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'He hasn't signed anywhere': Richards dismisses claim that Mulipola is off to France
Newcastle Dean Richards has dismissed as false media reports from France that Samoan prop Logovi’i Mulipola will quit the Gallagher Premiership club at the end of the season and link up with second-tier Grenoble.
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Rugby newspaper Midi Olympique reported in their Monday edition that Mulipola had signed a two-year deal with Grenoble in the Pro D2. Currently sitting in ninth out of 16 on the league table and nine points off the last of the play-off spots, there is no guarantee that they will be playing Top 14 rugby next season.
After helping Newcastle regain their Premiership status, prop Mulipola signed for Gloucester on a short-term deal last July before returning to the Falcons at the end of the 2019/20 campaign and becoming a key figure in their impressive start to the top-flight return.
Richards said: “I spoke to him yesterday [Tuesday] and he said he hasn’t signed anywhere. You know as well as I do that boys put things out there and they try either to speculate or force people hands by saying they have signed or are going to sign. I never look at the speculation and always speak to the individual. That is how I deal with it.
“You have to work out your budgets and working out what is going to happen next year is almost impossible because things change from one day to another. We are looking at the here and now with one eye on the future. You tend to look two years ahead in terms of contracts and squads.”
TRANSFER: Fan favourite Mulipola has been linked with a French switch. https://t.co/bSduxFSYMl
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) February 1, 2021
Elsewhere, the former England No8 has expressed his concern about support for young coaches, particularly with the Championship facing serious problems. London Scottish, for instance, have made it clear they will be mothballing the club in the face of financial concerns.
Fresh from Newcastle’s year in the second tier, Richards believes the Championship is key to developing young coaches but this operated by the Rugby Football Union to bring on talented coaches has stopped.
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“People think that because you are a good player you will be a good coach and that is no always necessarily true. Some players have that ability and England used to have a pathway programme for coaches which is no longer there. Something should be put in place to help coaches get to the next level. The support that used to be there for young coaches is no longer there which is a shame.”
"When you don’t have games or full training then you're so bored sitting at home. I said to Dean I’m going to find some team to play for"
– @FalconsRugby prop @logoviimulipola with @chrisjonespress ??? on his post-lockdown Gloucester stint #GallagherPrem https://t.co/i7eNPaYjDX
— RugbyPass (@RugbyPass) January 19, 2021
Comments on RugbyPass
Speell cehck
1 Go to commentsColeman is gaawwwwnnn.
1 Go to commentsnext SA head coach?
2 Go to commentsGreat try by van Poortvliet.
1 Go to commentsThey have been cruelled by injuries but almost nobody (Sevu Reece and Fletcher Newell big exceptions) has played above himself which regularly happened before. Surely Scott Robertson had maintained the recruitment programme and it looks like a reasonable squad. Last in this competition will stall a lot of careers. Penny seems likeable. But it’s not enough even though this was better. We haven’t been good enough and it’s not helped by the “it’s been 15 years since… “etc “after nearly every match. Seems somehow a soft gifting of something once valuable. Kieran Read giving comments last week almost choked describing the easy surrender of possession by the forwards. I’d love to think that the senior players some of whom are back can show enough pride in the jersey to test the Blues next week.
3 Go to commentsWho will Joe select for the back three with so many in form candidates? Just hope he doesn’t get shafted like Dave Rennie and to a lesser extent Deans.
6 Go to commentsAlways reluctant to blame a coach when losses rack up, but Penney must go. The backline is dysfunctional and the coach must carry the can. No cohesion, no idea and in many cases, minimal skill. The trains out of Roma St depart faster than the ball from Crusaders’ set pieces. Wouldn’t be surprised if the forwards went on strike.
3 Go to commentsAdding to earlier comment. Cullen Grace has been playing great at no6. Lio-Willie , who was on fire a few weeks ago, had a bad game. I think Cullen should have been moved to 8 earlier, Dominic Gardiner on earlier. Feel for Quinten Strange , put in a big shift .
6 Go to commentsWe dominated the scrums Ben Curry was all over pitch again .Surely James Harper got to be one of best English tightheads
1 Go to commentsRoos is a better option at 6 than 8 for the boks. Needs to work on his windgat though.
1 Go to commentsThe Sharks’ 2nd team maybe?
1 Go to comments‘radical’
1 Go to commentsCome back to Christchurch Robbie, please!
1 Go to commentsI think there is zero chance Sam Cane will be selected for another Test. There is simply no point except sentimentality. Razor is not sentimental- ask Wyatt Crocket. Razor is a ruthless selector
4 Go to comments> It would be best described as an elegant solution to what was potentially going to be a significant problem for new All Blacks coach Scott Robertson. It is a problem the mad population of New Zealand will have to cope with more and more as All Blacks are able to continue their careers in NZ post RWCs. It will not be a problem for coaches, who are always going to start a campaign with the captain for the next WC in mind. > Cane, despite his warrior spirit, his undoubted commitment to every team he played for and unforgettable heroics against Ireland in last year’s World Cup quarter-final, was never unanimously admired or respected within New Zealand while he was in the role. Neither was McCaw, he was considered far too passive a captain and then out of form until his last world cup where everyone opinions changed, just like they would have if Cane had won the WC. > It was never easy to see where Cane, or even if, he would fit into Robertson’s squad given the new coach will want to be building a new-look team with 2027 in mind. > Cane will win his selections on merit and come the end of the year, he’ll sign off, he hopes, with 100 caps and maybe even, at last, universal public appreciation for what was a special career. No, he won’t. Those returning from Japan have already earned the right to retain their jersey, it’s in their contract. Cane would have been playing against England if he was ready, and found it very hard to keep his place. Perform, and they keep it however. Very easy to see where Cane could have fit, very hard to see how he could have accomplished it choosing this year as his sabbatical instead of 2025, and that’s how it played out (though I assume we now know what when NZR said they were allowing him to move his sabbatical forward and return to NZ next year, they had actually agreed to simply select him for the All Blacks from overseas, without any chance he was going to play in NZ again). With a mammoth season of 15 All Black games they might as well get some value out of his years contract, though even with him being of equal character to Richie, I don’t think they should guarantee him his 100 caps. That’s not what the All Blacks should be about. He absolutely has to play winning football.
4 Go to commentswhat’s happening to Ian Peel?
1 Go to commentsAs a Crusaders fan , so disappointed , again.But I think Fergus Burke was all class for the Crusaders in his first game since October last year. Fletcher Newell , was so good at prop. Johnny McNicoll has been gold since returning from Wales. Noah Hotham brilliant , in a coming of age second season for the Crusaders.Jone Rova did really well at centre. The end of the game was tough.Sevu Reece , what a game/season in tough times.
6 Go to commentsFellas a balloon
3 Go to commentsBlues B team on display and made no race of it. By far the best team in SR with the Hurricanes barely getting past the winning post. Up the Blues 💙
7 Go to commentsWould be amazing to have Servette Genève reaching this level
3 Go to comments