Archive December 31, 2025

Franco Molina has joined the Red Bulls of Newcastle as their starting 2026-27 signing.

After participating in Western Force’s 2026 Super Rugby campaign, the 28-year-old second row will join the Newcastle squad in the summer.

Molina has agreed to a two-year deal after making 17 appearances for the Exeter Chiefs last year.

He has 20 international caps and has previously played for the Chilean side Selknam, the Dogos, Ceibos, and the Jaguares in Argentina.

“I’m incredibly honored to be joining Red Bulls of Newcastle, a team with such a strong bond with Argentinian players,” Molina told the club website.

I can’t wait for what is to come, and I can tell after speaking with Jonny Petrie, the managing director, and Neil McIlroy, the general manager.

I’m looking forward to meeting my team-mates and accomplishing something extraordinary there.

Manager McIlroy claimed that Molina had gained valuable international experience from playing “many significant games” for Argentina in recent years.

He has a strong grasp of the Prem from his time playing for Exeter, and McIlroy believes that his set-piece skills will help us put this club on a clear upward trajectory.

Richie Murphy, the head coach of Ulster, acknowledges that rugby is “going slow,” but he doesn’t believe a complete overhaul would make it impossible for fans to enjoy.

Tadhg Beirne, the captain of Munster, described the state of rugby as “dark” and claimed there have been too many stoppages as a result of the team’s defeat by Leinster last weekend.

In an effort to encourage chasing players to contest kicks and to create more one-on-one aerial contests and broken-field attacking plays, World Rugby changed its laws last year to tighten the restrictions on “escort” runners.

Beirne compared how teams kick more with the hope that they can convert an opponent’s knock-on in the air to a scrum.

Murphy claimed that the game is getting longer and that the wait time to finish games is excessive.

“We need to try to play the ball a little bit more,” she said. Does the game need to undergo a complete transformation in order to be entertaining for fans? Not in my opinion.

We don’t need to worry about it. We are only allowed to play the game according to the laws that are in place. We are aware of our exact location and what the referees are seeking.

Murphy is optimistic that Ulster can build on their bonus-point win over Connacht on Friday (19:45 GMT) when they host Munster in Belfast.

In their fifth consecutive United Rugby Championship game, Ulster defeated any other team in a total of 73 tries, including tries scored by Werner Kok (six), Rob Baloucoune (five), and Zac Ward (three).

“It’s the kind of rugby we’re trying to play,” Murphy continued.

We have some incredible athletes out there, including getting our wingers involved in the game and getting the ball out the edges.

It would just be nice to be a little more effective for longer if we were only being effective for certain periods of time in games.

In spite of their six URC games defeats last weekend to Leinster at Thomond Park, Friday’s rivals, Munster, have made significant strides in the first six of Clayton McMillan’s era.

According to Murphy, “In some ways, they’ve returned to some of the DNA they once had.”

They actually kick the ball more than they have, but they are very tough in the breakdown and difficult to break down defensively.

“It will be a significant test for us,” he said. In terms of depth and strength throughout their squad, their squad is likely a little further along than ours are.

Under Murphy, Ulster have strengthened their squad, signing back row Juarno Augustus, a prop from Australia, Angus Bell, and Kok, who both have ankle injuries.

Former Ireland international and current pundit Bernard Jackman mentioned “rumors coming out of Belfast that Ulster are determined to reinstate Joey Carbery into the Irish system” last weekend in the Sunday Independent.

Carbery, a former Leinster and Munster flyhalf and a member of 37 Ireland caps, has a contract with Bordeaux until 2026.

Everything is speculation, Murphy said.

“Boycott is currently contracted in Bordeaux,” Joey Carbery says. There will be a lot of flying around at this point. Some of our players will also have connections to other clubs.

Taylor Swift being asked for money. a tycoon from Netflix who wants to purchase the property. A club manager leaving because of abuse. After only 12 games, his homesick successor left to return to Germany.

You have Motherwell playing their best football since 1928 when they defeated Argentina, humbling the defending champions, a few months later.

In the past two years, life has been anything but dull for a Motherwell fan.

Jens Berthel Askou’s footballing vision took a new direction with a 2-0 victory over a clueless Celtic. The Motherwell boss remarked that they have played them to be the best they have ever done.

Since 2024’s debut, a message to the biggest superstar in the music industry has since taken a toll on the industry.

Motherwell posted a video two years ago. It wasn’t just a video, either.

A child to Miss Swift asked her to pay off the money and invest in the Fir Park club while a Scotland goalie dressed as a lollipop man was seen posing against a glass door.

As the fan-owned club attempted to lure in a significant financial fish, the video caused a fair whack of Motherwell supporters to cringe.

But that was the beginning of the club’s development to the current state, without any realizing it.

Although it wasn’t everyone’s taste, it served as a reminder that the board of Lanarkshire County did not want to just do the right thing. Be brave.

Fashion industry executive Kyrk Macmillan took over as club chair in November, bringing youth and fresh ideas to the organization along with a refreshed Well Society board, those chosen by fans to serve them.

After Stuart Kettlewell left in January 2025, citing fan abuse as a major factor in his decision, one of their first tasks was finding a new manager.

Fans were upset and irate more as a result of how everything turned out. A new manager had to be sought in the middle of it all.

With the former Austria-Viking head coach joining the scene, Michael Wimmer provided the solution, at least in the near future. Right after the season’s final game, he left immediately.

Another important decision was looming, but would the board return to the tried-and-true after failing to think outside the box?

It was a little hairy at first, under former Gothenburg boss Askou.

Motherwell faced FC Twente during a summer training camp in his first game. The new style was terrifying even at the beginning stages.

Well lost 3-0, and the opposition looked horrifyingly anxious at the back as they attempted to dominate Barca in their own box while turning the goalie into a ball-playing centre-half.

Goalkeeper Calum Ward was lobbed by Clyde’s James Hilton while about four miles outside his box in Askou’s first competitive game. It involved a heart attack.

But each game grew more and more compelling. As many fans didn’t choke on their pies as many did when Ward appeared to be standing halfway.

Five months later, Motherwell’s scintillating, complex, and almost instinctive football arguably reached its highest level against Celtic on Tuesday.

A high press that pounced on Celtic’s haplessness scored the first goal, which was an unusual deep cross and header.

However, what transpired nearby is what made it so unique. Make no mistake: Fir Park fans have never seen the best football in the park.

Their approach elicited a ferocity and an unquenchable desire to pursue Celtic. Motherwell were in charge throughout despite a late flurry of possession and pressure from the reigning champions.

Former Celtic midfielder Scott Allan described it as an “absolute football lesson, both inside and out of possession.”

“Motherwell’s play was composed and composed,” she said.

One team had connections, and the other had total disconnect. A manager who is actually implementing something and a manager who is doing the opposite.

“Motherwell played better football than Celtic, which was more exciting.” However, they also had a real structure behind the ball, which caused issues for Celtic.

Hampden left the only negative impact on Askou’s name.

Motherwell lost 4-1 to St Mirren in the League Cup semi-final with former manager Stephen Robinson. On the Paisley side, they never really sat down.

As St Mirren defeated Celtic in this month’s final, Askou would have felt more than a tinge of regret from a distance.

Motherwell will now be prosperous in 2026. Your place in the league will firstly depend on the fan-owned team, whose goal is to first. One can safely say that one is ticked off, in my opinion.

Well, we are currently fourth. Eight points clear of Hearts, Rangers, Celtic, and Celtic.

Any fan will cite at least fifty games in which they’ve conceded points from dominating positions when speaking to them. To name just three, Tynecastle, Kilmarnock, and Falkirk at Fir Park.

Both the hiring of an instinctive striker and the retention of Celtic loanee Stephen Welsh would be huge advantages. Perhaps the Askou puzzle’s only missing member is a cold-blooded goalscorer.

The best football the Motherwell fans have ever seen could come off as even more exceptional if that happens.

We’ll try to forget it, Assafrah, a member of Motherwell’s first home victory over Celtic in 12 years, said Askou. “It’s an impressive win and it’s a day that our supporters and everyone in the club will remember for a long time.

We’re not going to let this stop us, and we’re not going to think we’ve done everything because we have this signature win that everyone is talking about in the dressing room, I believe.