Today's rugby news as Owen Farrell future takes another twist and Wales totally written off

Farrell is reportedly on the verge of leaving English rugby

These are your rugby headlines on Saturday, January 6.

Farrell transfer twist emerges

Racing 92 have denied they are close to signing Owen Farrell after the England captain was linked with a shock move to the Top 14 club.

The Saracens fly-half is missing the Six Nations to look after his mental heath but is reportedly on the verge of quitting English rugby altogether, with a move to France set to end his international career. But while French media claimed on Friday that Farrell was in advanced transfer talks, those have been dismissed by Racing, who are coached by former England boss Stuart Lancaster. Get the latest rugby news sent straight to your inbox for free with our daily newsletter.

A club statement issued on Friday evening read: “Racing 92 is regularly under the aegis of numerous speculations concerning movements within its workforce. We are delighted with the appeal of our club Racing 92.

“However, we deny any agreement concerning the English player Owen Farrell.”

The speculation comes after England coach Steve Borthwick admitted there was no guarantee that the 32-year-old, who became his country’s leading points scorer at the World Cup, would return to Test rugby after he made his decision to take time out from the sport.

“We are all hopeful Owen will return to the England team at some point soon, but that’s going to be a decision Owen makes,” Borthwick said on Thursday. “Owen and I spoke right at the end of the World Cup. We were actually in Paris. We took a walk and he shared some of his thoughts and what he was thinking at that point in time.

“Then he took a period of reflecting and we met a couple of weeks later and he told me of his decision to step away. He expressed some of his feelings, which is clearly a confidential conversation. The first thing I’ll say there is I’m full of admiration for this guy – as a man, a player and a leader. It takes a lot of courage to do what he’s done.”

Wales totally written off

Wales have been completely written off by bookmakers, less than one month before they begin their Six Nations campaign against Scotland in Cardiff.

Warren Gatland’s side are as long as 33/1 to win the title with some bookies, compared to odds of 14/1 this time last year and 6/1 in 2022. Wales are tipped to finish in fifth place, ahead of only Italy, who they also play at home, along with favourites France. Difficult away trips to Dublin and Twickenham complete the 2024 Six Nations fixture list.

While the long odds are explained by a poor campaign in 2023, Gatland will be quietly hopeful the improvement in form shown at the Rugby World Cup can be a catalyst for a more positive tournament this time around.

A number of young and exciting players are emerging this season, with new faces set to be named in the squad, which will be announced in less than a fortnight. You can see who Gatland is being backed to pick here.

France are favourites for the 2024 Six Nations at 5/4, followed by Ireland (6/4), England (6/1) and Scotland (14/1).

Injured Sheedy misses shock win

Welsh Six Nations hopeful Callum Sheedy was forced to miss Bristol Bears surprise win over Sale Sharks after picking up an injury.

The Bears went into the clash at Salford Community Stadium on Friday as underdogs, with the Sharks having won all of their last 12 home games to put them third in the Premiership table. But a spirited team performance and tries from Gabriel Ibitoye, Jonny Hill and Max Malins saw the visitors triumph 14-22.

However, fly-half Sheedy played no part in the thrilling encounter having been ruled out through injury pre-match. Instead, he was replaced by USA international AJ MacGinty who made his long-awaited return for the Bears against his former club having torn his hamstring on the opening night of the season.

It is a setback for Sheedy who has impressed in recent weeks with a series of assured performances. The 16-cap international has caught the eye of Warren Gatland ahead of the Six Nations as the Wales boss looks for more fly-half options – and he will be hoping that this knock will not jeopardise his place in the Welsh squad.

MacGinty put in a solid performance on his return, scoring seven points from the tee to secure the win for Bristol.

England players force RFU payout

The RFU have been forced to pay England players a six-figure sum as a dispute over match fees for their World Cup third-place play-off clash with Argentina was finally settled.

The dispute arose as while there were pre-agreed fees for reaching the final and winning the tournament, the Elite Player Squad agreement contained no set fee for appearing in the third-place play-off. However, the Rugby Players’ Association, acting on behalf of England players, argued that a clause in the contract stated that those appearing in matches not individually specified should still receive an appropriate fee.

After taking it to the independent Sports Resolution body, a ruling has now been made in favour of the RPA, Telegraph Sport reports. As a result, players will now receive a match fee of around £12,000, which is equivalent to what they earned for playing in pool matches, although these are shared with the wider 33-man squad.

Steve Borthwick’s side claimed third place at last year’s World Cup, beating Argentina 26-23 in the play-off at the Stade de France after narrowly losing to eventual champions South Africa in the semi-finals.

An RFU spokesperson said: “The contracts for the England Men’s team at the most recent Rugby World Cup included bonus payments. Such payments are always budgeted for in planning for tournaments.

“As the position on the Bronze Final was not clear, it was agreed that this would be independently decided, with a commitment that the RFU was happy to fulfil any confidential contractual payment based on the independent decision.”