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Hulking winger Ben Lam may not be returning to NZ

Ben Lam of Montpellier is tackled by Henry Slade of Exeter Chiefs during the Heineken Champions Cup Round Of Sixteen match between Exeter Chiefs and Montpellier Herault Rugby at Sandy Park on April 02, 2023 in Exeter, England. (Photo by Harry Trump/Getty Images)

Hulking New Zealand winger Ben Lam may not be returning to New Zealand despite coming off contract with Montpellier at the end of the current season.

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Lam joined MHR last season from Union Bordeaux-Bègles, but will not be staying with the team next season as he has not been retained by the MHR, largely due to a lack of form since moving to Top 14 powerhouse.

Effectively a free agent, Rugbyrama in France reports that Castres has shown interest in the former Bordeaux player, despite initial reports suggesting he may return to New Zealand.

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Lam’s recent impressive performance against Exeter in the European Cup has apparently caught the attention of Castres Olympique.

Despite the recent acquisition of Nathanaël Hulleu, the top scorer of Pro D2, Castres is still on the lookout for a strong addition to their team, with Leicester Tigers and England star Anthony Watson’s name previously mentioned.

The 6’4, 106kg Lam has only scored two tries in ten games this season and has faced competition from Vincent Rattez, George Bridge, and Gabriel N’Gandebe in the team. This is in contrast to his generally impressive performance over the past two seasons with Bordeaux.

Lam left the Super Rugby and the Hurricanes in 2020, a franchise where he made his debut in 2017.

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Before that, he was an established member of the New Zealand Sevens team which won a silver medal at the Glasgow Commonwealth Games.

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Poorfour 1 hour ago
300,000 tickets sold and counting for 'era defining' Rugby World Cup

I suspect the major holdback is still for other unions to sell their tickets. One thing I did notice and didn’t know how to quantify is that the major areas of availability seem to be the standing sections in the grounds that have them.


If we assume that those are a) around 5-10% of the total tickets (a guess) and b) there are still around 10-15% held back, then 80% of the available seats would get us to c350k.


I agree with you that the 400k target is very attainable, and this article: https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/articles/c9dqn0g2jdgo


reminded me that we have the Women’s Soccer Euros a month or two ahead of the RWC. A good run there could well stoke additional interest for the rugby, especially as the broadcasters and the sports themselves seem to be getting their act together in terms of promoting a summer of women’s sport.


But even without that, what’s clear is that the tournament has already met its planned sales and that the matches will be well attended, with the bigger ones almost certainly selling out. I imagine that financially we’re now well into upside territory.

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