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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Six Nations chief executive Ben Morel will step down from his position at the end of the 2022/23 season, the organisation announced on Monday.

Morel, who started with Six Nations Rugby in 2018, helped secure private equity investment through a partnership with CVC capital partners during his tenure.

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He guided Six Nations Rugby through Covid-19, which included launching the Autumn Nations Cup, a tournament staged in 2020 which was won by England.

Landmark deal for women’s championship

Morel also signed a title sponsorship with Guinness for the men’s Six Nations and brokered a first-ever title sponsor, TikTok, for the women’s championship.

“I am at the stage in my life when I want to tackle other personal and professional projects and a Rugby World Cup year is the perfect time to ensure a smooth transition to keep the pace of our rapid transformation,” said Morel about his decision to move on.

“There are several key projects I am focused on delivering before I depart and look forward to the next months ahead.”

Ronan Dunne, Chair of the Board of Six Nations Rugby, said: “We have been privileged to have Ben’s wise counsel and steadfast leadership during these past five seasons.

Outstanding performance

“He has delivered outstanding performance, whilst establishing a strong and effective organisation and executive leadership team, leaving us well placed to deliver on the next phase of our vision for Six Nations Rugby.”

A replacement for Morel is set to be announced in January, with the search for his successor already underway, according to Six Nations Rugby.

“The Six Nations Rugby Board are grateful that they have been given a long notice period to ensure a successful transition. The process to find a successor is underway with an announcement expected in the New Year,” they said in a statement.

Toulouse this evening are supremely confident of signing wide-man Matthieu Dossevi from Metz, in a deal that will cost around €2.5m, according to France Football.

The 30-year-old had a number of offers, but sides like EA Guingamp believed that the fee asked by Les Grenats in Ligue 2 was onerous.

Dossevi is expected to arrive in Toulouse tomorrow to undergo a medical.

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Ligue 1 side Toulouse have registered an interest in 20-year-old midfield maestro Aliou Dieng, according to our colleagues at Foot 365.

The MC Alger player has another two years to run on his current deal & as a result is valued at €3m by the Algerian side.

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The recent revelations from Sbu Nkosi about his mental health issues following his disappearance came as “a shock” to fellow Springbok and ex-Sharks team-mate Ox Nche.

Nkosi, who joined the Bulls from the Sharks in May, was located earlier this week at his father’s house in Emalahleni, Mpumalanga after he went missing for three weeks.

After reporting the 26-year-old flyer’s disappearance to the South African Police Service, the Bulls eventually found the player with the assistance of a security company, who are one of the team’s sponsors.

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Nche said Nkosi‘s situation highlighted the pressures which come with being an international sports star and for team-mates regularly check up on each other.

“Sbu is a smart guy. He works hard and he knows what he has to do,” the Sharks front-row told reporters.

Not an easy job

“And our jobs are not easy. Me and him, we have an understanding [as] colleagues and we get along off the field too. I think we are pretty good with each other.

“It came as a shock… I didn’t expect it but that is the thing about mental health, you don’t see it coming.”

Nche admitted to being concerned about Nkosi’s well-being while he was missing.

“It was definitely concerning for me,” he said. It’s a wake-up call to keep checking on each other and seeing how things are.”

Wallabies great Simon Poidevin believes that Rugby Australia (RA) should take the opportunity to bring Eddie Jones back to the country and aid the beleaguered Dave Rennie.

Jones was dismissed by the Rugby Football Union on Tuesday after presiding over a disappointing 2022 which saw England win just five of their matches.

The 62-year-old is reported to have received around £700,000 in compensation and is free to take up another job immediately.

Interested in speaking to Jones

According to the Sydney Morning Herald, the governing body are interested in speaking to Jones over a potential position.

Rennie is expected to remain in his role until the end of the Rugby World Cup in France, but Poidevin believes that RA should bring Jones in to help the Wallabies head coach.

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“I think RA have made it clear they respect Dave Rennie taking the team through to the 2023 World Cup,” he told the Herald.

“That doesn’t stop a guy of Eddie’s experience, like he did [at the 2007 World Cup] with South Africa, coming in to provide his expertise. He helped the Springboks get that victory. That’s an option which Rugby Australia should be thinking about with Eddie.

“His most valuable input would be a sounding board for Dave Rennie and his relatively young coaching staff. He’s been through it all.

“He knows the challenges of knockout tournaments. In France it’s going to be highly intense given the number of quality teams around the world now.”

Under pressure

Rennie remains a man under pressure, despite their come-from-behind victory over Wales which provided some positivity in an otherwise disappointing campaign.

The New Zealander has struggled to put the Wallabies on the right track after taking the job following the 2019 World Cup.

He has just a 38 per cent win rate and a poor competition in France will certainly see him replaced at the end of 2023.

It means that Jones could be the next head coach of Australia, according to Poidevin, if he doesn’t agree a deal with the governing body prior to the upcoming global tournament.

“If he doesn’t want to come over for a World Cup position with the Wallabies, then it should be foot down by Rugby Australia to sign him to coach the Wallabies (in 2024) and try and win the World Cup in 2027,” he added.

In a topsy-turvy day in the transfer market for LOSC Lille, the official signing of wonder-kid Rafael Leão from Sporting CP has been swiftly followed by the departure of Les Dogues’ star right-back Kévin Malcuit. Malcuit, a 27-year-old defender, joins Italian club Napoli from Lille after a reported fee of €11.5m was agreed upon between the two clubs. Napoli have signed the attacking right-back to a four-year contract, with Malcuit looking to impress new manager Carlo Ancelotti after a standout season in Ligue 1.

Moving to Napoli will be the first venture for Malcuit outside of France. The 27-year-old has honed his ability in Ligue 1, becoming an important figure at his two most recent clubs: Lille and Saint-Étienne. Malcuit provided 3 assists in 2016/17 for Saint-Étienne and 6 in 2017/18 for Lille as a key cog in both sides’ attack. The right-back has impressive speed and dribbling ability and can provide a real offensive outlet from a more defensive position.

Throughout this summer Malcuit was pursued by a host of club outside of Napoli, most notably Southampton, Valencia, and West Ham, but it was of course the club from Naples that won the race for the Frenchman’s signature. While the departure of one of the top performers in Lille’s 2017/18 campaign may worry, Les Dogues’ supporters can find solace in the fact that the potential replacement for Malcuit very well may be waiting on the sidelines.

The man to make Lille forget about Kévin Malcuit could be young Turkish international Zeki Çelik, who joined the Ligue 1 club earlier this summer for €3m. Much like Malcuit, Çelik boasts impressive physical attributes like quickness and strength and can also be a threat on the counter-attack.

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Losing Malcuit is a big loss for Lille, but not a dooming one. With added faith in Zeki Çelik and additional impact from Lille’s numerous new signings, memories of Kévin Malcuit bombing down the right-wing in the Stade Pierre-Mauroy may not linger as long as expected.

G.M.