The Ospreys have joined a host of other sides, including Stade Français, Sale and Bath, in attempting to lure the England flanker James Haskell from Wasps.
The EDF Energy Cup holders have ambitions to become the leading side in Europe and as well as nearly half the current Wales squad they have Scottish, Irish and New Zealand internationals on their books. One of their All Blacks, the back- row Filo Tiatia, is joining the coaching staff, leaving a vacancy the Ospreys want the 23-year old Haskell to fill. Wasps have 18 players coming out of contract this summer, including the England internationals Haskell, Danny Cipriani, Tom Rees, Tom Palmer and Riki Flutey.
Contract talks have dragged on after the players were initially told their offers were on a take-it-or-leave-it basis but the club hopes to have the majority resolved by the end of the week. Haskell is believed to be close to signing a new contract worth £200,000 a year. Stade have offered him half as much as that again and money has never been much of an object to the Ospreys, who have offered Scott Johnson £250,000 a year to become their head coach, but by remaining in England Haskell would remain free of any club-country disputes. Another England international who is out of contract at Adams Park in the summer, the fly-half Dave Walder, has attracted the interest of Cardiff Blues, who are looking for a playmaker in the position. With Danny Cipriani likely to remain at Wasps, the 30-year old Walder may be tempted by the prospect of regular first-team action.
Leicester are still waiting to hear whether their head coach, Heyneke Meyer, will be returning to Welford Road after he was granted compassionate leave to return home this month because his wife's parents were both seriously ill. Meyer has been linked with a role at the new Super-14 franchise in South Africa located around the southern and eastern Cape but a source close to Meyer was quoted on a website in the country yesterday that it was mere speculation and that the coach had not ruled out returning to Leicester. The Tigers' chairman, Peter Tom, has said that he did not expect Meyer back until next month at the earliest and that the position would be reviewed next week. Leicester slipped out of the top four of the Premiership over the weekend and face a potentially group deciding encounter against the Ospreys in the Heineken Cup next week.
The future of the former New Zealand scrum-half Justin Marshall at Montpellier is in doubt after he was suspended for refusing to come off the bench during the recent defeat to Toulouse. The 34-year old, who had spells with Leeds and the Ospreys after retiring from international rugby, was left out the squad that lost to Clermont Auvergne at the weekend.
The France coach Marc Lièvremont will next week announce his squad for the Six Nations but he will not repeat last season's policy of experimentation. "We need a bit of stability," he said. "We have more knowledge of our strengths than we did a year ago. We are less fuzzy."
Saracens have been dealt a double injury blow with the news that scrum half Neil de Kock and No8 Michael Owen are both facing lengthy spells on the sidelines. De Kock suffered a broken arm in Sunday's 37-13 victory over Bristol at Vicarage Road which requires surgery and he is expected to be ruled out for eight to 12 weeks. Welsh international Owen, who was injured against Gloucester earlier in the New Year, has undergone knee reconstructive surgery and is out for the rest of the season.
"It's a blow as Neil and Michael are very important members of the squad," explained Director of Rugby Eddie Jones. "Neil picked up the injury against Bristol and it says a lot about the man that he got to his feet to make a tackle despite having already suffered the injury.
"Michael picked up a knee injury against Gloucester and it proved to be more serious that we first thought. He's had to have reconstructive surgery and that will rule him out for the rest of the season. It's frustrating news as he has been playing very well for us this year.
"But the strength of your squad is determined by the depth of your squad and the other back rows and scrum halves in the team will need to step up. We have enough cover in the back row but with only two halfbacks in the first team squad, we may look to bring in another player as cover."
