{"id":868085,"date":"2026-08-25T17:18:10","date_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:18:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868085\/"},"modified":"2026-08-25T17:18:10","modified_gmt":"2026-08-25T17:18:10","slug":"rugby-transfers-143kg-los-pumas-prop-signs-for-prem-club","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/868085\/","title":{"rendered":"Rugby Transfers: 143kg Los Pumas prop signs for PREM club"},"content":{"rendered":"

Francisco Moreno will feature in the 2026\/27 PREM Rugby campaign in England<\/a>, Louis Bielle-Biarrey has reportedly decided his next step beyond his 2027 contract expiry, JP Pietersen has again dipped into the market to bolster his Sharks, specialist position confirmed for ex-Wales No.9 Mike Phillips and Harry Wells agrees short-term PREM deal.<\/p>\n

Here are all the latest rugby rumours,\u00a0transfers and contract renewals.<\/p>\n

143kg Argentine prop is coming to the PREM<\/p>\n

Dan McFarland has boosted his front-row options at Newcastle Red Bulls with Tuesday\u2019s confirmed signing of Argentina prop Moreno. The 24-year-old tighthead created headlines earlier this month when making his Test debut in Buenos Aires versus the Springboks, and he has now decided his club future is best served by moving to the English PREM.<\/p>\n

Tipping the scales at 143kgs, the 6ft 1in prop played for Tarucas in this year\u2019s Super Rugby Americas tournament. He is currently in Argentina<\/a> preparing for his country\u2019s upcoming two-match series with the Wallabies, which starts this Saturday in San Salvador de Jujuy and concludes in Mendoza on September 5.<\/p>\n

Newcastle<\/a> boss McFarland said: \u201cFrancisco is a relatively young tighthead who has already taken his first steps in international rugby, and shows a lot of promise. He\u2019s a big man who will add to our front-row depth, and we look forward to integrating him into our group when he arrives here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Comment: England\u2019s troubling midfield burden might just be Steve Borthwick\u2019s most prized asset<\/a><\/p>\n

Louis Bielle-Biarrey decides grass isn\u2019t greener elsewhere<\/p>\n

French sports newspaper L\u2019Equipe have reported that Bielle-Biarrey will sign a two-year contract extension to remain with European champions Union Bordeaux Begles rather than seek out a move elsewhere in the Top 14.<\/p>\n

The 23-year-old\u2019s current deal with the 2025 and 2026 Investec Champions Cup champions is due to expire in the summer of 2027. However, rather than allow him to tease out the market, it has been reported that the winger has reached an agreement to extend his UBB deal.<\/p>\n

Having come through the pathway at Grenoble, Bielle-Biarrey joined Bordeaux in 2021 and has since gone on to play 27 times for France, scoring 29 tries and being voted the player of the tournament in the last two Six Nations championship. The contract extension, keeping him at UBB until 2029, will now reflect Bielle-Biarrey\u2019s enhanced stature in the game.<\/p>\n

L\u2019Equipe<\/a> reported: \u201cAfter weeks of discussions with his president Laurent Marti, international winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey has reportedly reached an agreement to extend his contract for a longer period, with a logical salary increase in light of his new status, even though the Union Bordeaux-Begles management could not go overboard due to the salary cap.<\/p>\n

\u201cDiscussions have made significant progress, particularly regarding the constraints related to his personal equipment supplier (Adidas), which will also soon be the club\u2019s supplier in 2027. While he was under contract for next season, LBB is expected to officially sign on for two more years soon, until 2029, as he had hoped. When contacted, Bordeaux declined to comment.\u201d<\/p>\n

Top 10 fly-halves in rugby: \u2018Greatest player\u2019 leads \u2018most accomplished\u2019 Scotland star while Springboks prodigy ahead of the rest<\/a><\/p>\n

Hartzenberg swaps Cape Town for Durban<\/p>\n

Sharks\u2019 preparations for the new United Rugby Championship season have taken another step forward with the Durban club confirming its recruitment of Suleiman Hartzenberg, the 23-year-old who can play wing or centre. A fractured hand at the back end of last season was partly the reason why the versatile youngster only made seven appearances in 2025\/26 for the Stormers.<\/p>\n

He returned to playing recently, featuring in the Currie Cup for the Stormers XXIII, but he has now agreed terms to swap Cape Town for Durban and link up with Pietersen.<\/p>\n

A message on Sharks\u2019 X channel read: \u201cA finisher in black and white. Suleiman Hartzenberg joins the Sharks for the season, bringing versatility across centre and wing \u2013 and a proven eye for the try line. Welcome to Durban, Suleiman.\u201d<\/p>\n

Springboks team: Rassie Erasmus confirms second Test decision on fitness doubt Siya Kolisi<\/a><\/p>\n

New specialist role for Mike Phillips<\/p>\n

Phillips, the former Wales scrum-half, has been unveiled as a new Dubai Broncos coach for the 2026\/27 season. The retired British and Irish Lions pick moved to the Middle East after hanging up his playing boots, and a United Arab Emirates club has now welcomed him into their fold.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019re incredibly excited to welcome Mike Phillips to the Dubai Broncos coaching team for the 2026\/27 season,\u201d they enthused on social media. \u201cMike brings a huge amount of experience to the club, having represented Wales 99 times and earned six caps for the British & Irish Lions at the highest level of the game.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat excites us most is Mike\u2019s passion for giving back to the next generation. He\u2019s really keen to work with our young players, helping them develop their skills, confidence and passion for rugby in a positive and enjoyable environment. Mike will be working with our U9s, as well as supporting players across the club as our passing specialist.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s a fantastic opportunity for our young Broncos to learn from someone who has competed at the very highest level of international rugby. Welcome to the Broncos family, Mike!\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2018Let\u2019s teach kids to be really good tacklers\u2019 \u2013 Steve Hansen on how to combat concussion in rugby following high court ruling<\/a><\/p>\n

Harry Wells stays in PREM on short-term deal<\/p>\n

Former Leicester Tigers lock Wells is back in the PREM after agreeing a short-term deal with Pat Lam\u2019s Bristol. The 32-year-old deal at Ashton Gate was confirmed on the same day he was announced as a new signing by Oundle, the National League 2 East club.<\/p>\n

Capped once by England in 2021, Wells explained: \u201cI remain committed to Oundle and plan to return to the club following the conclusion of my time with the Bears.\u201d<\/p>\n

Speaking about his three-month offer to Wells, a veteran of 236 appearances with the Tigers, Lam said: \u201cWith Josh Caulfield, Bill Mata and Khalik Kareem continuing their return from injury, it was important for us to bolster our back five options in the pack and Harry is an excellent fit.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a tough, hard-working player who does the basics extremely well and his experience will be invaluable to the group over the next three months.\u201d<\/p>\n

READ MORE: Victor Matfield: I\u2019m not worried about the Springboks; we dominated the All Blacks<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Francisco Moreno will feature in the 2026\/27 PREM Rugby campaign in England, Louis Bielle-Biarrey has reportedly decided his…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":868086,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[567],"tags":[12910,64,63,36467,436984,2592,818,1182,39694,436985,10668,44,97031,20248,760,1042,85,134440,68429,134441,12812],"class_list":["post-868085","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-rugby","tag-argentina","tag-au","tag-australia","tag-bristol","tag-dan-mcfarland","tag-france","tag-home-page","tag-internationals","tag-leicester-tigers","tag-mike-phillips","tag-newcastle","tag-news","tag-pat-lam","tag-premiership","tag-rugby","tag-sharks","tag-sports","tag-stormers","tag-top-14","tag-united-rugby-championship","tag-wales"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868085","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=868085"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/868085\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/868086"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=868085"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=868085"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/au\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=868085"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}