Racing 92 look set to strengthen their squad ahead of next season armoured with the cash they received from Siya Kolisi’s departure.
The Parisian club received around £726,000 from the Sharks to release the Springboks captain from his contract with the Top 14 club early.
However, they are yet to use those funds after head coach Stuart Lancaster explained that he was comfortable with their back-row stocks for the 2024/25 season.
Racing 92 target Marcos Kremer
“We already have some very good loose forwards at the club: Jordan Joseph, Maxime Baudonne, Cameron Woki, Junior Kpoku, Ibrahim Diallo and Hacjivah Dayimani are all among them,” Lancaster told reporters in September.
“So we have several good options. If during the season we suffer from injuries, we will recruit someone.”
Looking beyond this season, Racing 92 have set their sights on a Test match animal in the form of Los Pumas star Marcos Kremer, according to reports.
Kremer is currently contracted to Top 14 giants Clermont but his deal does expire at the end of the season and Racing 92 are plotting a swoop for the Argentine. According to Midi Olympique, Clermont are keen to retain the Puma’s services for the next few seasons but adds that the battle for his services promises to be “tough in the coming weeks”.
The one downfall of recruiting Kremer is, much like Kolisi, he would miss large chunks of the season due to his international commitments and the report adds that he “remains relatively expensive”.
Siya Kolisi joins five mega-money signings who ‘flopped’ at Racing 92
The shift of focus to Kremer comes after Racing 92 “abandoned” their attempts to sign Ireland and Leinster back-rower Jack Conan. According to the French publication, Conan wants to play for Ireland at the 2027 World Cup and has opted against a move to France which would make him ineligible for Andy Farrell’s side under the IRFU’s current selection policy, another blow for the Parisians who also missed out on signing Georgian powerhouse Beka Gorgadze who has extended with Pau.
Springboks: Siya Kolisi’s verdict on positional switch back to where ‘Rassie spotted’ him
League star to join Lancaster’s charges
Lancaster has however boosted his backline with the signing of rugby league convert Joseph Manu who is spending the season with Toyota Verblitz in Japan before linking up with Racing 92.
Number eight is not the only concern for the Top 14 club ahead of next season with Fijian winger Vinaya Habosi set to leave the club while lock Boris Palu is reportedly going to join Bayonne.
Meanwhile, it is reported that their local rivals Stade Francais have secured the services of former All Blacks scrum-half Tawera Kerr-Barlow who will be let go by La Rochelle after Ronan O’Gara’s side signed France star Nolann Le Garrec from Racing 92.
Src: Planetrugby.com - https://www.planetrugby.com/news/racing-92-to-splash-siya-kolisi-cash-on-test-match-animal-after-failing-with-ireland-star
