Month: September 2019

The Rebels have suffered their worst ever loss at the hands of the Hurricanes , going down 71-6.

Here’s what we learned from the disastrous display.

1. Rebels’ soft defensive underbelly exposed

Only the Sunwolves missed a higher percentage of their tackles than the Rebels did last week and it was the same old story this afternoon. They missed 40 tackles against the Hurricanes – a number that elite defensive teams can take three games to reach. Add that to the 26 they missed against the Blues and it’s easy to see why they have conceded a pitiful 127 points in 160 minutes of football. Both forwards and backs are shirking the physicality when called upon and that must be addressed before they take on the Chiefs in Round Four.

2. Hurricanes simply the best

As bad as the Rebels were, the Canes have been breathtaking in two enormous wins to start 2017. They are highly skilled from prop through to fullback, are able to attack in loose play but follow structures when required and never shirk defensive work. TJ Perenara and Beauden Barrett have this team humming at a level rarely seen in Super Rugby . It will take a spectacular performance to knock this team off.

3. Historic night for all the wrong reasons

The 65-point loss marks the worst in the Rebels’ seven-year history. The Rebels led the Australian conference at one point last year but they will struggle to win a game if they continue to play as they have in the first two rounds. Too many turnovers, too many missed tackles, too many wayward set pieces. It was an awful performance that deserved the final scoreline.

4. The gap widens

The talk of the 2016 Super Rugby season was the difference in class between the New Zealand Conference and the rest of the competition. Having lost to two Kiwi teams by a combined margin of 103 points, the Rebels are proof that the gulf is only getting wider. The Blues – who beat the Rebels by 38 last week – played one man down for 40 minutes last night but were handily beaten by the Chiefs. It’s scary to think what they might do to this Melbourne outfit.

5. Koroibete solid in debut

It wasn’t a night for the Melbourne Rebels’ outside backs but Marika Koroibete was quietly solid with ball in hand. There were signs of the Melbourne Storm star that tore up the NRL but it’s clear he won’t be receiving the ball on a silver platter as he did there.

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Laurie Fisher still has plenty to offer to Australian rugby should he make a permanent move home, Force centre Bill Meakes says.

Fisher stepped down from his role as Gloucester head coach midway through a disappointing season through the club, two days after posting an ominous tweet about Gloucester’s 30-27 loss to Harlequins.

“Unbelievable capitulation. Clearly not good enough. My responsibility. Time to make room for someone else,” he posted.

Meakes, who played under Fisher for the past three seasons at Gloucester, said he wasn’t sure how to react when he first heard the news.

“I saw the tweet initially, didn’t really know what to make of it,” he said.

“Then I messaged a few of the boys at Gloucester and they said they hadn’t seen him after the game.

“He’s formally stood down, which is really disappointing but I think he stated that he feels like his time’s done there and he tried as hard as he could and I think it’s all been left pretty amicable.”

“It’s a real shame that Gloucester are having another disappointing year but wish all the best to Laurie.”

Meakes said he felt he owed his Super Rugby chance, at least in part, to Fisher, who was hugely influential on the centre.

“For me, individually he basically transformed the way I approach the breakdown and made that a real strength for me, which is probably one of the main reasons that I got a gig back here,” he said.

“He had a huge impact on my career so far and Dave (Force coach Dave Wessels) was telling me how complimentary Laurie was of me when Dave was deciding whether or not to offer me a contract here.”

As soon as Fisher and Gloucester announced their ‘parting of ways’ on Tuesday, talk began about whether he would return to Australia and his services would certainly be valuable for any franchise.

Fisher was active on Twitter through the day, responding to supporters’ messages, saying he was unsure about his next destination, but that would certainly be going via home.

The Brumbies are on the hunt for a head coach, with a view to possibly appointing someone by the end of the month.

While it’s reportedly unlikely Fisher would take a head role, he has found success with the Brumbies as a forwards coach in the past..

Whatever his role is, Meakes said Fisher would be an asset to Australian rugby if he did return.

“I think he had a really successful couple of years at the Brumbies and I know he still keeps in touch with them a fair bit and tracks the Super Rugby week in, week out,” he said.

“He’s a rugby glut so I’d be delighted to see him back in Australia.”

The Force take on the Brumbies on Friday night at 7:45pm AEDT, LIVE on FOX SPORTS and via radio on RUGBY.com.au.

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A second-half resurgence fell just short for the Waratahs in a 46-31 loss to the Chiefs.

After traliling by as much as 29 points just after half-time, a back-end flurry cut the margin back to just eight points with five minutes left, but it was ultimately another run left all too late.

Any hopes the Waratahs had of snapping Australia’s 0-21 record against New Zealand sides looked snuffed out by two Chiefs tries in four minutes after half-time, before they piled on 28 points to seven in the ensuing half hour.

A James Lowe hat-trick sealed the Chiefs’ win, with the winger standing up against mammoth Waratahs winger Taqele Naiyaravoro. 

The Waratahs committed to their ball-in-hand philosophy but the Chiefs beat them at their own game, playing frantic rugby and, most critically, executing timely offloads.

NSW tested the Chiefs’ defence but couldn’t come away with points off the boot or over the line, before the home side linked up for a super Mitchell Brown try in the 15th minute, while Damian McKenzie compounded the pain with vital penalties early on.

The Waratahs worked hard but couldn’t keep up with a rampaging McKenzie, who made a critical break to set up James Lowe for a try in the 32nd minute.

Despite having almost half the possession and a favourable territory share, the Waratahs found themselves without points deep into the opening half, as the Chiefs simply kept the ball alive when they had it.

A 38th-minute yellow card for Tolu Latu for tripping McKenzie put them a man down, an all-too-familiar spot for the Waratahs this season, with no one to blame but themselves.

Foley nabbed a penalty to put the Waratahs on the board just on the stroke of half-time, with a 15-point margin to run down.

Lowe had his second after a lineout executed like it was being run on a Tuesday afternoon training session went through three pairs of hands, with an offload out of the back of Tawera Kerr-Barlow’s hand landing.

Kerr-Barlow had the Chiefs’ fourth barely a minute later, albeit off what seemed a potential forward pass, as the Waikato side blew the game open

A Rob Horne intercept gave the Waratahs their first try of the night in the 50th minute and sparked a mini-resurgence from NSW.

Relentless pressure from the visitors paid off with a Will Skelton try just six minutes later, coming from a driving maul, capping off one of his best outings of 2017.

Kerr-Barlow’s second in the 60th minute put a stop to the Waratahs’ momentum, before a scuffle led to yellow cards for Waratahs prop Paddy Ryan and Chiefs flanker Brown.

Cam Clark finished off a solid game slipping through the Chiefs defence to score a consolation try, before a spectacular 60-metre Sekope Kepu run narrowed the gap to just eight.

Lowe’s third sealed the Chiefs victory and all but ended any hopes the Waratahs had of an unlikely finals berth, still trailing the Brumbies by nine competition points, with one less game to play than their southern rivals.

Waratahs coach Daryl Gibson said a difficult start meant they were facing an uphll battle early on.

“I think the damage was done in the early stages of the second half, Chiefs got a really excellent roll on and then obviously for us the yellow cards were pretty costly,” he said.

“Our inconsistencies are still there. We don’t seem to have a problem with ball in hand scoring tries, we have a problem conceding them.”

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Skipper Michael Hooper said the game symbolised their 2017 journey.

“(It was ) very frustrating and then very enjoyable in different parts of the game,” he said.

“(It is) frustrating how easily we can, first of all, get points put on us and then how easily we can put points on teams. So, yeah, overall very frustrating – the story of our season.”

RESULT

Chiefs 46 

Tries: Lowe 3, Kerr-Barlow 2, Brown

Cons: McKenzie 5

Pens: McKenzie 2

Yellow Cards: Brown (64′)

Waratahs 31

Tries: Horne, Skelton, Clark, Kepu

Cons: Foley 2

Pens: Foley

Yellow cards: Latu (38′)  Ryan (64′)

Ole Gunnar Solskjaer recognises this season will be full of “ups and downs” but the Manchester United manager has urged players and supporters alike to trust in his long-term vision.

United have made an indifferent start to the campaign with only two wins from their opening six Premier League fixtures ahead of the visit of Arsenal to Old Trafford on Monday.

Solskjaer, though, is refusing to panic and echoed executive vice-chairman Ed Woodward’s assertion earlier this week that patience will be the key over the coming months.

The Norwegian said: “I never said it was going to be easy this season, I’ve said it many times. There will be ups and downs and highs and lows.

“When we lose a game and go through difficult periods it’s time for us to trust ourselves and trust what we’re doing and keep our eyes on the prize, and keep working to the principles that we believe in.

“It’s not changing direction every game you lose. Every game in the Premier League is winnable but also losable, it’s fine margins.

“You listen to the crowd at Old Trafford, they’re amazing. Now is the time to keep supporting us because we are going through a leaner patch, both trophy-wise in the last few years and now with results in the last few games.”

United have won only once in the top flight in their last five outings, while a side featuring several first-team players needed penalties to see off League One Rochdale in the Carabao Cup third round in midweek.

Solskjaer revealed Paul Pogba was a doubt for the Arsenal clash because of a swollen ankle, while Marcus Rashford and Anthony Martial are unlikely to be available due to groin and thigh injuries respectively.

While the Gunners are three points better off than United, Unai Emery’s men have flattered to deceive at times in the early stages of the campaign but they have not come under the scrutiny that Solskjaer and his troops have done.

Solskjaer added: “I don’t worry about what the press writes about other teams. I don’t worry about what the press writes about me or Man United really because we are focused on what we have to do and that’s keep improving.

“When I was (a player) at Man United, you do have the headlines which is a great position to be in, we wouldn’t want to be anywhere else.

“We wouldn’t want to scramble the newspapers to see if they’ve written anything about us because that’s our rightful place.”

 

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Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has backed Eden Hazard to rise to the challenge if called upon in the derby against Atletico.

Los Blancos head to the Wanda Metropolitano top of LaLiga, having produced a response to their 3-0 Champions League defeat at Paris St Germain with successive wins.

Belgium playmaker Hazard has yet to make a major statement during his cameo roles so far after regaining fitness following an £89million summer switch from Chelsea.

Hazard has revealed the big difference between playing at Chelsea and Real Madrid, and has been under pressure to perform after his big money move.

Zidane, though, is confident Hazard will show his qualities soon enough.

“We know the player we have. At any time he will respond. He did in Seville,” said Zidane, whose much-changed side beat Osasuna 2-0 in midweek.

“Of course, everyone expects more from him and he knows. We are with him and he is with us.

“You have to go game by game because he will surely be the player we want him to be.”

Zidane told a press conference: “This type of player is prepared for these matches. I have no doubt about Hazard or the rest of the players.

“We are thinking about an outing in a great performance, we know that it will be difficult and that we will have to do things right from the first minute to the last. We need to be prepared.”

Zidane played down the significance of the 7-3 pre-season defeat to Atletico in New Jersey, with their rivals out to secure a first LaLiga derby win since 2016.

“We have to have a cool head and think about what we have to do,” the Real Madrid coach said.

“Atletico are a difficult opponent that have a lot of weapons, but what interests me is what we are going to do.”

Zidane added: “We are prepared to put in a big performance. We will have to put in a lot of things, not just intensity.

“I am not thinking about the negatives, just about a big game tomorrow. If we are in the match from the first to the last minute we will do well.”

 

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This year’s Europa League group stage wrapped up, with Premier League clubs among the favourites to win the competition

The Europa League group stage and the round of 32 stage has just commenced. This year’s edition features Premier League giants Chelsea and Arsenal as frontrunners to win the competition.

Goal brings you all the details of this year’s Europa League campaign including teams, results and more.

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FA Cup winners Chelsea are heavy favourites to win a second Europa League this season (priced at 4/1 according to bet365 ) after a surprise fifth-placed finish in the Premier League, which meant that they failed to qualify for the more esteemed Champions League.

Maurizio Sarri’s first full season in charge of the Blues will be a pressure-riddled one as he will be expected to return the west London side to the top-tier of European football, preferably through finishing in the Premier League top four or by winning the Europa League.

A new-look Arsenal featuring Unai Emery are also among the favourites to win the competition, priced at 11/2 to win. The Gunners were expected to win the competition last year but fell short to eventual champions Atletico Madrid, and Emery – like Sarri – is expected to attain Champions League season for the following campaign.

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Sevilla  are priced at 10/1 to win the competition after winning the competition a record five times, last winning it in 2016 at the expense of Liverpool in the final.

Sevilla finished disappointingly in seventh place in La Liga though are a strong force in Europe – eliminating Manchester United in the last 16 round of the Champions League last season as well as holding Liverpool to a 3-3 draw after being three goals down at half-time.

Napoli have odds of 8/1 to win the Europa League after narrowly failing to progress to the group stage following a 1-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield in the final fixture.

At one point, the Italians looked poised to finish as group-winners in a supremely competitive Group C, but Liverpool managed to safely secure their spot in the knockout phases alongside Paris Saint-Germain.

The likes of Inter are priced at 25/1 to win the tournament after also dropping down from the Champions League after a draw with PSV meant that Tottenham Hotspur took up the final spot in the group.

Benfica (33/1) , Bayer Leverkusen (25/1) , Betis (25/1), Salzburg (25/1) and Valencia (20/1) are all considered outsiders as well.

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Celtic are considered serious long shots at 66/1 , while Dynamo Kiev’s chances are are also at 66/1 .

The Scottish side managed to progress to the last 32 stage despite losing their final group fixture 2-1 to Salzburg, as RB Leipzig finished in a 1-1 stalemate to Rosenborg in the other Group B fixture.

French side Rennes have odds of 100/1 to emerge as tournament winners.

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Fenerbahce , meanwhile, are rated 100/1 to win the tournament, with Slavia Prague also in with a slim chance of emerging tournament winners as they are priced 125/1 to win.

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The final of this year’s Europa League will take place on May 29 at the Olympic Stadium in Baku, Azerbaijan.

Phase	Round	Draw date	First leg	Second leg
Preliminary	Preliminary round	Jun 12	Jun 28	Jul 5
Qualifying	First qualifying round, second qualifying round, third qualifying round	Jun 19, 20, Jul 23	Jul 12	Jul 19
Play-off	Play-off round	Aug 6	Aug 23	Aug 30
Group stage	Matchday 1	Aug 31	Sept 20	Sept 20
Group stage	Matchday 2	Aug 31	Oct 4	Oct 4
Group stage	Matchday 3	Aug 31	Oct 25	Oct 25
Group stage	Matchday 4	Aug 31	Nov 8	Nov 8
Group stage	Matchday 5	Aug 31	Nov 29	Nov 29
Group stage	Matchday 6	Aug 31	Dec 13	Dec 13
Knockout phase	Round of 32	Dec 17	Feb 14	Feb 21
Knockout phase	Round of 16	Feb 22	Mar 7	Mar 14
Knockout phase	Quarter-finals	Mar 15	Apr 11	Apr 18
Knockout phase	Semi-finals	Apr 19	May 2	May 9
Knockout phase	Final	May 19	May 29	/

The Paris Saint Germain boss waxed lyrical over the Argentine’s performance on his return to the Theatre of Dreams

Paris Saint-Germain boss Thomas Tuchel admits he was surprised by the boos Angel Di Maria received during the first leg last-16 win over Manchester United.

The Argentina winger was regularly jeered by the home fans at Old Trafford, who he played in front of for one unhappy season in the 2014-15 campaign having arrived amid much fanfare from Real Madrid.

A beer bottle was even thrown in his direction during the second half, which the 30-year-old used as a prop to mock the supporters.

Di Maria did his part to silence the boo-boys by providing the assist for Presnel Kimpembe’s opener from a corner before laying one on a plate for Kylian Mbappe in PSG’s 2-0 win in the first leg of the Champions League last-16 tie.

And Tuchel praised Di Maria for sticking to his task, while also revealing his surprise over the negative reception he received from the Old Trafford faithful.

“I thought he had a good relationship with the fans. He was a bit nervous and needed to be calmer in the first-half. In the end, he did well,” he said.

“I’m happy that he stayed confident. I’m happy that he stayed always like this, super reliable because he’s always working hard.

“He always gives his best and for that, it’s easy to forgive him when he has not such a good first half, for us. 

“I’m very happy. It’s always dangerous with him, with corners, and of course a superb assist for the second goal in the open position and with a perfect pass for Kylian. 

“So, a nice comeback for him and I’m very happy for him, and of course he helped us a lot.”

PSG’s victory was even more impressive in the context of the Ligue 1 champions being without Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Thomas Meunier.

And attacking midfielder Julian Draxler believes the team displayed their strength in depth.

“We lost two, three very important players – Thomas, Ney and Cavani – but we knew that we also have other players who can play in a high level and we showed that,” Draxler said. 

“Of course, we are even better if Ney and Cavani are there for example, but football isn’t two or three players, it’s the whole team and that’s what we showed. 

“We played very well, very seriously and that’s why I think we deserved the win.”

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The captain will make a landmark appearance for the club on Wednesday, and he earned praise from his coach in the process

Santiago Solari has hailed Sergio Ramos ahead of the Real Madrid captain making his 600th appearance for the club.

Ramos will reach the landmark in the Champions League on Wednesday if he is selected for the first leg of Madrid’s last-16 tie away to Ajax.

The Spain international has led Madrid to three consecutive continental crowns and has hit 11 goals in all competitions this season after inheriting penalty duties from Cristiano Ronaldo.

“Playing 600 games for Real Madrid is not easy,” Solari told a news conference when asked about Ramos’ achievement.

“This historic Real Madrid has the stamp of his character so we hope he can play many more games for Real Madrid.”

Ramos’ deputy Marcelo has been linked with a move to Juventus after losing his place to 22-year-old left-back Sergio Reguilon.

Marcelo has told Esporte Interativo he will leave if Madrid do not want him, but Solari denied being dissatisfied with the Brazil international.

“Marcelo is great – he’s our vice-captain and an emblem of the club,” Solari added. 

“He has always put the club first and he is training well, like all the other players. Like I said, he’s great and we all like him. He works hard in every training session.”

Madrid are unbeaten in seven games in all competitions while Ajax are stumbling, losing two of their past three games including a 6-2 Eredivisie thrashing at Feyenoord.

“That’s what this profession is like, in football you have one game and another. Then when you lose it’s terrible, when you win it’s fine,” Solari continued.

“Day to day, on the inside, we want to compete – and on the next day too. Tomorrow is very important for this competition and this is where we focus. Other things, we don’t pay a lot of attention to it as managers and players and it’s right to be like this.

“I don’t think it’s a bad period for them, I don’t agree. I think they are having a good season. I’ve seen a lot of games and they play well, construct the play well and they have great players. This is football. There is always an opponent and you have to respect them all, just like the teams Ajax have played.

“I hope we play a game with a serious performance as we did three days ago, that’s my maximum hope. Football is day to day work. All we have to live for is the game tomorrow.”

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After their midweek heroics against Manchester United at Old Trafford, Thomas Tuchel’s side face another difficult away trip

Paris Saint-Germain will aim to continue their recent run of success when they visit Saint-Etienne’s Stade Geoffroy-Guichard on Ligue 1 duty on Sunday.

Heading into round 25 of action in France’s top flight, PSG command a 10-point advantage over Lille at the summit, though their attentions turned to Europe in midweek as they impressively eased past Manchester United 2-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 clash.

Saint-Etienne were also in action over the course of the week, playing host to Strasbourg in an encounter that saw them run out 2-1 winners.

The fourth-placed side could really step up their Champions League hopes with a win.

Game	Saint-Etienne vs Paris Saint-Germain
Date	Sunday, February 17
Time	8:00pm GMT / 3:00pm ET

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In the United States (US), the game can be watched on beIN SPORTS, while it is available to stream via beIN SPORTS CONNECT

US TV channel	Online stream
beIN SPORTS	beIN SPORTS CONNECT

In the United Kingdom (UK), the game can be watched live on BT Sport 1 and BT Sport 4K UHD. It can be streamed on BT Sport Live.

UK TV channel	Online stream
BT Sport 1 / BT Sport 4K UHD	BT Sport Live

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Position	Saint-Etienne players
Goalkeepers	Vermot, Ruffier, Moulin, Bajic
Defenders	Polomat, Saliba, Kolodziejczak, Silva, Perrin, Debuchy, Subotic, Panos
Midfielders	M’Vila, Ait Bennasser, Vada
Forwards	Cabella, Diony, Khazri, Gueye, Nordin, Salibur, Monnet-Paquet, Beric, Abi

Saint-Etienne striker Lois Diony is back after suffering a cut to his foot in midweek that prevented him from playing against Strasbourg. Given that Robert Beric stepped in to score one and assist the other, he is not guaranteed to start.

Head coach Jean-Louis Gasset, who was once assistant to Laurent Blanc at Parc des Princes, otherwise has few major concerns, though January signing Valentin Vada is out.

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Ex-Arsenal man Mathieu Debuchy is set to be recalled.

Possible Saint-Etienne starting XI: Ruffier; Perrin, Subotic, Kolodziejczak; Debuchy, M’Vila, Ait Bennasser, Gabriel Silva; Cabella; Beric, Khazri

Position	PSG squad
Goalkeepers	Buffon, Areola
Defenders	Kehrer, Thiago Silva, Kimpembe, Bernat, Marquinhos, Dani Alves, Kurzawa, Dagba, N’Soki
Midfielders	Verratti, Draxler, Di Maria, Paredes, Nkunku
Forwards	Mbappe, Choupo-Moting, Diaby

Paris Saint-Germain are again without Neymar and Edinson Cavani, leaving them short of offensive options beyond Kylian Mbappe.

Thomas Meunier continues to miss out with concussion while there are some doubts over Marco Verratti.

With a busy fixture list, which will see them host Bordeaux in midweek, rotation in the starting XI seems likely.

Possible Paris Saint-Germain starting XI: Areola; Dagba, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Kurzawa; Paredes, Dani Alves; Diaby, Draxler, Di Maria; Mbappe

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PSG are 3/5 favourites with Bet365. Saint-Etienne can be backed at 17/4, while the draw is priced at 10/3.

Click here to see more offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.

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Paris Saint-Germain enjoyed a terrific week, largely thanks to a 2-0 win over Manchester United at Old Trafford, which puts them in a strong position to qualify for the quarter-finals of the Champions League for the first time since 2016.

Thomas Tuchel’s men made light of the absence of Neymar and Edinson Cavani to run out winners thanks to strikes from Presnel Kimpembe – his first for the capital club – and Kylian Mbappe.

The result and the maturity of the performance has heightened the expectation that PSG are serious challengers for the European crown, although the former Dortmund boss was eager to keep his side’s feet on the ground.

“We know we are capable of winning, but they are capable of winning in Paris as well,” he said in the immediate aftermath. “That’s what sport is all about, particularly when we are playing football and in the Champions League. Now of course we will enjoy this but tomorrow we start preparing for the game against Saint-Etienne.

“We cannot rest on our laurels and start thinking about the quarter-finals as it is only half-time in the tie.”

Experienced full-back Dani Alves, meanwhile, was rather more forthright in his aim.

“I think we have to lose the virginity in the Champions League this season once and for all. We are working hard for it,” he said.

Indeed, Ligue 1 is virtually tied up for the Parc des Princes side, who can afford to channel their efforts towards Europe.

Their recent form domestically has wavered, with losses against Guingamp in the Coupe de la Ligue and PSG in Le Championnat since the winter break, and a Saint-Etienne side who have lost only once this season are unlikely to be a pushover.

The Melbourne Rebels have added another rising star to their already intimidating wing stocks, signing Japan’s Kentaro Kodama for the 2017 season.

Kodama was a star for Japan against Korea last year, with five tries in an 85-0 win and four more in the next seven games showing his scoring potency.

The 24-year-old is no stranger to Aussies, playing alongside a handful in the Japanese Top League for competition heavyweights Panasonic Wild Knights, who he will be lining up for at next month’s Brisbane Tens.

Rebels general manager – Baden Stephensen said Kodama would be a boost to the side’s depth, adding to an outside backs department that includes Sefa Naivalu, Marika Koroibete and Tom English.

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“Kentaro is a rising star of Japanese Rugby so we’re pleased that he’s committed to continuing his Super Rugby career with the Rebels,” he said.

“Kentaro has shown through his performances in the 2016 Top League and international Tests that his speed and nous for scoring tries will add depth to the backline and positively contribute to the Rebels program.”

Kodama was part of the inaugural Sunwolves squad last year, but opted to make the switch to an Australian franchise for 2017.

“I am so grateful for this opportunity with Melbourne Rebels,” Kodama said.

“I look forward to learning from the world’s best players and taking part in a game.”