Montpellier HSC has officially completed its second transfer of this summer window with the signing of Frenchman Damien Le Tallec. Le Tallec, often deployed as a defensive midfielder or centre back, will be returning to France after six years abroad in Ukraine, Russia, and Serbia. The now Montpellier man joins on a free from Red Star Belgrade with his contract in Serbia expiring at the end of this season.

Le Tallec’s most recent spell in eastern Europe was spent in the Serbian SuperLiga, where he was a key part of Red Star’s impressive Europa League run and SuperLiga title win.  Under the management of head coach Vladan Milojević, Le Tallec often played as a right-sided center back where he was one of his team’s top performers. In the 8 matches he played in the Europa League the defender averaged a 7.28 match rating, good enough for best on his team per WhoScored.

After selling starlet defender Nordi Mukiélé to Bundesliga side RB Leipzig, Montpellier will be hoping that Le Tallec can fill its Germany-bound defender’s shoes. Mukiélé was a consistent and adaptable performer, something that Le Tallec is noted for as well. Club president Laurent Nicollin was clearly excited to be signing a new defender, declaring, “I am delighted to have an additional central defender in our squad, which was also a wish for the coach…It’s up to him to show us his value, but we are in any case very happy that he has signed with us.” 

G.M.

Click Here: St Kilda Saints Guernsey

Italy started their Autumn Nations Series with a brilliant 49-17 win over Samoa on Saturday afternoon.

Samoa applied the pressure in the first 10 minutes but failed to score any points before Italy found their feet, kicking a penalty in the 11th minute through Tommaso Allan and scoring two tries in as many minutes through Ignacio Brex Juan and Pierre Bruno. Allan kicked both conversions.

Allan would add another penalty before the visitors had to end the first half with a man down after Nigel Ah Wong was yellow carded for dangerous play.

Click here to see teams and scorers

Italy wing Monty Ioane made the most of the numerical advantage, scoring either side of half-time to put his team in the driver’s seat. Paolo Garbisi kicked a penalty just before the break, while Allan missed one conversion but added two points for the second try in the 47th minute.

Click Here: LONGCHAMP LE PLIAGE CLUB BACKPACK ANTIQUE PINK 70TH ANNIVERSARY EDITION WOMEN

Samoa then began to find a foothold in the game and, despite the scoreline, kept playing hard until the ball bounced their way. Centre Ulupano Seuteni crossed for the visitors’ first try in the 52nd minute, with D’Angelo Leuila slotting the conversion.

The hosts were dialled in and responded only three minutes later through debutant Lorenzo Cannone, with Garbisi kicking the conversion on this occasion.

Garbisi then crossed the whitewash for a try of his own in the 63rd minute, which Pierre Bruno converted.

From then on, the game opened up, suiting Samoa, who scored two unconverted tries in the last 10 minutes through Duncan Paia’aua and Theo McFarland.

Despite winning all 18 of their previous Tests against Italy, the Wallabies are not underestimating the Azzurri ahead of their Autumn Nations Series clash in Florence.

After starting their end-of-year tour with a nail-biting 16-15 victory over Scotland, Australia suffered a narrow 30-29 defeat to France in Paris last weekend.

The Wallabies have struggled on their end-of-year tours in recent years as they have not won more than one Test while visiting Europe since 2016.

Signs of improvement

They have also not won back-to-back Tests since a five-match winning streak in 2021. They have shown signs of improvement, however, but although they will be favourites to beat Italy, who they last faced in 2018, wing Tom Wright said it’s important that they approach the fixture in the same way to their clash against Les Bleus.

“The main messaging is around that we respect Italy and keep out the outside noise… around what could be perceived as an easy game for us on this tour, or the easiest,” Wright told reporters.

“It’s about making sure that we as a squad front up this week – it’s very easy to get up when you’re playing France or Ireland, the top two teams in the world, so we need to make sure we put the same emphasis on playing well and preparing the same way against Italy.”

Australia head coach Dave Rennie will name his team on Thursday and many Wallabies supporters are keen to see young full-back Jock Campbell, who made his first Test start against France, get another start.

Wright admitted the Wallabies full-back position was a “merry-go-round” with no player able to nail down the spot ahead of the Rugby World Cup in France in 2023.

He believes Campbell, who made his Test debut against Scotland at the age of 27, brought a lot of great qualities to the full-back role.

“It’s been well-publicised around how underrated he’s (Campbell) been and he’s waited for his opportunity for a really long time,” Wright said.

“To see him front up on one of biggest stages in the world, he didn’t shy away from the occasion, executing our game plan.

“There’s been a merry-go-round of guys go through there (fullback), me included, and Jock is cool, calm and collected and extremely well liked by the group.

Click Here: Raphael Varane Jersey Sale

“You saw in his performance, not a lot rattles him.”

Campbell and Wright both missed tackles on the Les Bleus flyer Damien Penaud as he crossed for the match-winning try in Paris in that game’s closing stages.

Wright said he took responsibility for the defensive error while there were plenty of positives to take from the Paris match.

Owning up

“It sucked for the group, sucked for me and Jock but I’ve just got to own that moment,” he said.

“The team review, we didn’t just look at the last try and think how shit was that game, we looked at the first 75-odd minutes and what we did really well.

“We know Italy are going to be no slouch this weekend, especially at home and it’s a new environment for a lot of guys.

“It’s certainly been a focus point for us, making sure that we show up, especially coming after a performance that we were proud of.”

Ligue 1 side Lille are in advanced talks with young attacker Jonathan Ikoné, whose PSG contract expires in 12 months, according to Foot Mercato.

The 20-year-old versatile forward player spent this season on loan at Montpellier, but has decided that he does not want to join MHSC permanently.

France Football report that the fee involved will be €5m, with Paris United adding that Aston Villa made an enquiry for Ikoné last week without taking any further action.

Click Here: shopskm

The 20-year-old is expected to complete the move to Lille in the coming hours.

PSG yesterday concluded an agreement to sell Spanish left-back Yuri Berchiche to La Liga outfit Athletic Bilbao for €24m including bonuses, according to Le Parisien.

This deal take Les Parisiens over the required amount in terms of sales required to satisfy Financial Fair Play, following the sales of Odsonne Edouard (Celtic – €8m + €2m) and Javier Pastore (AS Roma – €20m + €4m).

The deal will be made official in the coming days, with Yuri set to sign a 4-year contract worth €4.5m per annum.

Click Here: Olympique de Marseille soccer tracksuit

Click:cnc router cutting machine

Former Wallaby Drew Mitchell has questioned coach Dave Rennie’s team selection after Australia lost to Italy for the first time ever.

Rennie made 11 changes to his starting XV for the clash that Italy claimed 28-27 in Florence in a thrilling Autumn Nations Series match.

Tough run of form

The loss means the Wallabies have only won two of their last eight games – a worrying run of form so close to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Mitchell believes that so many changes in the starting line-up influenced the Wallabies’ mental approach to the game.

“Subconsciously it gives you the mindset you’re expected to win … that’s poor coaching,” Mitchell said on Stan Sport’s coverage. “[The Wallabies are] seventh in the world. You’re not in a position to make 12 changes.”

Meanwhile, Rennie defended his decision to make so many changes claiming it was important to rotate and manage the players’ workloads.

“I mean it’s not much more changes than we made the week before. There were a couple of extra bodies that we would have played today had they not been injured from the French game. We picked squads a long way out … we looked at how we’re going to give ourselves the best chance to win all five games on tour. We had a good enough side out on the paddock to win,” Rennie said.

“It’s hugely disappointing. It’s not good enough. All I can say is it’s hurting. You go into the change room and the boys are hurt. They know we’re better than that. I understand the frustration [of fans].

“It hurts everyone involved. We had a good enough side on the field but we just gave up too many soft points and possession and territory.”

Impressive Italy

Italy coach Kieran Crowley has done tremendous work with the Azzurri and was bursting with pride after an historic win.

The New Zealand-born coach felt the Wallabies’ team selection was not disrespectful to Italy at all.

“We’re planning to have a party tonight,” said Crowley, “It was outstanding. We asked them to die for Italy and I think they did today.”

“We do not think they disrespected us at all. They’re all Super Rugby players or [playing] in France or wherever it may be. You manage your players and put the team out you think is going to do the job for you.

“If Australia kicked that last goal, you probably wouldn’t be asking that last question.”

Check out the teams ahead of the second weekend of the Autumn Nations Series, which is headlined by France’s clash with South Africa and Scotland’s game against New Zealand.

Saturday

Italy v Australia
Stadio Artemio Franchi, Florence

Italy: 15 Ange Capuozzo, 14 Pierre Bruno, 13 Juan Ignacio Brex, 12 Luca Morisi, 11 Montanna Ioane, 10 Paolo Garbisi, 9 Stephen Varney, 8 Lorenzo Cannone, 7 Michele Lamaro (c), 6 Sebastian Negri, 5 Federico Ruzza, 4 Niccolo Cannone, 3 Simone Ferrari, 2 Giacomo Nicotera, 1 Danilo Fischetti
Replacements: 16 Giacomo Nicotera, 17 Ivan Nemer, 18 Pietro Ceccarelli, 19 David Sisi, 20 Toa Halafihi, 21 Alessandro Garbisi, 22 Tommaso Allan, 23 Tommaso Menoncello

Australia: 15 Jock Campbell, 14 Mark Nawaqanitawase, 13 Len Ikitau, 12 Hunter Paisami, 11 Tom Wright, 10 Noah Lolesio, 9 Jake Gordon, 8 Pete Samu, 7 Fraser McReight, 6 Ned Hanigan, 5 Will Skelton, 4 Nick Frost, 3 Allan Alaalatoa (c), 2 Folau Fainga’a, 1 Matt Gibbon
Replacements: 16 Lachlan Lonergan, 17 Tom Robertson, 18 Taniela Tupou, 19 Darcy Swain, 20 Langi Gleeson, 21 Tate McDermott, 22 Ben Donaldson, 23 Jordan Petaia

Ireland v Fiji
Aviva Stadium, Dublin

Ireland: 15 Jimmy O’Brien, 14 Robert Baloucoune, 13 Robbie Henshaw, 12 Stuart McCloskey, 11 Mack Hansen, 10 Joey Carbery, 9 Jamison Gibson Park, 8 Jack Conan, 7 Nick Timoney, 6 Caelan Doris, 5 Tadhg Beirne, 4 Kieran Treadwell, 3 Tadhg Furlong (c), 2 Rob Herring, 1 Jeremy Loughman
Replacements: 16 Dan Sheehan, 17 Cian Healy, 18 Tom O’Toole, 19 Cian Prendergast, 20 Max Deegan, 21 Craig Casey, 22 Jack Crowley, 23 Garry Ringrose

Fiji: 15 Setareki Tuicuvu, 14 Jiuta Wainiqolo, 13 Waisea Nayacalevu, 12 Kalaveti Ravouvou, 11 Vinaya Habosi, 10 Teti Tela, 9 Frank Lomani, 8 Viliame Mata, 7 Levani Botia, 6 Albert Tuisue, 5 Ratu Leone Rotuisolia, 4 Isoa Nasilasila, 3 Manasa Saulo, 2 Sam Matavesi, 1 Eroni Mawi
Replacements: 16 Mesulame Dolokoto, 17 Livai Natave, 18 Lee-Roy Atalifo, 19 Apisalome Ratuniyarawa, 20 John Dyer, 21 Simione Kuruvoli, 22 Ben Volavola, 23 Adrea Cocagi

England v Japan
Twickenham, London

England: 15 Freddie Steward, 14 Jack Nowell, 13 Guy Porter, 12 Owen Farrell, 11 Jonny May, 10 Marcus Smith, 9 Jack van Poortvliet, 8 Sam Simmonds, 7 Tom Curry, 6 Maro Itoje, 5 Jonny Hill, 4 David Ribbans, 3 Kyle Sinckler, 2 Luke Cowan-Dickie, 1 Ellis Genge
Replacements: 16 Jamie George, 17 Mako Vunipola, 18 Joe Heyes, 19 Alex Coles, 20 Billy Vunipola, 21 Ben Youngs, 22 Henry Slade, 23 Manu Tuilagi

Japan: 15 Ryohei Yamanaka, 14 Kotaro Matsushima, 13 Dylan Riley, 12 Ryoto Nakamura, 11 Gerhard Van den Heever, 10 Takuya Yamasawa, 9 Yutaka Nagare, 8 Tevita Tatafu, 7 Kazuki Himeno, 6 Michael Leitch, 5 Jack Cornelsen, 4 Warner Dearns, 3 Jiwon Gu, 2 Atsushi Sakate, 1 Keita Inagaki
Replacements: 16 Kosuke Horikoshi, 17 Craig Millar, 18 Yusuke Kizu, 19 Wimoie Van der Walt, 20 Pieter Labuschagne, 21 Naoto Saito, 22 Seungsin Lee, 23 Siosaia Fifita

Wales v Argentina
Principality Stadium, Cardiff

Wales: 15 Louis Rees-Zammit, 14 Alex Cuthbert, 13 George North, 12 Nick Tompkins, 11 Rio Dyer, 10 Gareth Anscombe, 9 Tomos Williams, 8 Taulupe Faletau, 7 Justin Tipuric (c), 6 Dan Lydiate, 5 Adam Beard, 4 Will Rowlands, 3 Dillon Lewis, 2 Ken Owens, 1 Gareth Thomas
Replacements: 16 Ryan Elias, 17 Rhodri Jones, 18 Sam Wainwright, 19 Ben Carter, 20 Jac Morgan, 21 Kieran Hardy, 22 Rhys Priestland, 23 Owen Watkin

Argentina: 15 Juan Cruz Mallia, 14 Mateo Carreras, 13 Matias Moroni, 12 Jeronimo de la Fuente, 11 Emiliano Boffelli, 10 Santiago Carreras, 9 Gonzalo Bertranou, 8 Pablo Matera, 7 Marcos Kremer, 6 Juan Martín González, 5 Tomás Lavanini, 4 Matías Alemanno, 3 Francisco Gómez Kodela, 2 Julián Montoya (c), 1 Thomas Gallo
Replacements: 16 Ignacio Ruiz, 17 Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro, 18 Eduardo Bello, 19 Lucas Paulos, 20 Facundo Isa, 21 Eliseo Morales, 22 Tomás Albornoz, 23 Matías Orlando

France v South Africa
Stade de France, Paris

France: 15 Thomas Ramos, 14 Damian Penaud, 13 Gael Fickou, 12 Jonathan Danty, 11 Yoram Moefana, 10 Romain Ntamack, 9 Antoine Dupont (c), 8 Gregory Alldritt, 7 Charles Ollivon, 6 Anthony Jelonch, 5 Thibaud Flament, 4 Cameron Woki, 3 Uini Atonio, 2 Julien Marchand, 1 Cyril Baille
Replacements: 16 Peato Mauvaka, 17 Reda Wardi, 18 Sipili Falatea, 19 Romain Taofifenua, 20 Bastien Chalureau, 21 Sekou Macalou, 22 Maxime Lucu, 23 Matthieu Jalibert

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

Sunday

Barbarians v All Blacks XV
Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, London

Barbarians:

All Blacks XV: 15 Shaun Stevenson, 14 Bryce Heem, 13 Levi Aumua, 12 Alex Nankivell, 11 Leicester Fainga’anuku, 10 Damian McKenzie, 9 Brad Weber, 8 Luke Jacobson, 7 Tom Christie, 6 Dominic Gardiner, 5 Patrick Tuipulotu (c), 4 Josh Dickson, 3 Tamaiti Williams, 2 Brodie McAlister, 1 Aidan Ross
Replacements: 16 Andrew Makalio, 17 Finlay Brewis, 18 Pouri Rakete-Stones, 19 Zach Gallagher, 20 Christian Lio-Willie, 21 Cortez Ratima, 22 Josh Ioane, 23 Bailyn Sullivan

Scotland v New Zealand
Murrayfield, Edinburgh

Scotland:

New Zealand:

Click Here: brisbane broncos shirt

Click:Pawnshop gold loan

Rennes President Olivier Létang today discussed the amount of offers made for players in his current squad in a press conference.

Click Here: gaa jerseys

“Nobody has contacted us for our players, only a Turkish club made an offer from Mexer, which was minimal, but we want to keep him.”

The bid is believed to have come from Trabzonspor.

Click:cnc routing machines

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.

Click Here: France National Team soccer tracksuit

“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