WORLD OF RUGBY: It’s fine for Henry Arundell to make England wait… and who can blame him? Staying at Racing 92 is the RIGHT option for his career and could benefit his national side in the long run too

• Henry Arundell is set to sign a contract extension with French side Racing 92  
• The winger will now be unavailable for selection for the 2024 Six Nations 
• Elsewhere, Exeter claimed a huge victory against Toulon while Bristol beat Lyon 

Good decision, Henry Arundell. The England wing is set to extend his stay at Racing 92 and who can blame him? It is the right option for his career and, in the long term, for the national team too.

It means that the 21-year-old won’t be available for the Six Nations, but that young age is a key factor in this complex equation. 

Arundell has plenty of time on his side. He can commit the next couple of years to really honing his game and building on his glorious potential. 

He is not turning his back on his country; it is more about accelerating his development, ready to be truly Test-class long before the next World Cup.

The former London Irish rookie sensation says it is not about money and that is a plausible argument in this case. He is still in the learning phase and he can learn so much in Paris.

Henry Arundell is set to put his England career on hold and sign a contract extension with Racing 92

The winger, who earned his first international cap in 2022, joined the TOP14 side in July

The news means he will not be eligible to play for England at the 2024 Six Nations

It all comes down to; where is the best place for him to be, to become the best player he can be? 

For now, the French capital is that place. By the time of the next global showpiece in 2027, Arundell will have benefited immensely from the nurturing tuition provided by Stuart Lancaster at Racing.

He will have learned to thrive among so many Galacticos in his own team and around the league. He will have played in countless huge, high-stakes matches and, no doubt, been part of compelling title challenges in the Top 14 and the Champions Cup.

Not only that, Arundell will be properly involved and properly used, which has not often been the case in his early appearances with England. He will improve more from running riot in the colours of Racing, with ball in hand and try-scoring chances aplenty, than he will from chasing kicks and hitting rucks on behalf of the national team.

Of course, even those with box-office stardust have to engage in the nuts-and-bolts staples of the game too, but not to such an extent that it undermines what helped them catch the eye and hit the heights in the first place. 

Arundell has to work on his defence and his positioning and his composure when targeted by an aerial barrage, but also he must be encouraged to sharpen his X-factor assets – his broken-field running and finishing. That will happen at Racing, it may not with England.

There’s no certainty in relation to Test selection either, even though Arundell was offered a hybrid contract by the RFU. That is the union’s attempt to avert a mass cross-Channel exodus by topping up wages – in return for greater control over players. But it hasn’t been enough to sway this prodigy and it might not be enough to sway several others who could be lured by Gallic suitors.

Bath were the Premiership club in the mix to sign Arundell and they could offer a tempting scenario. Playing alongside the likes of Finn Russell and Ollie Lawrence in a resurgent West Country side is an attractive option, but Racing held the trump cards. One of the best clubs in the world’s best league, surrounded by many of the world’s best players and playing for one of rugby’s renowned coaches with an unsurpassed player-development record.

Why not? Good to luck to him. One day, Arundell will play for England again and when – not if – he does, he will be some player.

The 21-year-old was briefly left unemployed when his former club London Irish went into administration in the summer 

Arundell was a part of England’s 2023 World Cup campaign, making two appearances at the tournament and notably scored five tries in their 71-0 win against Chile

But under the stewardship of Stuart Lancaster at Racing, Arundell will be able to hone in on new skills and could return to play for England at the next Rugby World Cup

Sheedy dazzles in dramatic finish at Ashton Gate

Bristol’s grandstand finish to beat Lyon with an injury-time drop goal by Callum Sheedy was a suitably dramatic climax to a stunning contest which deserved a bigger crowd at Ashton Gate. 

The French visitors fought back from 33-10 down to lead 34-33 with 80 minutes on the clock, but the Bears managed to snatch it at the death. 

It was due reward for Gabriel Ibitoye, who was outstanding on the wing for Bristol with his dazzling footwork, one-handed carries and two over-head assists.

Like Arundell, he is another wonderful English back-line talent who probably doesn’t fit the current Red Rose mould, but that is a crying shame as he could wreak havoc if unleashed. 

He might miss the odd tackle, high ball or touch-finder, but he could terrorise rival defences. 

Elsewhere, there was plenty of tension and entertainment. In Limerick, Thomas Dolhagaray’s wide conversion earned Bayonne a draw with Munster, and Castres’ last try against the Scarlets was a sweeping masterpiece of off-loading, capped by Louis Le Brun’s burst through a gap and finish. French flair lives on.

Callum Sheedy’s last-minute drop goal helped Bristol snatch victory from Lyon at Ashton Gate on Saturday 

Gabriel Ibitoye was a stand out during the match, with the winger impressing with his excellent footwork and one-handed carries

Exeter’s new generation prove they are a rising force   

Exeter’s 19-18 win against mighty Toulon at Stade Felix Mayol on the Cote d’Azur should go straight into the pantheon of famous English away wins in Europe. 

In the circumstances, it was up there with Wasps’ victory at Perpignan in the face of hostility and violence in 2004, and Leicester becoming the first visitors to upset Munster at Thomond Park in 2007. 

The Devon rookies came of age against opponents stacked with Test pedigree. Henry Slade won the game for the Chiefs with a late kick and he has done more than enough to justify an England recall, but it is the emergence of such a stellar new generation of Chiefs which is most significant. 

Exeter could have faded after their golden era and player exodus, but this result shows that Rob Baxter and his coaches are orchestrating a rapid transition. They won’t win the Champions Cup again just yet, but notice has been served that they are once again a rising force.

Henry Slade’s late kick helped Exeter defeat Toulon 19-18 in the Champions Cup on Saturday

Meanwhile, former England scrum coach, Richard Cockerill, is set to take charge of the Georgia national side 

Cockerill set to be appointed Georgia boss 

The post-World Cup merry-go-round of coaching changes is starting to become clearer, now that Richard Cockerill is poised to take charge of Georgia and Eddie Jones is days away from having his second stint with Japan officially confirmed.

Cockerill is a good fit for an Eastern European country where – to borrow a phrase once used by Steve Diamond – ‘they have tighthead props on every street corner’.

He will reinforce the Lelos’ traditional set-piece power and give a platform to their new-generation running threats such as the brilliant Davit Niniashvili. 

Sadly, Portugal are in a state of board-room disarray after their enthralling World Cup campaign, which means that they could find themselves in South Africa to take on the Springboks in July, without a full-time head coach. 

That is a grand fixture for ‘The Wolves’; one which will be much harder to obtain once the new Nations Championship dominates the landscape from 2026. Meanwhile, Fiji have been advertising for a new head coach.

A vast array of home-grown talent and an exotic location should entice many top-class candidates, but – unfortunately – more reports of financial turmoil could put them off.

The Last Word  

This probably won’t be a popular perspective, but the Lions at home just feels wrong, somehow. 

The very principle jars. So much of what the combined British and Irish team represent is wrapped up in the precious mystique of only ever truly existing thousands of miles away, taking on teams in the far-flung corners of the globe.

Playing on a Friday night in Dublin just strips away a layer of the Lions’ aura, for those of us cherish the long-haul touring tradition. 

Last week, the British and Irish Lions announced that they would be playing Argentina at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin ahead of their 2025 tour of Australia

Both teams will compete for the Lions 1888 Cup in the first game that the touring side will have ever played in Ireland 

Of course, there is a certain excuse on this occasion as the last crusade in 2021 was spoilt by Covid meaning games were played in empty arenas, so there is some urgent re-engaging to be done. 

But maybe, in 2025, they could have played Argentina in Madrid or Milan or somewhere else close enough to be accessible – while spreading the missionary message – but not actually within these islands. 

The essence of the Lions should be about showcasing British and Irish rugby in other territories, and not about making money in these parts. 

By making it primarily a commercial enterprise, it devalues the product. And let’s try not to refer to the four-nation side as a ‘brand’; however much that is the case these days.

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