France
head coach Marc Lièvremont is considering a change of
selection policy to include foreign players who have
qualified through residence (i.e. playing in Top 14).
Lièvremont told L’Equipe that he had already drawn up
a possible hit list at the behest of Pierre Camou, president
of the Federation Francaise de Rugby (FFR), with
likely possible candidates including Toulon’s Sonny Bill
Williams and Stade Francais’ Mark Gasnier.
“It
seemed like a snapshot to me, one which wouldn’t go much
further,” he explained. “This season, my point of view is
not totally the same. I’m not saying that I’m ready for a
complete turnaround, but let’s say that I’m struggling to
find the equivalent among young French players of the
generation of [Fulgence] Ouedraogo, [Francois] Trinh-Duc,
[Fabien] Barcella, [Maxime] Mermoz and [Maxime] Medard,” he
added.
Lièvremont went on: “It is there but I don’t think that it’d
be a good idea to throw them up against the South Africans
or All Blacks come November.”
The
coach was reluctant to name potential ‘imports’ but did
identify one possible recruit. “The one I really like is
Brive’s Antonie Claassen,” he admitted.
“Of
course, there’s Vosloo [also at Brive] but for me it’s
Claassen who corresponds to what I look for in the back
row.”
South
African-born Claassen said he was delighted to have caught
Lièvremont's eye and confirmed that his long-term aim was a
Test cap for ‘Les Bleus’. “My goal is the France team. If it
wasn’t I wouldn’t be playing in France. When I was young I
watched the Five Nations and supported France.
“I’ve
spoken about it with Gerhard Vosloo; it would be interesting
to play at that level. I don’t have any contact with the
Springboks. I don’t think they need me. They have a lot of
good players in this position. And me, I’m in France.”
Claassen
certainly wouldn’t be the first South African-born national
to represent France with injured Stade Francais centre Brian
Liebenberg have already won 12 caps.
And it’s
not just South Africans that are interesting the French
selectors, with southern hemisphere stars such as former
rugby league internationals Williams (New Zealand-born) and
Gasnier (Australia) both on their radar.
The pair
both came over to France at the beginning of last season and
have earned widespread praise for their ability to adapt to
the 15-man code.
The
IRB’s current rules stipulate that a player must have been:
(a)
born in the country of choice
(b)
have one of their parents or
grandparents born there, or
(c)
have lived there for 36 months
prior to selection
Players
must also not have appeared for the full national team, ‘A’
team or sevens team of another country, although having done
so in another code such as rugby league – as in the case of
both Gasnier and Williams – is not a problem. Indeed, only
this summer former Australian rugby league international
Craig Gower was selected at fly-half for Italy.
Meanwhile, one French international who is
already available to him is disgraced Stade Francais centre
Mathieu Bastareaud, who has escaped an international
ban following his
lies about being mugged while on tour
with ‘Les Bleus’ in New Zealand.
The
21-year-old – who suffered a mental breakdown after the
resultant media attention - was officially handed a
three-month suspension, commuted to community service when
his punishment was finally unveiled this week.
The
Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) decided that
Bastareaud’s lies – which prompted apologies from both
countries’ prime ministers – warranted punishment, but
stopped well short of the two-year ban that had previously
been suggested.
Instead
he must now complete 18 activities to promote amateur rugby
by 2010, or else his three-month suspension will be
activated.
Lièvremont welcomed the decision, telling AFP it was
“a good sanction” and that he was happy that Bastareaud
would be available for national selection. “With this
sanction he again becomes a player like any other, even if
it seems complicated to pick him for the November Tests, as
I have told him. But I never envisaged that we’d be without
him for the 2011 World Cup,” he added.
