Wednesday Evening Round Up

France win the vote to host 2023 Rugby World Cup

The World Rugby Council today has chosen France ahead of South Africa to be the host nation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

France received 24 votes to South Africa’s 15 in the final round of voting. In the first round, France received 18 votes to South Africa’s 13 and Ireland’s eight.

John Barclay agrees to join Edinburgh Rugby

Scotland captain John Barclay has agreed to join Edinburgh from Scarlets from next season.

Capped 64 times by Scotland, the 31-year-old has been with the Welsh region since leaving Glasgow Warriors in 2013, and captained them to the Pro12 title last year.

Quartet ink new deals with London Irish

Sebastian De Chaves, Dave Porecki and Ollie Hoskins have all extended their contracts with London Irish. 

Joining them is London Irish academy graduate and last season’s Young Player of the Season award winner, Harry Elrington, who has also extended his contract with the club.

Jonny May Turns Down Official Invite To North Korea

Jonny May has revealed he received an official invitation to visit North Korea after speaking out about his fascination of the Asian country.

May said: "...I haven't been to the embassy. I'm actually worried about it. I didn't write back. I asked Eddie Jones about it, but we haven't responded to them. It is probably quite a big honour to be invited, but I'm not going to North Korea!"

Tom Cruse signs new contract with Wasps

Wasps have announced that Tom Cruse has joined Ashley Johnson in signing a contract extension with the club.

With 11 appearances last year, in his first season with the club, Cruse has quickly made himself a dependable fixture in the squad, with his dynamism around the park and reliability at the set piece. 

Stuart McInally re-signs with Edinburgh Rugby 

The Scotland international hooker extends his contract for a further two years at the club. 

McInally, who scored a brace of tries in his Man of the Match performance for Scotland against Samoa at the weekend, said:

“I’m extremely pleased to be staying in Edinburgh. It’s an exciting time to be part of the team and I feel we have strong foundations in place to move the club forward over the next few years." 

 Yoann Maestri and Jean-Marc Doussain leave Toulouse

Stade Toulousain have confirmed the departures of Yoann Maestri, who joins La Rochelle, and Jean-Marc Doussain, at the end of the season.

While their respective contracts end in June 2018, Jean-Marc Doussain and Yoann Maestri will not extend and leave Stade Toulousain at the end of the current season.

Ross Moriarty suffers injury setback

Wales flanker Ross Moriarty has suffered a fresh back injury while in training with Gloucester.

The 23-year-old's injury is similar to the one that ended his Lions tour in New Zealand after just one game.

Bulls name wider training squad for 2018 Super Rugby

The squad sees a number of new faces as players still plying their trade in Japan, most notably locks RG Snyman and Jason Jenkins. Two Blitzboks, Tim Agaba and Stedman Gans, are also in the group, although preparing with the Springbok Sevens in Stellenbosch at the moment.