FRENCH CLUB: WE’RE NOT SIGNING JACKSON
A FRENCH rugby club has dismissed as ‘fake news’ reports that they were recruiting sacked Ireland and Ulster rugby player Paddy Jackson.
‘There is no contact with him’
In a statement to the Irish Daily Mail, French champions Clermont Auvergne said: ‘There is no contact between Paddy Jackson and the club. It’s fake news.’
The reigning Top 14 champions are one of a number of clubs linked with Jackson since the cancellation of his Ulster and IRFU contract over the weekend.
‘The Irish out-half will not come,’ head coach Franck Azéma also told the club’s website yesterday.
‘There is no contact between Paddy Jackson and the club and no desire on our part to engage his services. I trust our workforce in this position where we do not lack resources, with Camille Lopez, Patricio Fernandez, Ice Toeava and Dorian Lavernhe.
‘With the constraints imposed by the salary cap, it is not possible to strengthen the position of outhalf, where the internal solutions are numerous,’ he said.
Jackson, 26, and his 25-year-old team-mate Olding were found not guilty of raping the same woman in June 2016. Jackson was also unanimously acquitted of sexual assault. Mr Jackson expressed his disappointment at the IRFU’s decision to drop him over the weekend.
In a statement, Jackson said: ‘I am deeply disappointed about the outcome of the IRFU and Ulster Rugby’s internal review.
‘However, I recognise that my behaviour has fallen far short of the values expected of me as an international player, a role model for the game of rugby and as a son and a brother. I am truly sorry.
‘Since I was a young boy, it was my ambition to play for Ulster and Ireland and I am extremely proud, privileged and honoured to have done so. It is therefore with great sadness and regret, but with many cherished memories that I leave that behind. I’d also like to thank Ulster and Irish rugby for the opportunities they provided for me and I wish them, and all my former teammates, every success.
‘My focus in the months and years ahead will be on rebuilding the trust placed in me by people throughout Ulster and Ireland,’ he said. Separately, the IRFU and Ulster Rugby said they have sanctioned Craig Gilroy and that he will be unavailable for team selection until 26 April.
The Ulster Rugby and IRFU review has focused on a series of sexually explicit WhatsApp messages revealed during the trial involving the players and their friends.