Julien Dupuy will begin his rugby rehabilitation as part
of the France 'A' squad contesting this summer's Churchill
Cup.
The
Stade Francais and France player missed the entire second
half of the season after being
banned for 23 weeks for an eye-gouging
incident in his club's Heineken Cup clash with
Ulster on December 12 2009.
He has
not played any competitive rugby since then, not only
missing Stade's remaining league games but also losing his
France starting spot to Clermont youngster Morgan Parra.
But now
he has been handed the opportunity to get his international
claims back on track as part of the France 'A' squad this
summer.
Dupuy
will be desperate not only to get back on the pitch, but
also to push his own chances of making the full France squad
for next year's World Cup.
Other
notable inclusions in the France ‘A’ squad are Stade
Toulousain’s Maxime Medard, Perpignan winger Farid Sid and
Racing-Metro’s young centre Henry Chavancy. Fellow centre
Yann David, however, has withdrawn with an ankle injury
sustained during Stade Toulousain's Heineken Cup win over
Biarritz last weekend. He will be replaced by Castres’ Yoann
Audrin.
France
‘A’ are due to play Uruguay on June 9th and
Canada on June 13th.
France 'A' squad:
Forwards
(14): Jérôme Schuster
(Perpignan),
Yannick Forestier
(Castres),
Benjamin Kayser
(Stade Français),
Jean-Philippe Genevois
(Bourgoin),
Clément Baïocco
(Racing-Métro),
Rabah Slimani
(Stade Français),
Yoann Maestri
(Stade Toulousain),
Joselino Suta
(Toulon),
Guillaume Vilaceca
(Perpignan),
Antoine Battut
(Montauban),
Sylvain Nicolas
(Bourgoin),
Florian Faure
(Biarritz),
Grégory Lamboley
(Stade Toulousain),
Jean-Pierre Pérez
(Perpignan)
Backs
(12): Julien Dupuy
(Stade Français),
Nicolas Durand
(Perpignan),
Lionel Beauxis
(Stade Français),
Benjamin Boyet
(Bourgoin),
Romain Cabannes
(Castres),
Yoann Audrin
(Castres),
Henry Chavancy
(Racing-Métro),
Lionel Mazars
(Bayonne),
Maxime Médard
(Stade Toulousain),
Adrien Planté
(Perpignan),
Farid Sid
(Perpignan),
Benjamin Thiéry
(Montpellier)
England
hooker Steve Thompson, meanwhile, says his summer
move from Brive to Leeds was in part to try and enhance his
chances of selection for the 2011 World Cup.
“Playing
for England is a massive pull for me,” he confirmed. “I have
come through the injury [to his neck] and I want to keep
challenging myself and playing at the highest level, and I
want a World Cup place,” he added.
English
scrum-half Charlie Davies, 20, has become the latest
player to leave cash-strapped Stade Francais.
The
talented youngster joined the Paris giants last summer from
Nottingham and made five first team appearances during the
2009/10 season as injuries and bans sidelined the likes of
Dupuy, Noel Oelschig and Benjamin Tardy.
Top 14 Transfers 2010/11
He also
broke into England’s Under-20 team – making his debut
against France – and has also been included in the England
squad for the forthcoming IRB Junior World Championship in
Argentina.
He has
now been snapped up London Wasps, where he will do battle
with (among others) former Racing-Metro scrum-half Nic Berry
for a starting spot. “Playing alongside James Haskell and
Tom Palmer at Stade, I know a little bit about the club
already and both James and Tom backed Wasps as one of the
best environments to develop as a young player, so I am
really forward to being part of the club,” Davies said on
the Wasps website.
Davies
is the seventh confirmed departure from Stade Francais,
joining the likes of Mirco Bergamasco, Sylvain Marconnet,
Simon Taylor and Benjamin Kayser in leaving the Paris club.
Elsewhere, Tongan international Finau Maka has been
arrested on a charge of alleged ‘slavery’. The international
back-rower, who has been released by Stade Toulousain after
eight years, was detained by police following accusations
that he had been keeping a young Tunisian immigrant as a
house slave.
“I
received a complaint lodged for modern slavery and dated
April 29 in the name of a person who said they were a
victim,” said magistrate Michel Valet. “I ordered a police
investigation, there are still inquiries to be made, the
investigation is continuing,” Valet told AFP.
South
African Rugby Union boss Oregan Hoskins, meanwhile, has
played down reports that Racing-Metro’s Francois Steyn
is unwilling to play for the Springboks under current head
coach Peter de Villiers.
Media
reports have claimed that Steyn sent a text to de Villiers
announcing his withdrawal from the Springbok side to face
Wales at the weekend, but Hoskins described that as
“absolute nonsense”.
In other
news, Montpellier hooker Mickael Ladhuie has signed a
new two-year deal with the Hérault club, while bankrupt
Montauban are preparing themselves for another trip
before the DNACG – the league’s financial watchdog – on June
10th.
Montauban were relegated from Top 14 after filing for
bankruptcy at the end of the season and have now launched
the ‘Club de Mille’ scheme, by which it is appealing for
supporters to pledge €1,000 in an effort to balance its
books.
Finally,
it’s not been a good few days for Federale 1 club
Chalon-sur-Saone. At the weekend they lost they lost in
the Federale 1 play-offs as their hopes of promotion to
ProD2 were dashed for another season. Then they saw English
coach Richard Hill depart back to the UK to take charge of
Worcester Warriors, and now they have filed for bankruptcy,
meaning they will start next season back in Federale 2.
Hill,
49, had previously coached Bristol and described the chance
to take over at Worcester as “an opportunity that I could
not afford to let go”. Hill added: “I have had a very
successful and enjoyable time at Chalon-sur-Saone but it is
the right time to come back to England. My family are still
here and this represents the challenge and opportunity that
I have been waiting for.”
