Transfers / Rumors

[Hall]

Chabal very recently said that he'd love to play in Japan but his future is in France, with his wife and kids.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

French international full-back Benjamin Thiéry is the first player to bail from Biarritz's sinking ship, signing a two-year contract with Top 14 rivals Montpellier.[/b]

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3...4787223,00.html

Also linked in the same article are Sebastien Chabal and France captain Lionel Nallet. In contrast to Toulon who wanted too much too soon, I'm impressed with Montpellier' steady ascent. Since they gained promotion to the then Top 16, Montpellier have built upon solid foundations are are gradually moving forward in a new stadium with some quality players like Ouedraogo, Trinh-Duc, Picamoles, Todeschini, Marshall, Tomas and Smith. Bringing Thiéry, Chabal and Nallet into the fold would push them into serious contention for Heineken Cup qualification.

Having said that, their president is just after resigning which may put a couple of the mooted transfers on hold.

 

[DonBilly]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Jan 13 2009, 09:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

French international full-back Benjamin Thiéry is the first player to bail from Biarritz's sinking ship, signing a two-year contract with Top 14 rivals Montpellier.[/b]

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3...4787223,00.html

Also linked in the same article are Sebastien Chabal and France captain Lionel Nallet. In contrast to Toulon who wanted too much too soon, I'm impressed with Montpellier' steady ascent. Since they gained promotion to the then Top 16, Montpellier have built upon solid foundations are are gradually moving forward in a new stadium with some quality players like Ouedraogo, Trinh-Duc, Picamoles, Todeschini, Marshall, Tomas and Smith. Bringing Thiéry, Chabal and Nallet into the fold would push them into serious contention for Heineken Cup qualification.

Having said that, their president is just after resigning which may put a couple of the mooted transfers on hold.
[/b][/quote]

It looks like Montpellier is not doing well financially and that it was after the new president looked at the account books that he decided to resign. The move of Nallet and Chabal as well as the prolongations of Oueadrogo and Picamoles are compromised.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

<h1>Clermont : Lhermet satisfait[/b]
Rédaction Rugby365.fr - mardi 20 janvier 2009 - 18h05
Le vice-président de Clermont, Jean-Marc Lhermet, est bien évidemment satisfait de l'arrivée du Berjallien Morgan Parra.


« Nous étions en contact avec Morgan depuis longtemps car nous considérons qu'il possède le profil idéal pour s'inscrire dans le projet sportif du club, avoue le vice président Jean-Marc Lhermet . Son jeune âge et son énorme potentiel (il compte déjà trois sélections avec le XV de France) sont de belles garanties pour l'avenir ».[/b]

http://www.rugby365.fr/depeches/filinfo_29...satisfait.shtml

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Considered to be one of the biggest hopes in French rugby, 20-year-old international centre Yann David has announced that he will be leaving Bourgoin for European giants Toulouse........

......And things aren't about to get any better. Two of the clubs other young guns, 21-year-old Mathieu Nicolas and 19-year-old centre Alexandre Dumoulin have reportedly been approached by Castres and Brive respectively.[/b]

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3...4834104,00.html

Both Parra and David are deserting Bourgoin. Losing two key young players could be a further sign of the club being in freefall. They're very unlikely to make the Heineken Cup next year (not that they seem to care about it) and are flirting with relegation from the Top 14.

 

[cyRil]

They disregard the premier European competition to 'concentrate on the league', yet never get anywhere. They don't deserve any success.

 

[An Tarbh]

they don't have the budget of the other big clubs in France to enable them to compete on 2 fronts, they can't afford to lose senior players to injury in the Heineken cup and have them missing crucial games in the Top 14 as a result.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Jan 22 2009, 08:08 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

they don't have the budget of the other big clubs in France[/b]

You're right. They've not been able to hold onto the likes of Chabal and Nallet. Parra and David are just the latest in a long line of players the club have lost to higher paying clubs.

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (DonBilly @ Jan 14 2009, 08:22 AM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Jan 13 2009, 09:44 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

French international full-back Benjamin Thiéry is the first player to bail from Biarritz's sinking ship, signing a two-year contract with Top 14 rivals Montpellier.[/b]

http://www.planetrugby.com/Story/0,18259,3...4787223,00.html

Also linked in the same article are Sebastien Chabal and France captain Lionel Nallet. In contrast to Toulon who wanted too much too soon, I'm impressed with Montpellier' steady ascent. Since they gained promotion to the then Top 16, Montpellier have built upon solid foundations are are gradually moving forward in a new stadium with some quality players like Ouedraogo, Trinh-Duc, Picamoles, Todeschini, Marshall, Tomas and Smith. Bringing Thiéry, Chabal and Nallet into the fold would push them into serious contention for Heineken Cup qualification.

Having said that, their president is just after resigning which may put a couple of the mooted transfers on hold.
[/b][/quote]

It looks like Montpellier is not doing well financially and that it was after the new president looked at the account books that he decided to resign. The move of Nallet and Chabal as well as the prolongations of Oueadrogo and Picamoles are compromised.
[/b][/quote]

well looks like they won't hold onto Picamoles as he's about to sign a 4 year contract with Toulouse according to l'equipe. Looks like the resignation of the president was the straw that broke the camels back.

 

[An Tarbh]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (snoopy snoopy dog dog @ Jan 20 2009, 08:04 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE

<h1>Clermont : Lhermet satisfait[/b]
Rédaction Rugby365.fr - mardi 20 janvier 2009 - 18h05
Le vice-président de Clermont, Jean-Marc Lhermet, est bien évidemment satisfait de l'arrivée du Berjallien Morgan Parra.


« Nous étions en contact avec Morgan depuis longtemps car nous considérons qu'il possède le profil idéal pour s'inscrire dans le projet sportif du club, avoue le vice président Jean-Marc Lhermet . Son jeune âge et son énorme potentiel (il compte déjà trois sélections avec le XV de France) sont de belles garanties pour l'avenir ».[/b]

http://www.rugby365.fr/depeches/filinfo_29...satisfait.shtml
[/b][/quote]

looks like he'll have some decent competition with the arrival of Cussiter also on the cards. The SRU are also keen to bring him to Glasgow although in a tug of war between the SRU and Clermont you'd have to back the French club.Good replacements for Clermont considering Mignoni is going back to Toulon at the end of the season.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (An Tarbh @ Jan 23 2009, 03:02 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

looks like he'll have some decent competition with the arrival of Cussiter also on the cards. The SRU are also keen to bring him to Glasgow although in a tug of war between the SRU and Clermont you'd have to back the French club.Good replacements for Clermont considering Mignoni is going back to Toulon at the end of the season.[/b]

I'd love to see Leinster make a move for Cusiter to replace Chris Whitaker.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

Si Toulon ne sait pas s'il évoluera en Top 14 ou en Pro D2 la saison prochaine, Mourad Boudjellal ne perd pas de temps au niveau du recrutement. Avec l'arrivée de Philippe Saint-André, qui devrait être officialisée dans les prochains jours, le président du RCT commence à travailler en vue de la saison prochaine avec son futur manager.

Et c'est un nouveau gros coup coup qui est en préparation du côté de la Rade. Toulon vient de transmettre une proposition de contrat à François Steyn, le champion du monde sud-africain (21 ans, 27 sélections). Une recrue de choix puisqu'il peut évoluer ausi bien au poste d'arrière, de centre ou de demi d'ouverture. Il s'agit par ailleurs d'un excellent buteur. Mais comme pour le dossier Chabal, le RCT ne serait pas le seul club à vouloir s'attacher les services du joueur des Sharks. François Steyn aurait également été contacté par le Racing-Métro. (M.R.)[/b]

http://www.lequipe.fr/Rugby/breves2009/200...cois-steyn.html

I wonder whether Steyn bases his decision on which club to join (if any) on who's in the Top 14 next year. If Racing Metro replace Toulon in the top flight, I'd expect him to move to Paris. If Toulon retain their status, a move to the south coast of France seems a more likely option.

This is the first I've heard of Saint-Andre taking over at Toulon. He's managed to turn both Gloucester and Sale into powerful (or at least relatively strong) teams so I can see why he'd appeal to Boudjellal as a potential director of rugby.

 

[An Tarbh]

Chabal finally seems to have made his mind up on a move with Midi Olympique saying that he's on the verge of signing for Racing

 

[Stillknox]

It would be an excellent recruit. The Racing will not be as competitive as Stade Français before a couple of years I guess but with such a starpower they can compete on the mediatic ground, and it's not useless in this area of our country.

 

[Fa'atau82]

I wonder if Carlos Spencer will move to Toulon. Make some money before going back to NZ. Makes sense. He'll link up with Tana Umaga and if Tana is playing well after retirement that would be an All Black 10/12 combo, albeit an old one. Toulon really do need a quality test level 10. Actually, Toulon need a miracle.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

I've read a rumour that Mick O'Driscoll and Frank Sheahan are leaving Munster for Perpignan. O'Driscoll already spent a couple of years at Perpignan and at 30 years of age, probably wants first team rugby. Sheahan is no more than an average backup at this stage.

 

[MunsterMan]

Yeah I heard that one too. Mick O'Driscoll still owns a house down there, and at his age why not? They are both good players but are not normally first 22 now so you can't blame them for going.

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

<div class='quotetop'>QUOTE (MunsterMan @ Jan 30 2009, 04:16 PM) <{POST_SNAPBACK}></div>

Yeah I heard that one too. Mick O'Driscoll still owns a house down there, and at his age why not? They are both good players but are not normally first 22 now so you can't blame them for going.[/b]

Assuming such a move goes through, it's good for Irish rugby. It would give Donnacha Ryan more playing time in his prefered position of 2nd row and would move both Fogarty and Essex up the hooker "depth chart".

Whether it'd be good for Munster is up for debate. Sheahan is a pale shadow of the player he was before his neck injury and can be easily replaced. He's become a liability at lineout throwing and is a penalty conceding machine. Fogarty is as good as Sheahan, if not better, as things stand. O'Driscoll will be harder to replace, for his leadership more than his playing ability (not saying he's a bad player by the way).

 

[snoopy snoopy dog dog]

Jerome Thion of Biarritz is being targetted by Harlequins according to the Rugby Times.

 

[An Tarbh]

well there were rumours before Christmas but apparently it's been confirmed now, Pichot is on his way back to Paris as a joker médical