The Western Force have moved to shore up their tight-five stocks, signing former Maori All Blacks lock Tom Franklin for the 2024 Super Rugby season.
Recognising the need to stiffen up their pack, Simon Cron pounced on the services of Franklin after a strong season for Taranaki in their title-winning run in New Zealand’s National Provincial Championship.
Not only will he help ease the load of Izack Rodda, with the Wallabies lock plagued by foot injuries in recent years, but he will help the development of emerging second-rowers Felix Kalapu and Jeremy Williams.
Tom Franklin regularly featured for the Maori All Blacks and will pull on the Western Force jersey in 2024. (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile via Getty Images)
Cron, who coached against Franklin during his younger years when he was at the Highlanders, said a conversation during their respective stints in Japan was a catalyst behind the experienced forward joining the Force.
“An area that we’re light on has been lock, so we’ve been looking for somebody who can add value to the team straight away,” Cron said.
“Tom has knowledge around lineouts, skills around the park and most recently he was in the winning-Taranaki team at NPC level. Talking to his forwards coach, he was a big part of that.
“I coached against Tom when he was at the Highlanders and he was one of the best defensive lineout readers that we’d coach against. I was lucky to chat to him in Japan when he was playing for Kobe and you could see what he adds.
“With the age of our tight-five forwards, we needed somebody who was a bit more experienced. Tom brings a high-skill, high-paced game with a good rugby brain and good knowledge. He’s also an awesome person who’ll help bring through a lot of our guys and play at the highest level still.”
Franklin returns to Super Rugby after a long stint with the Highlanders, where he was a part of Jamie Joseph’s 2015 championship squad.
“I’m really happy to move to Perth and join the Force,” said Franklin, who won 85 caps for the Highlanders and featured nine times for the Maori All Blacks between 2014 and 2019.
“I had a good chat to Crono and the coaches which excited me about the move, and I heard good things from ex-players like Marcel Brache who spoke about how the club is growing.
“I’m really excited about the opportunity to part of something with high aspirations to go to the next level. I’m excited to be part of that and excited to be back in Super Rugby and take on the challenge.”
He is the second big name New Zealand star to join the Force, with former All Blacks prop Atu Moli joining Cron’s side in 2024.
FIJI STAR JAILED FOR SEXUAL ASSAULT
Fijian lock Api Ratuniyarawa has been jailed for sexually assaulting three women on three separate occasions in a Cardiff bar in late 2023.
The 37-year-old admitted two counts of assault by penetration and one of sexual assault at Revolution between 31 October and 2 November, 2023. All the victims were 19.
Ratuniyarawa was sentenced to two years and ten months at Cardiff Crown Court on Tuesday. He will serve up to half his sentence in jail, with the remainder to be served in the community.
The experienced lock, who was a late call-up to Simon Raiwalui’s Flying Fijian squad last year to feature in a third World Cup campaign, was in Cardiff to play for the Barbarians against Wales on November 4.
Api Ratuniyarawa has been sentenced to prison for three counts of sexual assault in Cardiff in late 2023. (Photo by Ryan Hiscott/Getty Images for Barbarians)
But he was a late scratching for the exhibition match against Wales when it emerged he had been charged with sexual assault.
The BBC reported that prosecutor Heath Edwards said Ratuniyarawa – 1.98m tall and 115kg – “cornered’’ his first victim and “put his hands down her trousers’’.
A second victim had her breasts and bottom touched while a third woman suffered a painful assault that left her bleeding and scarred.
“This is the worst possible thing he could have done to me,” one victim said.
“He’s ruined my life by what he’s done.”
Ratuniyarawa had hoped a strong performance for the Barbarians would lead to another contract after London Irish collapsed last year.
LIONS SET FOR COACHING ANNOUNCEMENT
Andy Farrell is expected to be named British and Irish Lions head coach for the 2025 tour to Australia.
A month after agreeing a contract to remain in charge of Ireland until the end of the 2027 World Cup, Farrell is set on Thursday to be also confirmed as Warren Gatland’s successor in the Lions role at a lunchtime press conference in central London.
The 48-year-old Englishman is seen as the outstanding candidate for one of the game’s most prestigious posts, having masterminded last year’s grand slam and an historic 2-1 series victory in New Zealand in 2022.
Ireland also enjoyed a lengthy stay at the summit of the world rankings under his guidance until they were forced into second place by repeat World Cup winners South Africa last autumn.
Farrell would be leading the Lions for the first time, having impressed as an assistant coach under Gatland on the 2013 and 2017 tours, and his appointment would have the blessing of the Irish Rugby Football Union.
“We’d be ecstatic if Andy was named coach of the Lions so hopefully that accolade is the next one for him,” IRFU performance director David Nucifora said in December.
In addition to his management credentials, Farrell has the benefit of coaching the nation that is expected to provide the bulk of the touring party unless England, Scotland or Wales threaten Ireland’s ascendancy over the next 18 months.
Ireland head coach Andy Farrell. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Starting off a rugby league star, the dual code international won eight caps as a centre in 2007 following his move from Wigan rugby league club and then moved into coaching, first with Saracens and then with England, serving as an assistant under Stuart Lancaster.
He joined Ireland after the 2015 World Cup and succeeded Joe Schmidt as their head coach four years later.
An inspirational figure, he has yet to experience a series defeat with the Lions, having helped clinch a 2-1 victory over Australia in 2013 and a drawn series with New Zealand in 2017.
He was unavailable for the most recent tour to South Africa due to his commitments with Ireland but there is no objection this time from the IRFU, which is likely to grant him a sabbatical.
It will be the first time the Lions have been led by anyone other than Gatland since 2009, with Wales’ Kiwi boss having already ruled himself out of the running.
Next year’s tour schedule launches against Western Force on June 28, with the first Test taking place in Brisbane on July 19.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Only thing keeping players in Oz and NZ is the same reason that Wales and England are able to play less but once the players stop playing ball and start leaving it makes it alot harder. While the Tahs officially have a $5m budget if all the top ups were included it would be much higher. While we don't know how much all the top ups are which RA are paying I am sure that it would go along way to supporting a competition August to November.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Couldn't agree more mate. I do follow Benetton. It's essentially the Italian team with a splatter of quality overseas players too. I don't know how SR teams do it with the shoe-string budgets they get, but we have such an easy answer to retain more players by allowing the Force to operate outside the cap. It has zero top-up players anyway, so why not let it?
Andrew Nichols
Roar Rookie
Tom Franklin? Star? Not even in the top 10 of NZlocks. Is this what you will call every kiwi who crosses the Tasman to play for an Aus Super side, or is it more likely just a lazy overuse of a descriptor, like "Flying Finn"? "Flying Fijian"?
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Agree. You may not follow it but Benetton are currently in 2nd in the URC with only Leinster ahead of them. The multi-billion dollar company is based in Treviso so they are building a squad that they want to have 2 players for every position. It is widely reported they are currently spending $12m a year to do it (twice the Force's budget). I have no doubt that if given the OK Twiggy would spend $10m for a 50 man squad which would be very competitive in SRP and would also do tours with fringe players to get more games. RA could easily say that he can't sign an OZ player currently contracted to a SRP side for more than $x but he can spend as much as he wants on OS players, would be long before he would have some of the best WBs OS, I am sure Arnold would have signed for the Force when he had no games if the price had been right.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
I think Force would be strong if the shackles were taken off with regards to the cap. Players like Sio and Phillip wouldn't have gone overseas. Both were in talks with Force before they left for NH
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
RA definitely need to provide more playing time. There is a reason why teams like Glasgow and Leinster play over 50 players in a season. I'm not even sure if an SRP side would even have that many connected with them. South Africans if they made no knockout games have 1760 minutes per position to share out, the Oz teams have 1120 or 64% of the playing minutes available. If there was a home and away SRP then you would have 1760 just like SA. If NZ don't want to do 22 rounds then have RA come up with those 7 games another way. As good as the NPC.NRC is sticking an extra 10-15 players into a Super Rugby Pacific squad and having them train for 9 months with the SRP squad will do more than having an NRC. Most players in NH squads that are in academies are slowly fed into the team and may just get 2 games each one with 3 months or lead in time where the S&C is getting them physically ready and the coaches are going over what they need to work on each week in training. Second year get a few more and third year a few more again. In SR there does not seem to be the slowly feeding in a play over two to three years while in the academy. Look at Miles' time in France and how he was fed in, in SRP its unheard of for anyone under 20 to play a game at lock.
Footy Franks
Roar Rookie
Just look at the Panthers
terrence
Roar Rookie
Mate, the tahs don't recruit in western sydney. The just cherry pick the private school stiffies. Look in the nrl and nrlw first team, reserves, development and age group squads and you'll find heaps of western sydney talent.
piru
Roar Rookie
I know what you're saying, but that wouldn't be scrapping the Giteau law, it would be expanding it
ScottD
Roar Guru
Fair enough but it does give 125 next tier players (assuming 25 per squad) the opportunity to play next level rugby and an opportunity to show their talent to SR teams. That is an NPC by definition but at little cost – it’s just not the old NPC. That is a massive step forward and is currently all we can afford.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Agree, I think it might have been years ago but if Sydney was such a hotbed there would be alot more of them in SRP and the Tahs squad would be the strongest by far.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
Agree with your proposal but that is not bringing in an NPC type competition. NPC has 10 squads weee all the best up and coming players get to show what they can do. What you are suggesting is bringing in an A league like the Prem and only giving gametime to those already in the system. It doesn't help build a level below SRP and players who don't get into academies are lost just like now. It would be an improvement but all the players in Qland and NSŴ would still only have one academy to get into, if moving to Perth why not go to Japan or MLR.
Brendan NH Fan
Roar Rookie
They could well be, definitely time for Reds and Tahs the start raising their game with what they have access to. If there were 3 strong Oz teams I think no one would care if the Force and Rebels were weak.
TJ-Go Force!
Roar Rookie
Reds will be strong too based on their school system and player base too. I reckon we’d have 3 decent teams.
FunBus
Roar Rookie
I think you’ve got this the wrong way round. It’s not the Lions that need to ‘earn their money’ from a ‘generous’ RA (they don’t get any other than expenses) it’s Australia that needs to ‘earn’ the vast revenue the Lions tour will bring in. You seem to think Aussies are doing the Lions a favour allowing them to show up.
Mike88
Roar Rookie
What?! I'm very clearly saying scrap all obstacles for overseas players. Simple solution for me – let players play o/s.
piru
Roar Rookie
The law is that we can't pick overseas players, the "Giteau law" is an exception to it
piru
Roar Rookie
Well that's not even close to correct. If Western Sydney is overflowing with so many wonderful top level Rugby players, where are they all? Surely those horrible mercenary teams in Victoria and WA would be stealing them?
Footy Franks
Roar Rookie
We need more Kiwis in the BaaBaas . In fact why don’t we just have more Kiwis in a club competition expanding NZ and Australia, say 20 teams, two in Melbourne, 2 in Wa, 4 in Sydney, 3 in Brisbane, 1 in Act and 10 across NZ. That would be more exciting that this Super stuff .
ScottD
Roar Guru
No that is only accurate if you use the inefficient old NPC model. That model incidentally cost RA $5m per year, not the sort of money you are talking about. However there is a better model that would cost even less than that. Every SR club except NSW this year arranged a series of games against international teams. Every club also already has (and pays for) a player academy of up and coming hopefuls. Western Force for example has an academy squad of 21 players. The NPC is an amatuer or at best semi professional competition. So there are two cost effective options ; 1: Have a NPC that is the academy players. They would play the curtain raiser at all Australian derby games. This would be the cheapest option. Or 2. After SR Pacific, during the test window, have a SR Au competition that is a simple round robin with the best two teams playing in a final. The test players would be replaced in each squad by the academy players and clubs wouldn't need to fork out cash for the extra games they currently fund. This is a significantly cheaper model as there is one less team than the NPC, the existing team fixed costs don't increase, there is no overseas travel costs, and there is a product that can be sold to cover costs. This competition would run for about 6 weeks, two games per weekend , home and away with a single final. Easy to implement, low to no additional cost, marketable product, good experience for squad fringe players . Simples!