Bourgoin target Heineken refreshment; Want-away Dupuy starts
for Leicester Tigers
May 01
2009
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Tiger beats Lion: Julien Dupuy
has ousted rival Harry Ellis
Photo: Michael Paler |
Bourgoin take on Worcester Warriors at home on Saturday
as they bid to keep the French flag flying in Europe this
season.
Their
European Challenge Cup semi-final may be in the lesser
of the weekend’s two European competitions, but victory in
the tournament would guarantee the Top 14 strugglers a
Heineken Cup slot for next season – provided they avoid
domestic relegation.
It is a
tricky situation, and has required some delicate balancing
of late in terms of team preparation an selection. Last
weekend they rested a whole host of players and yet emerged
with a valuable (and surprising) bonus point from their
13-6 defeat at Stade Toulousain.
Saturday’s line-up should thus be fresh, and they also have
the psychological edge having already beaten Worcester 29-14
at the Stade Pierre Rajon back in December.
European Challenge Cup - Pool results
and tables
Those
two results – against Worcester and Stade – give good
grounds for optimism, especially when coupled with their
shock
32-30 away win at London Irish
in the quarter-finals.
But
nothing can be taken for granted by a team which is still
under threat of relegation to ProD2. That mere fact alone
suggests all has not been right for Bourgoin this season, a
fear borne out by their 61-10 hammering at Bayonne recently.
When things go wrong, it seems, they can go very, very wrong
indeed.
Long-serving captain Julien Frier is expecting a physical
encounter – “they play like all the English clubs” – but
said his players were ready for the challenge.
Frier
has the memories of the last time Bourgoin reached a
European final – 1997 – to call upon, and stressed that he
was relishing the opportunity of reaching a second final.
He
insisted that retaining their Top 14 status remains
“priority number one” but said the ECC presents a perfect
opportunity to end a difficult season on a high. The
financial strains of late have been partly addressed – they
have raised €1.2m of the €2m required to satisfy the DNACG –
so the players are now free to concentrate fully on the task
in hand.
“It’s a
big relief,” he said. “We had a little concern, but
personally I knew what was announced to the press for a
while, but it’s still nice to have it done before this
semi-final.”
The only
downside for Frier at present is the imminent departure of
Bourgoin’s two international starlets Morgan Parra (to
Clermont Auvergne) and Yann David (to Stade Toulousain).
“This is
not the first time I have seen the best players go. We lose
important players almost every year,” he lamented. “It is
always disturbing but I hope that one day leaders will
arrive to ensure that these players don’t decide to go
elsewhere. We need to keep players like this to enable
Bourgoin to go as high as possible and to return the club to
its previous status,” he added.
Frier
described Parra and David as “two lovable boys” but said
Bourgoin would survive their exits. “These players will be
replaced. We will turn the page again, as has been the case
in the past,” he said.
Over in
the Heineken Cup, French interest is limited to the
performances of two individuals at Leicester Tigers – who
take on Cardiff Blues, conquerors of Stade Toulousain in the
previous round.
Scrum-half Julien Dupuy has been handed a starting
place ahead of British Lion Harry Ellis following the
former’s outstanding recent play. It was Dupuy’s late try
against Bath which sealed Leicester’s progress, although he
still wants to leave and return to Top 14 next season.
Leicester remain keen to retain his services – especially as
he still has a year on his contract – but it seems Dupuy
will more than likely get his way. He has stressed all along
that it is a decision based on personal reasons – his
girlfriend is in France – but denied that a deal had already
been done with Stade Francais.
“Stade
Francais can be a possibility, like some other clubs,” he
said. “Everyone talks of me going to Stade Francais and I
don’t know why. There are other clubs – I don’t want to say
which ones, but they are clubs at the top of the table and
others who are trying to qualify for Europe. We are in
negotiations [at Leicester] and we are going to see,” he
added.
Perpignan - who are losing Scottish scrum-half Chris Cusiter
in the summer - remain the favourites to sign him.
Benjamin Kayser, Leicester’s other French player, starts
from the bench against Cardiff. He is also returning to
France this summer and has definitely agreed a deal with
Stade Francais.
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