From Wales to England to France... Scot Hidalgo-Clyne lands himself a Top 14 medical joker deal
It hasn't taken Sam Hidalgo-Clyne long to find a replacement club after calling time last Saturday on his unhappy spell at Scarlets.
The Scotland scrum-half announced last Saturday that he was leaving the Welsh region by mutual consent.
He had signed last summer from Edinburgh and made 18 appearances for Scarlets before joining Premiership side Harlequins for a loan spell in March.
The 25-year-old explained: “I have enjoyed my time at the Scarlets. The boys are great and the fans are very passionate, but it’s best for all concerned that I continue my rugby career elsewhere.”
Hidalgo-Clyne had been linked with a move to French giants Toulouse, but he will now find himself playing in a very different part of France after deciding to join Racing 92 to provide injury cover.
The Parisians are set to be without first-choice scrum-half Maxime Machenaud, who is likely to be in the France squad for the global showpiece in Japan. That has opened the door for Hidalgo-Clyne’s arrival as a medical joker to ease the burden on their squad during the Rugby World Cup period.
Hidalgo-Clyne’s own World Cup selection hopes seem long gone. He was last capped in June 2018 and is not part of Gregor Townsend’s Scottish training squad, a situation that will enable the scrum-half to start work in Paris on July 1.
He is one of two medical jokers recruited by Racing, who finished last season’s French league in fourth and were beaten in the quarter-finals by La Rochelle. The also lost out in the European quarter-finals, giving way to Toulouse.
Along with Hidalgo-Clyne, the club has signed back row Yoan Tanga Mangene on a short-term basis.
WATCH: Part one of The Academy, the six-part RugbyPass documentary series on how Leicester Tigers develop their young players
Latest Comments
Hard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
Go to comments