Rugby Banter Page weekly round up

Monday 22nd June:

Imanol Harinordoquy Pens Toulouse Contract Extension:

Experienced France and former Biarritz back row forward Imanol Harinordoquy has extended his contract with Toulouse, the Top 14 club's president confirmed on Monday.

The 35-year-old Harinordoquy, capped 82 times by France, is expected to sign as a medical joker from July 1 as cover for the September 18 to October 31 Rugby World Cup, when many of Toulouse’ roster will be away representing their respective national teams.

Former All Black Norman Berryman Dies:

One time capped All Black Norman Berryman has died at the age of 42 from a heart attack.

Berryman represented the Chiefs, The Blues and, most famously, the Crusaders in Super Rugby during the 1990’s accumulating three Super Rugby winners’ medals. Known as an exciting running back with excellent footwork, Berryman won his single All Black cap in a 1998 defeat to South Africa.

Berryman, who spent his years after retirement as a forklift driver in Perth, Australia, is survived by his six children.

Tuesday 23rd June:

Lille Barred Entry Into France’s Pro D2 For Financial Reasons:

Lille have seen their promotion to France’s second division, the ProD2, rescinded due to debts                    reaching almost €900,000.

After finishing runners up in last season’s French third division, Lille had thought- for the first time- that they had gained promotion to France’s second tier, only for their ProD2 status to be cancelled by the body that governs both the professional French leagues, the LNR.

The LNR claimed their reason’s for demoting Lille were financial ones as an audit revealed that the Northern French club had accumulated €800,000 debt between 2011-2014.

Lille’s President, Jean-Paul Luciani, has confirmed the club will appeal the decision.

"We'll do everything to save the club and I can assure you that Lille will play in ProD2 next season," Luciani added, explaining that the club needed to find around 400,000 euros after shareholders stumped up more than 300,000 euros.

Serge Blanco Steps Down as Biarritz President After Failing To Agree Merger With Bayonne:

Serge Blanco resigned as Biarritz president this past Tuesday following his unsuccessful attempt to merge the club with Basque rivals Bayonne.

In order for his motion to merge with Bayonne- also recently relegated to France’s Pro D2- to be successful Blanco required a two thirds majority at Biarritz’ general meeting but fell short of the requisite number.

Blanco, who spent his entire career at Biarritz, had discussed a possible merger with Bayonne’s President, Manu Merin, but his motion was met with resistance by many- not least Bayonne’s fans.

The 2015/16 campaign will be the first season without a Basque club in the top flight after Bayonne's relegation on the last day of the Top 14 season (2014/15).

Wednesday 24th June:

Japanese Captain Leitch Signs New Deal With The Waikato Chiefs:

Back row-forward Michael Leitch has extended his Super Rugby contract at the Chiefs for another season, following an impressive 2014/2015 Super Rugby campaign.

The Japanese national team captain has been a consistent performer for the Chiefs this year, earning the player-voted rookie of the year award.

Chiefs coach Dave Rennie said Leitch had made a huge impact in his debut season.

"He is a top man, very professional and has been a real positive influence on our younger players," Rennie said of the New Zealand born Japanese international.

Ireland’s Rhys Ruddock To Miss World Cup Due To Injury:

Rhys Ruddock's broken arm- the second time he has suffered the same injury in six months, has cost the Leinster flanker a place in Ireland's World Cup squad.

Irish coach Joe Schmidt admitted Ruddock would have made his initial World Cup training squad, but for the broken arm sustained while captaining Emerging Ireland against Uruguay in the Tbilisi Cup.

"Rhys Ruddock would have been selected but has been ruled out after fracturing his arm against Uruguay last week," Schmidt said.

"The squad selection has been a long process with some very tight decisions, said the former Leinster coach.

"Some injured players who are getting close to full fitness have been included while others have missed out due to prolonged absence or lack of opportunity to demonstrate their full Test match readiness."

Thursday 25th June:

Wasps Announce Signing of Rotherham Back-Row Rieder:

Wasps have confirmed the signing of Rotherham Titans’ Alex Rieder . The back row forward will join up with Wasps ahead of the 2015/16 season.

Rieder, who can play anywhere across the backrow, joins Wasps from Rotherham Titans, where he has enjoyed a consistent season helping the Titans to the Championship playoffs, as well as gaining personal recognition, including winning Rotherham’s player of the year gong as well being nominated for the Championship Player of the Year and earning a place in the Championship Dream Team for 2014/15.

Hailing Rieder’s versatility, Wasps’ CEO, Dai Young, confirmed his delight at tying up the deal for the 6’3’’ flanker.

“I’ve been very impressed with what I’ve seen of Alex and I’m really pleased to be able to bring him on board next season. His ability to play across the back row will be very valuable and we are all looking forward to seeing what he can do at this level ”, said Young.

Former Leinster Head Coach Matt O’Connor Endorses Leo Cullen For Vacant Leinster Job:

Former Leinster coach Matt O’Connor has given his backing to Leo Cullen to take over as Leinster head coach following his departure from the post, however, he has warmed Cullen- whoever does get the job at the RDS- that one of the key tasks will come in managing the lofty expectation at the province.

Cullen has been given the job on an interim basis following O’Connor’s departure after two seasons at the helm.

“Yeah, definitely, you know there’s nobody that knows more about Leinster Rugby than Leo Cullen,” said O’Connor.

“From my perspective I certainly wish him all the best. Does he want it? Is it perfect timing? No, it’s not, but I think certainly if you weighed up all the pros and cons, there wouldn’t be too many blokes better to do the job.”

Friday 26th June:

Sharks Announce The Signing Of Springbok Prop Oosthuizen:

The Sharks have announced the signing of Cheetahs and Springbok prop Coenie Oosthuizen on a four-year contract. 

Oosthuizen made his Springbok debut in 2012 and has since earned 21 caps for his country.  He is a versatile prop that and is renowned for his ability to play on both sides of the scrum. 

Oosthuizen-26-  who will officially sign for the Durban based club after the World Cup in November is excited at the prospect of representing the Sharks.

“It is a great privilege for me to sign with the Sharks. This is a new chapter in my career and I am looking forward to this exciting opportunity in Durban, ” said Oosthuizen.

Namibian Coach Steps Down:

The Namibian Rugby Union (NRU) have confirmed that head coach of the senior national team, Danie Vermeulen, has stepped down from his position.

Vermeulen, who has been in charge of the team since 2012, offered his resignation on Wednesday afternoon and it was accepted by the NRU board at a meeting in Windhoek, Wednesday evening. 

Vermeulen’s resignation comes only three months before Namibia kick off their World Cup campaign against New Zealand in London on September 24.

Phil Davies, formerly the teams technical advisor, will now ascend to the role of head-coach.