News: Perpignan prop Jerome Schuster cited;
Fabien Galthié linked with Bayonne
23
December
2009
 Perpignan's misery after their overwhelming home defeat by
Munster in the Heineken Cup has been further deepened
following the ERC's confirmation that Jerome Schuster has
been cited for an alleged head-butt.
The
Catalan prop was cited by England's Alan Mansell following
an incident in Sunday's game when Schuster appeared to make
contact with Munster number eight Denis Leamy - in
contravention of Law 10.4.
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Schuster
now faces a likely ban of between 4-12 weeks, although the
maximum sentence for a head-butt is 104 weeks. The Perpignan
player is due to appear before an ERC disciplinary hearing
on January 13.
The ERC
has also confirmed that it has received an appeal by Stade
Francais against the 24-week ban imposed on Julien Dupuy for
eye-gouging.
In a
written statement it said "an independent Appeal Committee
will be appointed as soon as practicable", but gave no
specific date for the hearing.
Top 14
strugglers Bayonne have welcomed millionaire businessman
Alain Afflelou on to its board of directors for a three-year
term, and it appears his first major input could be to try
and convince former Stade Francais coach Fabien Galthié to
join the club.
Bayonne
sacked head coach Richard Dourthe earlier in the season
after a shocking run of results left them in the relegation
zone. Thierry Mentières was subsequently appointed in his
place - stepping up from being assistant coach - but there's
no doubt club president Francois Salagoity would welcome
Galthié if he was willing to come.
And
Galthié's comments to the French press this week would seem
to indicate the former Stade coach is seriously considering
a return to Top 14, with the rejuvenation of Bayonne perhaps
tickling his fancy.
The
Basques were pushing for a top six finish all of last season
and only just missed out 9to Brive) on the final day of the
campaign, but this year has been a different story
altogether. They are currently 13th, four points away from
12th-placed Bourgoin, and have won just four times in the
league all season. Indeed, they have lost six of their last
seven league matches and need a serious upturn in results if
they are not to fall through the trap door to ProD2 - an
unthinkable prospect at the start of the 2009/10 campaign.
Galthié
has apparently met twice with Salagoity and Afflelou and
told L'Equipe that he "excludes nothing" in terms of
future possibilities. "I burned a passion for four years
with Stade Francais and there's nothing to say that I won't
burn again very soon," he added.
Galthié
is currently a television pundit in France but is now being
tipped to take the role of sporting director at Bayonne. "To
take a team in trouble and help them recover can be very
interesting and rewarding," said the 54-times capped former
French international. "But it must find adequate
resources... and this applies to Bayonne as much as any
other club," he added.
Given
that last comment it is intriguing that Bayonne have now
welcomed Afflelou on board, although how much investment he
will bring remains to be seen. Certainly Salagoity is a
highly ambitious president, but Bayonne have constantly been
thwarted over the past year in their bid to sign the marquee
players that he so craves. Perhaps Afflelou will now bring
the financial muscle for that to change, especially if they
can bring in such a respected coach as Galthié.
Bayonne's immediate task is to start winning in Top 14 to
try and secure their status for next season, beginning with
their home game against in-form Racing-Métro 92 on December
30th. Racing are currently on a run of eight successive
victories, and Bayonne's preparations have been hit by
confirmation that French international winger Benjamin
Fall has a broken nose and is likely to miss the game.
Fall,
who scored on his France debut against Samoa in November,
sustained the injury while playing for Bayonne against
London Wasps last weekend.
Clermont's French international scrum-half Morgan Parra
could also miss round 15 after picking up a hip injury
against Leicester Tigers in Sunday's Heineken Cup clash.
Clermont are due to host derby rivals Brive on December 30
in a match which could feature the playing return of England
centre Riki Flutey for the visitors.
Clermont
had better news on the contract front, however, with Julien
Bonnaire - previously linked with a move to Racing - joining
Elvis Vermeulen, Davit Zirakashvili and Brent Russell is
signing new deals with the Michelin backed club.
Bonnaire
and Vermeulen both agreed new three-year deals keeping them
at Clermont until 2013, while Zirakashvili and Russell both
signed two-year extensions.
In other
news the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) has announced that
tickets are now in sale for the two Top 14 play-off
semi-finals. The matches are due to take place in
Montpellier on May 14th and Saint-Etienne on May 15th, with
prices ranging from 15-56 euros.
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