Ligue 1 side Montpellier have reached an agreement with Premier League side Newcastle United for the loan of versatile midfielder Henri Saivet until the end of the season, according to L’Équipe.

An option to buy is set to be included worth €5m in the deal.

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Worcester Warriors director of rugby Steve Diamond believes that they will be able to finish the season, despite the current financial issues surrounding the club.

Even though they have had assurances from the owners, the players have reportedly yet to be paid their wages for August.

Diamond explained, however, that it is due to the payments coming from another bank account and that they have been cleared to start the season by Premiership Rugby.

Not going by bike

“I’m 100 per cent confident that will happen (Worcester will finish the season),” Diamond told reporters.

“I’m pretty sure that this short-term relief will now stay. If we do manage to get through this, then money does start coming in through the turnstiles.

“We will definitely play the game at London Irish – we will be going on our own coach, no one will be making their own way, we won’t be going by bike.”

Worcester’s preparations for the new campaign have been severely disrupted and it took a further blow when their pre-season clash against Glasgow Warriors was cancelled.

They will have no matches ahead of their opener against London Irish but Diamond is remaining positive, saying: “It might be revolutionary – you don’t play four pre-season games ahead of the season and we could upset the apple cart!

“I am not trying to be joyous but the players have got a very good mentality about them. Are we as prepared as some of the other teams? Possibly not, but as we know it’s a 40-week season.”

Diamond slams previous regimes

The Warriors director of rugby was heavily critical of previous regimes, who he believed spent too much money on players that did not produce on the pitch.

Diamond has sought to alter that mentality and insists that they are on the right track, providing the club can stay in business.

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“They’ve always had this sort of also-ran tag but paying superstar money. Since I’ve come in, that has radically changed,” he said.

“They’re a hard-working group now, but they see how delicate it is and they see it’s even more delicate when they speak to their agents because there aren’t many jobs around.”

Worcester aren’t the only English club to be struggling, with the Covid pandemic having a huge impact, and Premiership Rugby chief executive Simon Massie-Taylor believes that it will take a while before the game recovers.

“It’s precarious. Every club has – quite rightly – borrowed money from the government to get themselves through,” Massie-Taylor said.

“I don’t know the finances of any other clubs, but there are other clubs who are in a precarious position.”

Premier League side Chelsea have entered into contact with French international left-back Layvin Kurzawa’s entourage about a possible move this month, according to Gianluca di Marzio.

The Blues have sounded out the former Monaco man as a “plan B” in case their move for AS Roma’s Emerson Palmieri falls through, according to the Italian journalist.

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All Blacks hooker Dane Coles insists there is a “collective buy-in” from the squad to look for improvements and find a consistent string of form for the first time in 2022.

The Test season this year has been tumultuous for the All Blacks, including a first series loss in the professional era to a northern hemisphere side in July when Ireland claimed the series 2-1 and a first defeat against Los Pumas on New Zealand soil last weekend.

Big clash this weekend

Coach Ian Foster has been under immense pressure, and a win this weekend is crucial to his future at the helm of the All Blacks looking ahead to the World Cup next year.

Coles has been named on the bench for the second Test against Argentina in Waikato and insists that everyone in the squad is invested in finding a way to win games more consistently.

“The number one thing is getting solutions on how to close out games, win games, and be better,” he said.

“I’ve been in a couple of teams where we’ve lost, and the thing at the moment is there’s been no blame game, or pointing the finger, or going rogue. It’s been a collective buy-in to try and get the result and be consistent in our performances, which has been a real positive.

“It’s a place this team hasn’t been, and everyone has got to stand up and get accountability. If somebody comes at you for not doing the job right, you’ve got to get on with it and take the feedback on board.

“You’ve just got to be clear and free. There’s a lot of stuff that’s happening but you have just got to go out there and enjoy the occasion, and just do your job.”

Loose forwards have been fronting up

Captain Sam Cane has also been under tremendous pressure this season. However, team-mate Ardie Savea has come to the defence of any criticism of the loose trio who are searching for new combinations from a “new breed” of players.

“I felt like the loosies have been fronting up, and we’re just trying to navigate the space of a new breed of players,” he said.

“I think for so long New Zealand’s been used to Reado [Kieran Read], the McCaws [Richie McCaw], the Jeromes [Jerome Kaino], that has been amazing.

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“And you’ve got a bunch of new boys coming through, and us, myself as well, who are trying to stamp their mark. So, it’s a day-to-day, week-to-week process. But, I feel like we’re tracking well and putting our best foot forward.

“It’s important to build combinations, but, at the same time, you’ve got to perform under those pressure moments.

“Our focus is staying together and tight, and actually being accountable to ourselves in terms of what’s going wrong in our game and what we have to do. That’s something that we really look hard at ourselves.

“If you get selected, you get selected, and you back yourself, and you back the trust in mates that get selected next to you to go out and do a job. That selection process is out of our hands, all we can do is turn up.”

FC Nantes full-backs Wilfried Moimbé and Enock Kwateng are set to join English 3rd division side Oldham Athletic until the end of the current campaign, according to Ouest France.

They will join Dutch attacker Queensy Menig, who is already at Oldham on loan from Les Canaris.

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The latest men’s World Rugby rankings have been released with Australia dropping down to eight position after they suffered a 24-8 defeat to South Africa in their Rugby Championship encounter in Sydney.

The Wallabies’ margin of defeat means it’s a record low for them in the rankings and they are just a quarter of a point ahead of Wales, who occupy ninth place.

The Springboks sealed a bonus-point victory – their first win over the Wallabies on Australian soil in nine years – which means they stay in third spot in the rankings with 1.42 points added to their overall total.

All Blacks bounce back

Meanwhile, in other Rugby Championship action, New Zealand bounced back in style – after losing to Argentina in Christchurch on August 27 – by turning the tables on Los Pumas courtesy of an emphatic 53-3 triumph.

That result means the All Blacks have moved into fourth place in the rankings while England drop down to fifth and despite their loss, Argentina have moved up to sixth position with Scotland promoted to seventh as a result of Australia’s loss against South Africa.

Men’s World Rankings
(Previous position in brackets)

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1(1) Ireland 90.03
2(2) France 89.41
3(3) South Africa 87.89
4(5) New Zealand 86.41
5(4) England 86.25
6(7) Argentina 82.32
7(8) Scotland 81.93
8(6) Australia 81.54
9(9) Wales 81.28
10(10) Japan 77.74

He was supposed to be Lyon’s next *great* forward, after Karim Benzema and Alexandre Lacazette, but 16-year-old striker Willem Geubbels, who is more highly regarded at his age now then the other two came even close to being, is set to reject his part in Lyon’s attacking lineage.

RMC and Goal France are reporting that the French youth international has refused a professional contract with Lyon, and wants to leave for a club with a “genuine footballing project,” in what is an enormous slap in the face for Lyon manager Bruno Génésio and President Aulas.

Manchester City and RB Leipzig are amongst the outfits who have sought to sign the player in recent months, but it is AS Monaco who are currently in pole position to land the player.

Lyon appear resigned to his departure, and will seek to sell in summer in order to recoup a fee, with his youth contract running until 2019.

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Former Newcastle Falcons and Northampton Saints fly-half Joel Hodgson has inked a multi-year deal with Major League Rugby side Utah Warriors.

Hodgson, who has scored 467 points during his career and played 110 games in the Premiership, moved to Glasgow Warriors on a short-term deal in 2022.

But the 30-year-old playmaker has now made the switch to the USA and sees the decision as a “no-brainer” as he looks for a fresh start in his rugby career.

USA move for fly-half

“Prior to speaking to Brandon [Sparks] I had always heard that Zion Bank Stadium was the standout grounds of the MLR,” Hodgson told the Utah website.

“Once I got to know Brandon and learned what the Utah Warriors were about as an organisation, the work they did in the community and their mission to grow rugby in the US, it was a no-brainer that I wanted to be a part of the journey.”

Warriors’ general manager Brandon Sparks said: “Joel has a tremendous amount of experience at one of the highest levels of rugby, playing Premiership Rugby in England.

“Having someone like him in our locker room and helping to lead the boys on the field will be a big boost for us this coming season.”

The Newcastle-born fly-half is looking to call on his experiences playing at the top level to help his new side in the upcoming Major League Rugby season.

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“Having over 150 appearances for the Newcastle Falcons in both Premiership and European competitions, I have experienced both the highs and lows of professional rugby,” he added.

Excited to learn

“I hope from my experiences I am able to help my teammates perform under different pressures throughout the season.

“I also hope to share any insight into how things are done in rugby in Europe to try and help Utah and the MLR grow.

“I’m excited to learn more about the MLR and to experience new techniques and approaches to the game from my coaches and teammates as well.”

Ligue 1 side AS Monaco have made contact with Belgian midfielder Marouane Fellaini about a possible summer transfer window move, when his current contract with Manchester United expires, according to La Dernière Heure.

Initial discussions have been held with the 30-year-old, who will take his time to decide his next move.

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England hooker Tom Dunn will captain Bath for the first time in their Premiership clash against Wasps at the Rec.

The front-rower has been an ever-present so far this season and lines up alongside props Lewis Boyce and Will Stuart – the latter will be making his 50th outing in Blue, Black and White.

Second-rows Dave Attwood and Josh McNally pair up for the third game running while Richard de Carpentier earns a first start of the season from number eight, replacing Jaco Coetzee who will be out of action for 10 weeks due to an ankle injury picked up against Sale Sharks.

Miles Reid comes in for his maiden appearance of 2022/23 and Chris Cloete, returning from a minor injury sustained in Round 1, completes the back-row.

At scrum-half, Louis Schreuder makes his full Bath debut with Ben Spencer sidelined with concussion. Homegrown duo Orlando Bailey and Max Ojomoh are outside him at fly-half and inside centre respectively.

Try scorers last time out Joe Cokanasiga and Tom de Glanville continue in the back three with Will Muir. Jonathan Joseph continues at 13.

On the bench, Quinn Roux is in line for his Bath Rugby debut while Max Green could make his first appearance of the season.

Jacob Umaga returns for Wasps

Meanwhile, much of the minds of the Midlanders have been focused on their off-field struggles but they get back to on-field action on Friday.

Jacob Umaga makes his much anticipated return from injury as he joins the Wasps starting line-up at full-back.

Following an impressive display on Tuesday night vs Newcastle Falcons, Francois Hougaard starts at 14, with Josh Bassett at 11.

Sam Spink and Burger Odendaal form the centre partnership, with Charlie Atkinson and Will Porter linking up at half-backs.

Dan Frost makes his first start of the season and will line up alongside Tom West and Biyi Alo in the front row.

Captain Joe Launchbury links up with Kiran McDonald in the second row, with Nizaam Carr, Jack Willis and Tom Willis in the back row to complete the pack.

Amongst the replacements, Gabriel Oghre features in the squad for the first time this season. Tim Cardall is also set to make his 50th Wasps appearance should he feature in Friday’s game.

Form: Bath Rugby have lost their last three Gallagher Premiership Rugby matches since their 27-24 victory at home to London Irish in May. That was Bath’s first victory at the Recreation Ground since they beat Bristol Bears there in March. Wasps are without a victory in Premiership Rugby since beating Worcester at Coventry Building Society Arena at the end of April, although they did draw 42-all at London Irish on 1 May. Wasps have won just once away from home in Gallagher Premiership Rugby since February: 27-21 at Gloucester on 2 April. Wasps have won their last six fixtures against Bath in Premiership Rugby, their best sequence against the south-westerners, since Bath’s 29-17 win at the Rec in May 2019. Wasps have won on their last three visits to the Rec.

The teams:

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Bath: 15 Tom de Glanville, 14 Joe Cokanasiga, 13 Jonathan Joseph, 12 Max Ojomoh, 11 Will Muir, 10 Orlando Bailey, 9 Louis Schreuder, 8 Richard de Carpentier, 7 Chris Cloete, 6 Miles Reid, 5 Josh McNally, 4 Dave Attwood, 3 Will Stuart, 2 Tom Dunn, 1 Lewis Boyce
Replacements: 16 Tom Doughty, 17 Juan Schoeman, 18 Aranos Coetzee, 19 Quinn Roux, 20 GJ van Velze, 21 Max Green, 22 Piers Francis, 23 Josh Bayliss

Wasps: 15 Jacob Umaga, 14 Francois Hougaard, 13 Sam Spink, 12 Burger Odendaal, 11 Josh Bassett, 10 Charlie Atkinson, 9 Will Porter, 8 Tom Willis, 7 Jack Willis, 6 Nizaam Carr, 5 Kiran McDonald, 4 Joe Launchbury (c), 3 Biyi Alo, 2 Dan Frost, 1 Tom West
Replacements: 16 Gabriel Oghre, 17 Robin Hislop, 18 John Ryan, 19 Tim Cardall, 20 Ben Morris, 21 Dan Robson, 22 Ryan Mills, 23 Zach Kibirige

Venue: The Rec
Kick-off: 19:45 BST (18:45 GMT)
Referee: Wayne Barnes
Assistant referees: Anthony Woodthorpe, Jonathan Healy
TMO: Luke Pearce