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Clermont pick up Wallabies centre Simone
By Ian Cameron
According to reports in France, Clermont have secured the signing of former Wallabies centre Irae Simone from the Brumbies.
The 193cm and 103kg centre is reported by Midi Olympique and RMC Sport to have agreed terms with the Top 14 giants.
Although he had some squad involvement in 2021, it's thought the 26-year-old is no longer in the picture for Dave Rennie's Wallabies.
Jonno Gibbes is attempting to shore up the Clermont midfield, which is set to lose 6'2, 105kg Tani Vili to rival Bordeaux Begles.
Simone arrived in Canberra from Sydney in 2018 and played his first season for the Brumbies in 2019, featuring in 16 of the Brumbies' 18 Super Rugby fixtures, starting both the quarter-final and the semi-final.
A former New Zealand Schoolboys Under-18s representative, Simone moved to Australia in 2014, spending two years at NRL club South Sydney before returning to rugby at Norths in Sydney's Shute Shield competition.
It was in there in Norths' 2016 Premiership year he was named Rookie of the Year, before stand out performances in the NRC landed him at the Waratahs for the 2017 and 2018 Super Rugby seasons.
Since his arrival in Canberra, Simone has also represented the Canberra Vikings in the NRC and is affiliated with the Uni-Norths Owls in the John I Dent Cup.
Simone developed a formidable midfield pairing alongside Tevita Kuridrani in 2019.
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Latest Comments
Cane shouldn’t have been one last year, based purely on performances. Lakai is as close to a like for like of swap of Savea you’re ever likely to find, based on his short career so far at least. He has many of the same qualities - very strong ball carrier, great at the breakdown, and an absolute work horse on defence. I feel like he and Sititi could lead the way in the loose at the next WC.
I think we have become obsessed with replacing Kaino with someone exactly like him. Kaino was a perfect foil for the other loose forwards we had at the time. Based on the talent we have around at the moment those players could be made up in the aggregate by three players who are all exception all rounders - Lakai, Sititi, and Savea. Missing some height for sure but Sititi’s defensive work in the line out last year was phenomenal. He gets off the ground so quickly and was able to steal a couple of balls off the top of the springbok line out.
If our young locks coming through can actually stay fit long enough to get selected, it seems inevitable that Va’ai could end up in a hybrid 6/lock role.
Go to commentsWas strange game, full of errors and the usual refereeing decisions. Both teams suffered as a result but Ospreys discipline was a major factor. I think this weekend will be different as the Ospreys will pick a full strength team but Scarlets will gain confidence in the fact that only Tipuric was missing in the forwards and they dominated that pack for the whole 80 minutes. If they can repeat that dominance at scrum and breakdown then the Scarlets backs will always have more to offer on the front foot.
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