Thursday Morning Round Up

WP coach John Dobson extends his contract

Western Province Currie Cup-winning coach John Dobson has been rewarded with a new contract at the union, Sport24 reports.

According to the report, Dobson had signed for another three years. Full story

Juan Imhoff suspended for five weeks

Racing 92 full back, Juan Imhoff, has been suspended for five weeks following an independent Disciplinary hearing arising from his club's Champions Cup, Round 4 match against Castres Olympique at Stade Yves-du-Manoir.

Imhoff was sent off by match referee, Wayne Barnes, for a strike with the head to the head of the Castres Olympique scrum half, Rory Kockott, in the 64th minute of the match in contravention of Law 10.4 (a). Read more

Cardiff Blues secure Ellis Jenkins' signature

Ellis Jenkins has handed Cardiff Blues a boost after signing a new contract to remain with the region.

The openside flanker, who has made 83 appearances since making his debut in 2011, was due to come out of contract in the summer and was attracting interest from rival clubs.
 
However, he has put pen to paper on a new deal at the Arms Park, following on from fellow academy products Lloyd Williams and Macauley Cook who signed last week. Full story

Captain Cory Hill Commits to Dragons

Dragons captain Cory Hill has signed a new two-year contract with the club to extend his stay with the region until 2020.

Cory has played 85 times for the Dragons since joining in 2013 scoring 11 tries and was made captain of the region this season by Head Coach Bernard Jackman. Full story

Ben Smith & Ash Dixon confirmed as Highlanders co-captains

Utility back Ben Smith and hooker Ash Dixon have been confirmed as the co-captains for the Highlanders for the second successive year, wrote PlanetRugby.

Smith will be fresh off his sabbatical when the team kicks off the 2018 season after foregoing the All Blacks end-of-year tour to spend some quality time with his family, while Dixon has rejoined the Highlanders this week for pre-season training. Full story

Jack Yeandle of Exeter Chiefs talk all things Christmas