ON THE BLINDSIDE
England and Lions winger Jack Nowell has spoken to European champions La Rochelle about a switch to France when his contract with Exeter Chiefs runs out at the end of the season.
The Chiefs have now admitted defeat in their bid to keep the Cornishman at Sandy Park next season and accept he will join the exodus of bigname players away from the club in the last two years.
They recently had talks with Nowell, left, in a bid to thrash out an agreement but failed to reach a deal, and Champions Cup holders La Rochelle have made him an offer to move to the Bay of Biscay this summer. Nowell's CV has been doing the rounds of Top 14 recruitment teams since the summer, and head coach Ronan O'Gara is keen for him to link up with his side and has tabled a lucrative offer.
The news that he is set to leave will be a blow to Chiefs fans, who have been hoping he would end the haemorrhaging of talent away from the former Premiership and European Champions.
They will be hoping that the club's financial position improves in the last 12 months, with Henry Slade, Stuart Hogg and Duane Vermeulen all out of contract at the end of next season.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs have allowed Argentinean winger Facundo Cordero, below, to leave the club immediately and join URC outfit Glasgow Warriors.
Cordero said his goodbyes in Devon shortly after playing for the Chiefs in a game against the Royal Navy last week.
