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Stuart Olding nearing deal with new club
By Alex Shaw
After having his contract revoked by the IRFU this month, former Ulster centre Stuart Olding has been looking for a new club and sources have confirmed to RugbyPass that Sale Sharks are close to finalising his signing.
Olding, along with former provincial teammate Paddy Jackson, was part of a high-profile criminal investigation over the last few months and although found not guilty of rape, his conduct in the event was deemed unacceptable and his position at Ulster became untenable.
Sale director of rugby Steve Diamond has taken on players with chequered pasts before, helping them turn around their careers, and he will be hoping he can have a similar effect on Olding, should the Irish centre agree to terms with the Premiership club.
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Diamond and Sale are not afraid to ruffle feathers and have also been aggressively pursuing Israel Folau, who made controversial comments about homosexuality on social media earlier this month and is currently facing a backlash from fans and players alike.
With the club losing Will Addison and Mike Haley to Ulster and Munster respectively, there are obvious holes in the Sale squad at centre and full-back, making the on-field decision to pursue both Olding and Folau understandable.
With the Olding deal nearing competition and Sale having since, per RugbyPass sources, increased the previously reported £750k offer to Folau, the club will have to prepare for an inevitable PR hit if they sign one or both players.
Diamond and the new Sale ownership are keen to flex their muscle and push Sale further up the table and it seems as if they are willing to give Olding the fresh start he craves, and they are comfortable with the risks associated with that.
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Latest Comments
It is if he thinks he’s got hold of the ball and there is at least one other player between him and the ball carrier, which is why he has to reach around and over their heads. Not a deliberate action for me.
Go to commentsI understand, but England 30 years ago were a set piece focused kick heavy team not big on using backs.
Same as now.
South African sides from any period will have a big bunch of forwards smashing it up and a first five booting everything in their own half.
NZ until recently rarely if ever scrummed for penalties; the scrum is to attack from, broken play, not structured is what we’re after.
Same as now.
These are ways of playing very ingrained into the culture.
If you were in an English club team and were off to Fiji for a game against a club team you’d never heard of and had no footage of, how would you prepare?
For a forward dominated grind or would you assume they will throw the ball about because they are Fijian?
A Fiji way. An English way.
An Australian way depends on who you’ve scraped together that hasn’t been picked off by AFL or NRL, and that changes from generation to generation a lot of the time.
Actually, maybe that is their style. In fact, yes they have a style.
Nevermind. Fuggit I’ve typed it all out now.
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