Parling confirms Leicester interest in Singleton as Vunipola weighs Japan move

Leicester Tigers head coach Geoff Parling has confirmed his side looked at signing hooker Jack Singleton before Glasgow Warriors moved quickly to sign the former Gloucester player on a three-month deal. Singleton had been without a club since leaving Gloucester at the end of last season.

Parling ultimately turned his attention elsewhere, landing Samoan international Richie Asiata after Tigers hooker Finn Theobald-Thomas was forced into early retirement. “We did look at Jack amongst other guys, but we are pleased to get Richie in with us,” Parling said during his midweek media call.

Billy Vunipola’s future remains uncertain as his contract at Top 14 club Montpellier approaches its final months. The former England number eight, who will turn 34 next month, has been linked with a move to Japan Rugby League One — a destination that has been mooted for him on several occasions throughout his career. Montpellier are expected to make a decision on whether to offer an extension before Christmas.

Reports linking Bath centre Ollie Lawrence with a move to French club Bayonne next season appear to be wide of the mark. Lawrence, 27, is understood to be under contract at Bath until the end of the current season and is not being actively marketed for a transfer to France at this point. Bayonne have veteran centre Manu Tuilagi out of contract at the end of the campaign, which had fuelled speculation over a potential replacement.

In confirmed transfer news, United States Eagles tighthead prop David Ainu’u will leave Toulouse when his contract expires at the end of the season, having agreed a four-year deal with Top 14 rivals Bordeaux. The 26-year-old, who featured for the Eagles at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, is capable of playing on both sides of the front row. Bordeaux are looking to bolster their front row following the impending retirement of French international Jefferson Poirot, who is due to hang up his boots after the 2027 World Cup in Australia.

Sale Sharks head coach Alex Sanderson has shed light on an unusual squad incentive after winger Tom Roebuck signed a new contract. Sanderson revealed that any Sharks player who scores a hat-trick earns a pair of trainers at his personal expense — a tradition that Roebuck has already exploited on multiple occasions. “Tom’s cost me a few hundred quid in pairs of trainers,” Sanderson said, adding that the arrangement is formally declared on the club’s salary-cap submission.