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Lille have confirmed the signing of Saint Étienne forward Jonathan Bamba on a five-year-deal on a free transfer, which was confirmed earlier this week.

The 22-year-old is able to play across the front line but is more adept at playing on the right wing or as a right forward, playing the majority of his games there across his career, although a fraction more of his goals came from when he was deployed on the left wing.

The versatile forward has spent the entirety of his career on the books as Saint Etienne, joining the first team in 2015 as a youth player and embarking on loan moves to Paris FC, Sint-Truiden and Angers not so long ago before playing 34 times for Les Vert, scoring seven times and grabbing 10 assists in Ligue 1, with one goal and one assist more coming in the Coupe de France.

Lille CEO Marc Ingla said, “We are very happy to have Jonathan Bamba on board today. It is a player who was very much a wanted man by several clubs in France and across Europe. He chose LOSC and I thank him for that.”

“It’s good news. Today, we sign one of the best young players in Ligue 1, even though we are still looking to bring more players in. But that does not mean that we are leaving our goal, which is to have players on whom we can have a big future with.”

T.S.

Springboks head coach Jacques Nienaber has made several changes to his side’s matchday 23 to face Italy after the narrow loss to France in Marseille last weekend.

Jasper Wiese returns to the starting line-up for their Test against the Azzurri after withdrawing for the France game late last week.

Alongside the Leicester Tiger is Franco Mostert, ahead of Pieter-Steph du Toit, who will receive a ban this week for his red card against France, while Siya Kolisi leads the Springboks from the side of the scrum.

There is a new second-row pairing as Stormers duo Salmaan Moerat and Marvin Orie start, with Eben Etzebeth dropping to the bench. Meanwhile, the front-row of Ox Nche, Bongi Mbonambi and Fran Malherbe will start for the second game in a row.

New midfield pairing

Damian Willemse starts at fly-half again, with Faf de Klerk at scrum-half after a decent showing against France. Damian de Allende shifts to outside centre and pairs up with Andre Esterhuizen, who starts at 12.

Nienaber has kept the same back-three as last week as full-back Willie le Roux starts alongside the elusive duo of Cheslin Kolbe and Kurt-Lee Arendse.

Malcolm Marx, Steven Kitshoff and Vincent Koch make for powerful front-row replacements, while Etzebeth is joined by Kwagga Smith and Evan Roos as the remaining substitutes in the 6-2 split.

Scrum-half Cobus Reinach is joined by recently capped Manie Libbok on the bench as backline replacements.

Nienaber believes injuries and disciplinary hearings provide the opportunity to reward players who are training well.

“A couple of players have been training very hard in the last few weeks and deserve a chance to start, and Lood’s injury and Pieter-Steph’s disciplinary hearing opened the door for us to give them an opportunity,” said Nienaber.

“Salmaan and Marvin are both DHL Stormers players, so they have been playing together for a while, and they are very hungry for game time, so we are looking forward to what they bring in the game.

“It’s also good to have Jasper back against the physical Italian pack, and we know that Kwagga will spark something different when he takes the field. Evan also gets a chance off the bench and his skills will work well with Kwagga’s in the loose trio, while Manie earns another run after making his debut last week.

“Manie’s versatility will also come in handy, as he can cover most positions in the backline, and with Cobus on the bench and several experienced backs in the backline, he will have enough guidance to be able play to his game.”

The coach is expecting Italy to have a lot of support, particularly after their first win against Australia last weekend.

“Italy’s victory against Australia will boost their confidence immensely going into this match, and we are expecting them to draw a lot of energy from their home crowd,” he said.

“They defeated Wales away in the Six Nations and tested Scotland as well, so we are under no illusions as to the challenge that lies ahead. Italy have shown before what a force they can be at home by defeating the Boks 20-18 in Florence, and they will draw confidence from that as well.

“We have been working hard on improving the areas of the game that let us down in the last two matches, and we are determined to get onto the right side of the scoreboard after very narrow defeats against the first and second ranked teams in the world.”

Complete performance required

Nienaber believes an 80-minute performance is essential against a team of Italy’s quality.

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“Their forwards are physical, they have a skillful backline and a good defensive system, and they play with a lot of confidence, so we know what we are in for. We have to deliver a quality performance for the full 80 minutes,” he added.

“We believe we are on the right track after coming close against Ireland and France, and if we can produce a strong showing up front and be a little more accurate in our execution, we know we can turn things around on tour.”

The team

Springboks: 15 Willie le Roux, 14 Cheslin Kolbe, 13 Damian de Allende, 12 Andre Esterhuizen, 11 Kurt-Lee Arendse, 10 Damian Willemse, 9 Faf de Klerk, 8 Jasper Wiese, 7 Franco Mostert, 6 Siya Kolisi (c), 5 Marvin Orie, 4 Salmaan Moerat, 3 Frans Malherbe, 2 Bongi Mbonambi, 1 Ox Nche
Replacements: 16 Malcolm Marx, 17 Steven Kitshoff, 18 Vincent Koch, 19 Eben Etzebeth, 20 Kwagga Smith, 21 Evan Roos, 22 Cobus Reinach, 23 Manie Libbok

The Rugby Players Association (RPA) is eager to bring in a limit of 30 games per season to reduce injury risk, following the results of a recent study.

The RPA-funded research indicates that players making “31 match involvements” in a season face a “significantly higher injury burden” in the following year.

Entitled “The Influence of Match Exposure on Injury Risk in Elite Men’s Rugby Union”, the study has been conducted by the University of Bath in England.

Builds upon previous study from 2017

It defines involvement as “any time spent on the field” and builds on a study from 2017, utilising data from the Rugby Football Union and Premiership Rugby.

“The RPA position is that season match limits should be reduced to a maximum of 30 match involvements of any kind for a player, in order to reduce injury risk,” said RPA welfare director Richard Bryan on Wednesday.

“Going forward it is essential that this research, and other research on match/training exposure and injury risk, continues to be refreshed along with the assessments and conclusions reached for both the men’s and women’s game.”

There is also a further ongoing mouthguard study being carried out which could lead to the RPA recommending even greater reductions to that 30-match cap.

The new research has been welcomed in the wider game, with Mark Harrington, World Rugby’s chief player welfare and rugby services officer, responding.

World Rugby welcomes the research

“World Rugby welcomes all research that has the ability to inform evidence-based moves to reduce the risk of injury in rugby through prevention, management and education,” Harrington said.

Conrad Smith, head of player welfare and high performance for global representative body International Rugby Players, added: “Injury prevention is one of the most pressing issues in our game and this is extremely important research from the RPA.”

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Neymar spoke to FOX Sports about his future last night, and sought to clarify that he will be remaining with PSG.

“I am staying, I am staying in Paris, I have a contract. The press likes to create rumours but everyone knows that I am attached to Paris… [I hope for] a new season of success.”

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Yahoo Sport FR report that Ligue 1 outfit Stade de Reims are actively engaged in talks with Portuguese side Estoril over the possible signing of 18-year-old defensive midfielder Duarte Valente.

The youngster impressed at the recent Toulon Tournament.

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South Africa captain Siya Kolisi had to field questions about suspended director of rugby Rassie Erasmus ahead of their clash with England on Saturday.

Kolisi is eager for a resolution to the stand-off between Erasmus and World Rugby after his boss was recently given a ban for critical tweets about match officials.

Erasmus completes his latest suspension after this weekend’s Autumn Nations Series game and the Springboks flanker admits he would like the friction addressed.

All part of the rugby family

“We are learning and hopefully something is reached where both parties are happy going forward and it gets resolved,” said Kolisi ahead of Saturday’s showdown.

“It’s good for rugby to have that kind of stuff resolved. We are all part of the rugby family and families do fight and don’t see eye to eye at times.

“The most important thing is we can all invest in rugby and resolve it together and be stronger than it was before.

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“We can all use difficult periods and adversity for good sometimes and hopefully something great comes out of this and there is a solution going forward between coaches and administrators.

“I hope something more positive comes out of it because it is not good for rugby in general.

“We don’t think the world is against us. We are not the only team that has faced these challenges, every single team has done, it’s just different.

“Our slogan is let the main thing stay the main thing and the main thing is rugby. Everything else that happens is a sideshow, no one is more important than the team.”

Both teams are keen to end the year with a win at Twickenham and Kolisi believes his side’s ‘Bomb Squad’ is catching on after England made changes to their side.

Bomb Squad employed by England

“People had a problem with the Bomb Squad and now everyone’s doing it. It’s funny how the world works,” he said.

“I just laugh. People had a lot to say when we did it and now it’s becoming fashion. It works, that’s the thing. It works.

“It will work for a team like England because they play similarly to how we play with the kicking game and everything.

“You have to work as a forward at all times, back and forth with the kicking. It’s tough on the big guys so bringing on new guys with new energy who are as good helps.

“That’s the important thing about the Bomb Squad – the bench should be as good as the guys that start.”

Scotland wing Darcy Graham believes that mercurial fly-half Finn Russell is key to his side’s attacking output.

The playmaker was initially left out of the Scotland squad despite showing good form for his club side in France, but was recalled to the national set-up after several injuries at fly-half.

Russell showed his worth in his side’s strong 55-29 victory over Argentina last weekend, having a hand in a number of Scottish tries on the day.

Makes attacking easier

Graham admits it is easier to attack when Russell is on the pitch as his hat-trick against Los Pumas suggests.

“It’s easy to attack when you’ve got Finn there,” said the wing. “He controls the game very well, he’s a magician. It’s nice to see him back and on top form. He played amazing on Saturday.

“You just have to look at that performance to see how he brings out the best in everybody else round about him. When he’s on his game, we’re a very good team.

“I noticed a huge difference when Finn came into camp. Just the calmness he has, he’s so chilled.

“He directs a lot in training and gets our attack going really well, and then he pulled that performance out the bag against Argentina. He was phenomenal.”

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“Decent campaign”

Graham was pleased that his team could sign off their Autumn Nations Series with a positive victory but admits going so close against the All Blacks still hurts.

“It was nice to end the campaign on a high,” said Graham. “The New Zealand game was frustrating – it still hurts – but I thought the boys went out and put on an 80-minute performance against Argentina.

“It was a decent campaign so we just need to take the confidence from that into the Six Nations.

“We’ve still got a wee bit to go but I think we’ve produced some very positive stuff over this campaign. When we’re on our game, we can beat any team in the world so we’ve just got to make sure we’re on our game.”

Next in focus for the Scotland side is next year’s Six Nations, with the World Cup in France on the horizon.

CSKA Moscow will allow Russian international attacking midfielder Aleksandr Golovin to choose between offers currently on the table from AS Monaco and Chelsea, according to RMC.

Both clubs are in continuing, advanced negotiations to sign the player, with Juventus also attentive to the situation.

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According to our reliable colleagues at Goal France, Lyon have rejected a 2nd offer from West Ham United for Brazilian central defender Marcelo.

West Ham’s first bid was worth €17m, their second €25m, both turned down by Lyon President Jean-Michel Aulas.

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OL do not want to allow Marcelo to leave, having already sold Mouctar Diakhaby, with currently only four central defenders in the squad.

Marcelo has however been offered €3m a year by the Hammers, and appears to want to make the move.

Following their 35-0 defeat to Cardiff on Sunday, Sharks head coach Sean Everitt has stepped down from his role with immediate effect.

The Durban outfit suffered a humiliating loss at Kings Park as the Welsh region scored four tries in a comprehensive victory over the South African side.

It has ultimately cost Everitt his job as the Sharks released a statement on Monday confirming that the head coach had left in the aftermath of the defeat.

Neil Powell takes over

“This decision has been made in the best interests of the team moving forward,” revealed Sharks chief executive, Dr Eduard Coetzee, on the club’s website.

“Our director of rugby, Neil Powell, will oversee the remainder of the Vodacom United Rugby Championship campaign as well as our first foray in the Heineken Champions Cup, which kicks off on the 10th of December.

“Neil will be ably supported by the rest of our current senior coaching structure, which remains unchanged.”

Coetzee added on Everitt’s departure: “We thank Sean for his invaluable contribution to the Sharks over the past few years, especially navigating through a challenging Covid-19 period.

“He will always remain a part of the Sharks family. I would like to take this opportunity to wish him and his family the very best moving forward.”

Everitt became an assistant coach at the Sharks ahead of their Currie Cup campaign of 2008 and had risen through the ranks of the former Super Rugby outfit.

He went on to help them reach two Currie Cup finals and a fifth-placed finish in their first United Rugby Championship, sealing Champions Cup qualification.

Tireless effort put in

“This is a sad development for me and sometimes the results don’t always match the tireless effort that has been put in,” said Everitt.

“I have been a part of this union for close on 15 years and I’ve always had the best interests of this team at heart. I leave with no regrets.

“I would like to thank the Sharks for the great memories and the wonderful opportunities that has been given to me at the helm of this fantastic team. I wish the Sharks every success, as the season progresses.”

The Sharks are currently sitting in 12th position in the United Rugby Championship standings with a record of three wins and three losses from six matches.

Their next match comes on Friday when they will look to bounce back from that Cardiff defeat with a home fixture against another Welsh region, the Ospreys.

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