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23
October 2008
 French
man-mountain Sebastien Chabal looks set for a return
to Top 14 next season according to Phillipe
Saint-Andre, his current coach at English Guinness
Premiership side Sale.
The talismanic forward, who left Bourgoin for Sale
in 2004, has been told he is free to leave in the
summer after Saint-Andre had a heart-to-heart with
the 30-year-old.
It appears that while Chabal is more than happy to
remain in Manchester his family is less keen,
leaving the French international to shuttle back and
forth across the channel each week.
“I feel good there [at Sale] but there are personal
reasons which mean I could return to France,” Chabal
told L’Equipe this week.
Despite admitting he wanted to stay Chabal, who
turned down an offer to join Toulon in the summer,
confirmed that family had to be put first.
“My wife and my kids live in England. They haven’t
moved away. But my eldest is studying in France and
it is true that my wife, who has also stayed in
France with the little one, hasn’t come back since
the end of the summer holidays.
“At the moment I am coming and going and it is
weighing on me. If I have a family it is to live
with them, so that is bothering me,” he said.
There is no doubt that being back in France would
also help Chabal add to his 30 international caps,
but he said it was Saint-Andre’s idea to leave
rather than his own.
“I wouldn’t have wanted to speak about it so early
in the season but it was Phillipe who brought up the
subject.
“He said ‘You can’t continue like this, you could
return to France next season’. It was just an idea
thrown out there by Philippe,” confirmed Chabal.
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By Colin Spiro 24
September 2008
 Danny
Cipriani, the pin-up boy of English rugby, was left with a
bloody nose and cut lip after a training ground bust-up with
club and international team-mate Josh Lewsey, according to
press reports.
The Wasps pair apparently
came to blows after tempers frayed, and perhaps egos too,
halting the training session as Wasps prepared for their
home Heineken Cup tie against Top 14’s Castres.
Cipriani, 20, has only
just returned to the first team after a dislocated fracture
of his ankle, a career-threatening injury that he has
overcome six weeks ahead of schedule.
Training ground conflicts
are nothing new in team sports and Wasps moved quickly to
play down the incident, claiming the pair had kissed and
made up already.
“Rugby is a fiery and
physical game and incidents like this happen in training
sessions all the time,” said a club spokesperson. “There is
no issue and there is no problem between Danny and Josh.
They are friends and team-mates.”
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By Colin Spiro 24
September 2008
The rumour mill is
churning frantically in Toulon (and the southern
hemisphere) this week with reports emerging that
star signing Sonny Bill Williams is unsettled in
France, and that Tana Umaga’s position is under
threat from Australia’s former Stade Francais coach
John Connolly.
Australia’s Daily
Telegraph carried weekend reports that controversial
rugby union convert SBW, who is currently injured
with a hairline leg fracture, was homesick and
considering a return to Down Under. While that seems
far-fetched there seems little doubt the former
rugby league star has had a torrid start to his time
in France and that all may not be sweetness and
light chez Williams at present.
The Sydney paper
followed up – under a mocked up photo of their
former player headlined "Bulldogs tell ‘lonely' SBW
Frog Off" - by quoting Todd Greenberg, chief
executive at his former club, rubbishing speculation
they might have the player back.
“We’ve heard those
rumours as well and it’s not surprising at all for
us that he’s homesick. Sometimes he got homesick
when he was living back here in Sydney,” said
Greenberg.
Ouch!
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by Bruce Squires
24
September 2008
Rugby union convert
Sonny Bill Williams has been voted Australia’s ‘Most
hated man’ by readers of Zoo Weekly, beating Bali
bomber Amrozi to top spot after his acrimonious
defection from the NRL’s Bulldogs to French Top 14
side Toulon.
Zoo editor Paul
Merrill explained that SBW had been the clear winner
after his heinous crime of daring to turn his back
on Down Under in favour of earning a few Euros over
here in France.
“Sonny Bill is
someone who did something no Australian should do,
he ditched his teammates and walked out,” said
Merrill.
“We’re calling him
Money Bill Williams for scarpering off to another
continent just for the cash.”
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by Bruce Squires 15
September 2008
Europe’s cash-filled rugby clubs look set for a
fresh round of Kiwi picking as the New Zealand
dollar continues to fall.
The
imminent unveiling of Perpignan’s star signing Dan
Carter – due in Barcelona later this week – will
again underline the attraction of earning bundles of
hard cash, and with Europe’s top teams already
planning for next season you can bet that agents
will be booking their tickets to the land of long
white cloud.
In
France and Britain it is undeniable that most Kiwis
off terrific value for money – think of Munster’s
Doug Howlett or Toulouse’s Byron Kelleher – so the
continuing plummet of the New Zealand dollar can
only mean one thing: more All Blacks heading this
way.
The
continuing uncertainty over All Black qualification,
prompted by Carter’s “sabbatical”, and the relative
distance of the next World Cup – 2011 – add further
ballast to the argument for journeying abroad.
And if
money is the main attraction, which let’s face it,
it surely is, then France’s super-rich appear well
placed to capitalise with the likes of Toulouse,
Toulon and Stade Francais all in the market for
strengthening their playing squads.
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Toulon
president admits lying about Sonny 'Bill' Williams
23
August 2008 -
The Daily Telegraph
According to reports outspoken
Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal
has admitted
that NRL escapee Sonny ‘Bill’ Williams signed a
Top14 contract two weeks before he controversially
fled the Bulldogs on July 26.
The Sydney club originally threatened
legal action through the courts before accepting a
$AU750,000 pay off from Toulon, but Boudejellal’s
frank admission – that he lied about Williams’
contract status - is bound to leave a sour taste
down under.
In an interview with Australia’s
Daily Telegraph Boudjellal was quoted as saying:
"His
agents came to Toulon and we came to a financial
agreement pretty easily.
“I only had one demand. Given his inexperience I
didn't want him to be considered as one of the two
supplementary players we were allowed to sign (after
the July 15 deadline for signing players).
“So
on the morning of the 15th SBW sent us his signed
contract that we sent straight away to the league."
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Alejandro Campos joins Clermont on trial
20 August 2008 -
asm-rugby.com
Argentina’s Alejandro Campos has joined Clermont on
a two-month trial, with a view to a permanent move
to follow.
Argentina’s
Alejandro Campos has joined Clermont on a two-month
trial, with a view to a permanent move to follow.
The 25-year-old
loose forward, who has three international caps,
will link up at Clermont with fellow Pumas Mario
Ledesma and Martin Scelzo.
He described the move as a "dream
come true” on the
Clermont website.
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DNACG
refuse five Montauban player contracts
11 August 2008 -
www.rugbyrama.fr
Top14
newcomers Montauban have got off to a worrying start
after the DNACG (Direction nationale d’aide de
controle et de gestion) refused to ratify five
players’ contracts.
Top14
newcomers Montauban have got off to a worrying start
after the DNACG (Direction nationale d’aide de
controle et de gestion) refused to ratify five
players’ contracts.
The DNACG,
who were largely responsible for Albi’s relegation
last year over financial irregularities, were
unhappy that Montauban were unable to guarantee the
salaries of new-signings Rudolph Berek, Nicolas
Roux, Dimitri Senio, Ben Coutts and Bernard Roland.
According to
Midi Olympique
the club will have to cough up 400,000 Euros before
the DNACG gives the green light, although club
president Philippe Cazaubon remained up-beat despite
the warning.
“I’m not
worried,” he told the French newspaper, adding
that he expected a speedy resolution.
Cazauban is
hoping that Coutts, Senio and Le Roux will all be
eligible to play in the Top14 season opener on
August 26, with Berek and Roland to follow later.
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Clermont's Rene Fontes wants Top 14 to be 'Elite 12'
11 July 2008 -
www.rugbyrama.fr/
Clermont president Rene Fontes
believes less is more and that the Top14 should be
reduced to a round dozen in order to improve the
overall quality and allow players more rest time.
Fontes told
rugbyrama.com:
“What
I know is that my team has finished play on June 28
and will resume training after four weeks.
C'est une situation
insupportable. This situation is unbearable.
Pour les joueurs,
pour le staff et pour l'ensemble des personnels du
club. For players, for staff and for all club
personnel.”
He
added: “I return to an elite 12 clubs who would play
four games less and thus retain the final phase a
few years.”
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