, including five Wallabies, at number 23 and the second-row partner of John Eales in the Top XV.He would be inducted into the Wallaby Hall of Fame in 2021."Rob Heming was widely regarded as the greatest line-up jumper in the world during the period he played international Rugby,” Classic Wallabies President Simon Poidevin said at the time"Rob was not a big man, playing at 15 stone but his formidable vertical jump and skill in the air provided invaluable quality line-out ball for his talented backline colleagues to forge famous Wallaby victories against the Springboks and All Blacks."He was a real Gentleman of the game and enjoyed a successful career as an optometrist.”Rob is survived by children Peta and Heidi, father-in-law to James and George, grandkids Finn, Avalon, Marley, Perri, Harper and Willow, companion Gail and former wife and friend Jenn.Vale Rob Heming.During the final Test of the series and the game in the balance, Heming was knocked out in a ruck. He came onto the sideline, shrugged off the ambulance guys and charged back out there to win the very next line-out with a magnificent leap, inspiring them to victory.Heming would bring up the final of his 21 Tests in 1966/67 when he toured for the final time with the Fifth Wallabies to Britain.In ‘’ written by Peter Jenkins, Heming was selected by a panel of seven, including five Wallabies, at number 23 and the second-row partner of John Eales in the Top XV.He would be inducted into the Wallaby Hall of Fame in 2021."Rob Heming was widely regarded as the greatest line-up jumper in the world during the period he played international Rugby,” Classic Wallabies President Simon Poidevin said at the time"Rob was not a big man, playing at 15 stone but his formidable vertical jump and skill in the air provided invaluable quality line-out ball for his talented backline colleagues to forge famous Wallaby victories against the Springboks and All Blacks."He was a real Gentleman of the game and enjoyed a successful career as an optometrist.”Rob is survived by children Peta and Heidi, father-in-law to James and George, grandkids Finn, Avalon, Marley, Perri, Harper and Willow, companion Gail and former wife and friend Jenny

As reported by RMC, OGC Nice and Rennes are edging closer to an agreement over an unusual player trade deal, swapping attacker Amine Gouiri, currently of Nice, for Rennes’ striker Gaëtan Laborde.

Amid frosty relations with his new coach at Nice, Lucien Favre, the 22-year-old Gouiri and his agents have been investigating a move away from the Allianz Riviera before the end of the transfer window with Juventus the latest club to show interest.

In recent hours, however, the two French clubs have come closer to an agreement, say the outlet, with Laborde increasingly open to the idea of joining Nice having been reluctant at first. Nice, meanwhile, are asking for €30m to allow Gouiri to leave the club but Laborde’s inclusion in any deal would lower that figure and the two clubs have reached an agreement in that regard, but there are still a few points to be worked out.

Gouiri is not interested in a move to former club Lyon, however, with the player preferring the prospect of Rennes while also targeting a Premier League move after his agents approached several English clubs last week.

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