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All Blacks legend Dan Carter is expecting a top clash between England and New Zealand at Twickenham this weekend.

Carter believes his compatriots will be fuelled by their painful 19-7 loss to England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup semi-final – the last time these two teams met.

There are several survivors from that game, including Aaron Smith, skipper Sam Whitelock and Brodie Retallick, who will become the All Blacks’ latest Test centurion on Saturday.

All set to be a blockbuster Test

Carter admits the length of time since the semi-final clash adds to this weekend’s match, and he feels the All Blacks will have “an extra edge” for the Test.

“It’s been too long between games and that’s why I think this game is going to be an absolute cracker. That scarcity brings extra excitement,” Carter told the PA news agency.

“There’s also the extra excitement after what happened in 2019 when England completely outplayed the All Blacks. That hurt and will have hurt a lot of the players who are involved that day.

“When you have a defeat like that, the one thing you want to do is play against that opposition again, but we haven’t been able to do that for so long.

“Knowing some of the players who were involved in that game, there will be some some personal motivation going on there.

“There are players who have been a part of successful World Cups for New Zealand in 2011 and 2015, so being part of a losing World Cup team really does hurt. They will have have an extra edge for this game.”

Eyeing a strong finish

Despite a poor start to the 2022 Test season that included a series loss to Ireland before a comprehensive beating by the Springboks, the All Blacks have shown tremendous resilience and find themselves on a six-game win streak.

Carter admits a victory against England at Twickenham will be the ideal way for New Zealand to finish off their season.

“New Zealand are building. It’s obvious that they’re not happy with their performances throughout the year, but they’ve had some fantastic games and shown what they’re capable of,” Carter said.

“But every time you put on that All Black jersey the expectation is that you win every single game and more often than not, they do.

“So for them to have the win rate that they have this year is disappointing and they will be more disappointed than anyone.

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“For them to to beat England at Twickenham in their last Test match of the year… it’s a huge game for them.

“After this they will have a couple of months off so they need to win because there’s nothing worse than having a few rocks underneath your beach towel throughout the summer, especially leading into World Cup year.

“They will have targeted England in this autumn series and they will have been building towards it as if it were a World Cup final.”

Serie A side Inter Milan have sounded out French international attacker Dimitri Payet’s representatives about a possible move, according to France Football.

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Marseille are expected to rebuff the approach for the 31-year-old, who narrowly missed out on the France squad after suffering a series of hamstring problems.

England back-row Jack Willis has signed a contract with Top 14 giants Toulouse until the end of the season, the club has announced.

Willis, 25, has been without a club since Wasps were suspended and relegated from the Premiership after being forced into administration last month.

Since then there were rumours of Toulouse being interested in the impressive flank and they have now confirmed the deal for the England back-row.

Willis made his Test bow in 2020 against Georgia, scoring a try in that game, but injuries have hampered a rugby career that still has great promise.

He’s sure to relish playing in such a star-studded Toulouse side as they look to challenge on both the Top 14 and Champions Cup fronts this season.

Pumas hooker joins London Irish

Elsewhere, London Irish have confirmed the signing of Argentina international hooker Ignacio Ruiz.

The 21-year-old joins up with the Exiles with immediate effect, adding to Irish’s already plentiful contingent of Argentine talent.

Ruiz has played a part in Argentina’s recent strong form, coming off the bench in wins over Scotland in July as well as aiding in Los Pumas’ first win over England in 13 years in the Autumn Nations Series.

“I’d like to welcome Ignacio to the club. Myself and the coaching team believe he will be a great fit here as an Exile and will be made to feel welcome by his fellow countrymen and new teammates alike,” said London Irish director of rugby Declan Kidney.

“His capabilities have been trusted on the international stage recently, his impressive showings at such a young age have made him a great prospect so we are delighted to have him here with us.”

Last season, Ruiz spent his time between Jaguares XV in the Super Liga Americana and Regatas Bella Vista in Argentina’s URBA Top 13 domestic league competition.

His fourth and most recent Argentina appearance came against Gregor Townsend’s side in November, and the front-row forward can’t wait to get started in Premiership rugby.

“I’m really looking forward to joining Declan and the team in London, it is a big opportunity for me to join a club like London Irish,” Ruiz said.

“I have enjoyed playing Test rugby recently with my country, and I feel playing with London Irish will be another big step in the right direction for my career.”

France move for George Merrick

In other transfer news, second-row George Merrick has left Newcastle Falcons to join a French club with immediate effect.

The 30-year-old has made 13 appearances since joining from Worcester Warriors in the summer of 2021, and leaves with the thanks and best wishes of the club.

Newcastle Falcons head coach Dave Walder said: “George has been offered an exciting playing opportunity over in France and we wish him all the best for his move.

“He has been a positive presence around our squad during his time here, and on behalf of the entire coaching team I’d like to thank him for his contribution.”

Merrick said: “I’ve loved my time in Newcastle with a great bunch of boys, and I’m looking forward now to this new challenge.”

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France Football report this evening that a source has told them that an eventual move for Mario Balotelli to Marseille is “more likely not to happen”.

“At the moment, there is more of a chance that the transfer does not happen, than the opposite. The aside, everything can unblock very quickly with this transfer.”

Mario Balotelli wants to make the move to Marseille, according to the outlet.

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Ronan O’Gara has addressed the rumours linking him to England, with under-pressure head coach Eddie Jones set to vacate the position at the end of the Rugby World Cup.

La Rochelle head coach O’Gara insists that he is ‘extremely happy’ to remain at the French club after he ruled himself out of contention to become the next England boss.

The World Rugby Hall of Famer has been linked with the head coach role after the Rugby World Cup and even before then, with pressure mounting on Jones after a poor Autumn Nations Series campaign.

Contact with the RFU

In his column for the Irish Examiner, the former Ireland and Munster legend confirmed that he had contact with the Rugby Football Union (RFU) but that no formal offer had been made.

“I had contact from the RFU. It’s England. If you get offered a gig like that – and I wasn’t, to be accurate – then you have to give it due consideration until such time as someone else gets the job or you officially eliminate yourself from the race. That was done in a very amicable conversation this week; ‘I’m not sure if I am making your job easier or harder, but… etc etc’.

“No hard feelings, we may meet again.” O’Gara wrote.

O’Gara’s credentials

After a successful playing career, O’Gara started coaching at Racing 92 as the club’s defence coach.

The former Munster fly-half was then courted by the Crusaders and joined Scott Robertson’s coaching staff.

He added two Super Rugby titles to his trophy cabinet with the New Zealand outfit.

A return to France followed as he joined La Rochelle as their new head coach role under director of rugby Jono Gibbes ahead of the 2019/20 season.

He then replaced Gibbes as the director of rugby ahead of the 2021/22 season and led the side to their first major silverware, defeating Leinster 24-21 in the 2021/22 Champions Cup Final.

Alternative candidates

The RFU initially expressed the desire to replace Jones after the World Cup with an English coach.

However, they have recently changed their tune with several top coaches on the market after the showpiece in France.

Robertson is the man on everyone’s lips at the moment, and after he revealed his ambition to win the Rugby World Cup with two nations, he should be on the shortlist.

Warren Gatland’s success with Wales and the British and Irish Lions over the past decade means he will undoubtedly be in the discussion.

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Steve Borthwick’s success with Leicester Tigers and previously with England also make him a standout candidate, and if the RFU do want an Englishman at the helm, he is arguably the front-runner.

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Premier League side Huddersfield Town surprised Montpellier yesterday with a €15m offer with a healthy sell-on percentage clause included for versatile attacker Issac Mbenza, according to L’Équipe.

MHSC had banked on keeping the 22-year-old this summer, but the size of the offer is ultimately too good to refuse, and the Belgian youth international’s move to the Premier League is very close to being agreed.

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Wasps and Worcester Warriors have had their applications of ‘no fault insolvency’ to avoid automatic relegation from the premiership declined.

The applications were made by the administrators for Wasps Holdings Limited and WRFC Trading Limited, respectively, with the Rugby Football Union revealing that both clubs cited the Covid-19 pandemic as the main reason they entered administration.

There is a timeline to have sales for both clubs agreed upon next week, allowing the Wasps and Worcester to participate in the Championship next season.

RFU findings

The RFU concluded that there was not enough evidence that the club was not at fault and that their business plan was not resilient enough to sustain the club.

Meanwhile, with Worcester, the RFU concluded: “a business model which did appear to be perpetually funded by debt”, adding that “the directors of the club had allowed the club to be in such a precarious position that a shock such as Covid, the challenging debt markets or another external event would have created a real and increased likelihood of an insolvency event happening”.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: “We are all deeply concerned by the insolvency of Worcester Warriors and Wasps rugby clubs.

“We appreciate this decision will be disappointing for the clubs and their fans, but it is clear from the club financial viability group’s investigation that there were factors beyond Covid that resulted in the clubs entering insolvency.

“This has reinforced the need for greater financial transparency between clubs, Premiership Rugby and the RFU to enable both organisations to have better visibility of how these businesses are run.

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“We are already working on plans with Premiership Rugby to explore how to improve the structure, governance and business model of rugby union in England and support the clubs in becoming more sustainable.”

L’Équipe journalist Bilel Ghazi has offered exceptional insight into why negotiations took so long this afternoon between Fulham and Marseille over the transfer of midfielder André Frank Zambo Anguissa.

Negotiations went on forever this afternoon, because neither Marseille nor Fulham wanted to pay for the 5% of the transfer due to the club that developed Frank André Zambo Anguissa at youth level. At 16:36 UK time, there was huge panic, at 16:49 UK time, the problem was solved, which then brought Fulham to successfully apply for an extension of 2 hours to tie up the administrative loose ends.

Another L’Équipe journalist, Mathieu Gregoire, revealed that just 20 minutes before the 2-hour extension deadline, that documents were still arriving all the time at Marseille’s training ground for Sporting Director Zubizarreta & André Frank Zambo Anguissa’s representatives to sign.

We await to see if Marseille & Fulham have got this over the line.

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Our reliable colleagues at Goal France report that Scottish champions Celtic have rejected an initial €15m proposal from FC Porto for French midfielder Olivier Ntcham.

The offer included a sell-on percentage fee clause, with the Portuguese side expected now to make a second bid.

Celtic right now are taking a clear, hard-line position: the player is not for sale, but their resolve could be tested in the coming days as Ntcham is interested in moving to Porto and will shortly inform the Scottish side’s representatives of his desire.

Ntcham’s representatives are due to meet with Celtic today. FC Porto have set an internal deadline of getting this deal done by the end of next week.

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In a move announced a bit pre-emptively, FC Nantes have now officially signed 22-year-old Belgian Anthony Limbombé. Limbombé is Les Canaris’ eighth signing this summer but their first since the start of the Ligue 1 season. €7m plus add-ons was the agreed upon fee between Nantes and Club Brugge for the rights to the young Belgian, whose contract details with the French club are now finalised.

Limbombé was previously linked to a host of European clubs this summer including the likes of Huddersfield, Newcastle, Southampton, and Schalke, but it is Les Canaries who have successfully secured the Belgian’s signature. Skilful, quick, and good with both feet, Limbombé will add a threatening presence to manager Miguel Cardoso’s left flank.

Nantes have started the Ligue 1 season slowly, seeing defeat in their first two matches.  One clear weakness has been an inability to make the right decisions in the final third, something Cardoso himself even admitted. With the addition of Limbombé, however, Les Canaries’ offensive production may significantly improve.

The 22-year-old has proven to be able to contribute both goals and assists even from a more withdrawn left midfield role, netting six and providing six during last year’s Jupiler Pro League season.

G.M.

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