Payto&Panda: Will Skelton could make move to Saracens permanent

THE Waratahs’ decision to allow Will Skelton a stint at English club Saracens could spectacularly backfire amid talk that he will now be leaving Australian rugby to sign with them next year.

THE Waratahs’ decision to allow Will Skelton a stint at English club Saracens could spectacularly backfire amid talk that he will now be leaving Australian rugby to sign with them next year.

Skelton played seven games for Saracens in the off-season and became a hugely popular figure at the club, prompting coach Mark McCall to publicly declare his interest in signing the lock for a longer term.

“He’s made a brilliant contribution,” McCall said. “He’s very popular among all the players and hopefully we’ve whetted his appetite to maybe come back in the future.”

Will Skelton could be off to Saracens next year.

In another interesting development, English lock Geoff Parling, who plays for Exeter Chiefs but had been in talks with Saracens, has instead opened negotiations with the Melbourne Rebels and some Kiwi teams for a possible stint in Super Rugby.

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A MEMORIAL service for Dan Vickerman is being planned for next week and while the Waratahs will be in South Africa, assistant coach Chris Malone will be among a handful of staff to remain in Sydney for the service before flying out.

No date has yet been set but Sydney University Oval No.1 is the likely venue for the public service.

One of the unknown stories about Vickerman to emerge this week was his work with Cambridge Australia Scholarships (CAS), an organisation set up to help fund the education of talented local students at the English university.

Vickerman famously knocked back a huge offer from the ARU in 2008 to study at Cambridge, which came at significant personal cost.

A memorial service for Dan Vickerman is being planned for next week.

He was a valued member of the CAS board, using his profile and immense business contacts to pledge funds so students could get the same education he did - degrees at Cambridge cost hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Friends of Vickerman are looking to set up a fundraising campaign to help his wife Sarah and their two sons and Vickerman’s fellow CAS board member Philip Pope said the organisation would help.

“He was working hard, but quietly, and he was an important part of the work the board has been doing to ensure the funds were going to be there in the future,” Pope said.

“This is an incredibly sad loss.”

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BRAD Wilkin just can’t take a trick.

The well-liked Waratahs backrower has suffered a suspected season-ending knee injury, having gone through a reconstruction on his other knee last year.

Wilkin was injured in Thursday’s training session. It’s a huge blow for the young man and for NSW.

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EVEN pop star Justin Bieber is undermining the Western Force’s chances of survival.

The Perth side has been forced to have just a four-day turnaround between their opening two matches because Bieber is holding a concert at nib Stadium next week and organisers must turn the stadium from a rugby ground into a concert venue.

The Force play NSW on Saturday and then host Queensland Reds next Thursday night. Ordinarily they would have played Friday, but organisers need to set up for Bieber’s concert on Saturday.

The stadium operators say Bieber announced his concert date before the Super Rugby draw was put out so there was no option but to make the Force play a day earlier.

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WHICH Waratah player has been given the nickname Fettuccine?

None other than their starting five-eighth this weekend, Bryce Hegarty, whose skinny limbs have been likened to the thin pasta.

“Bryce is a really unusual player,” NSW coach Daryl Gibson said.

“The reason is so unusual is because he doesn’t look like he should be playing ten, or rugby. In a nice way. We call him Fettucine, which is a reference to his legs because they’re like spaghetti and look like they’re going to fall off at any moment.”

Funnily enough, Hegarty quite likes the new moniker. He is probably aware that the more he resists, the more it will stick, just like a good sauce on fettuccine.

“It is an endearing nickname,” Gibson smiled. “And it has stuck now.”

Starting in Super Rugby with fettuccine legs means Hegarty must be a seriously smart footballer. And Hegarty is no greenhorn. The 24-year-old played under 20s for the Broncos and played 33 times for the Melbourne Rebels.

“He can play the game,” Gibson said.

“He has wonderful game sense. He has a good skill set and an excellent rugby brain and I think that’s what attracts me to him. He gets the game and is a rugby player. While he doesn’t have all the talents in the world, he utilises every ounce of theme. The team are thrilled for him he has been given the job and I have absolute faith in him.”

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FORMER Queensland players were invited to hand out caps to the Reds squad before their first round game this weekend, but because George Smith has never played for Queensland he was given a jersey instead.

Former Reds No.7 David Croft presented Smith with his jersey.

Originally published as Payto&Panda: Will Skelton could make move to Saracens permanent