Top 14: Newcastle admit defeat as
Carl Hayman joins Falcons exodus to Toulon
20 March 2010
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Toulon bound: Carl Hayman
Photo: Michael Paler |
Former All
Blacks prop Carl Hayman, 30, will be unveiled as
big-spending Toulon's latest star signing, according
to reports emerging from Newcastle.
Hayman -
considered one of the world's best tighthead props - will
follow in the footsteps of Jonny Wilkinson and Tom May in
signing for the Cote d'Azur club after spurning the
opportunity to return home and claim a place in the All
Blacks' 2011 World Cup squad.
Top 14 Transfers 2010/11
The
financial riches and cultural lifestyle on offer proved too
great to refuse for the Newcastle Falcons captain, with club
chairman Dave Thompson admitting defeat in his efforts to
retain Hayman.
"We did
everything we possibly could to keep Carl," Thompson told
The Journal. "We offered Carl the best possible deal we
could muster, and it's a shame he has decided to look
elsewhere, but we fully respect and understand that choice,"
added Thompson.
The
Journal went on to claim that Hayman would put pen to
paper with Toulon this weekend, with a press conference
expected early next week to unveil Philippe Saint-André's
latest transfer coup.
The
paper also said that Hayman turned down a major financial
offer from fellow Top 14 outfit Clermont Auvergne - coached
by Kiwi Vern Cotter - in preference for signing with the
ambitious Toulon club.
The
former Otago Highlander will join a club that is already
bursting with internationals and is currently riding high in
Saint-André's debut season at Toulon. They are presently
fifth in the league and appear set for the end-of-season
play-offs and a berth in next season's Heineken Cup. They
also have a home quarter-final in the Amlin Challenge Cup.
Hayman
would become the sixth confirmed signing by Toulon for next
season, joining the likes of England internationals Paul
Sackey (from London Wasps) and Dean Schofield (from Sale
Sharks), as well as French players Jean-Philippe Genevois
(Bourgoin), Karena Wihongi (Bourgoin) and Clément Baiocco
(Racing-Métro 92).
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It seems
that Toulon's spending may not yet be finished either, with
Boudjellal currently trying to re-sign former rugby league
Sonny Bill Williams on another year-long contract, while
news has also filtered out that Stade Francais may
now be willing to part with hooker Benjamin Kayser.
The Paris club has previously rejected
overtures from Clermont Auvergne, but are now reported to
have relented and be open to offers. Clermont remain
interested in the former Leicester Tigers player, as do
Toulon.
In other
news from France, Perpignan back-rower Jérôme Le
Corvec has picked up a 40-day playing ban for
eye-gouging Jamie Cudmore during the Catalans' Top 14 defeat
to Clermont Auvergne on March 3.
The ban
- imposed by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby - falls way short
of the 23 week suspension handed to Stade Francais' Julien
Dupuy, let alone the 70-week ban slapped on Dupuy's
colleague David Attoub. Both of those punishments were
handed down by the ERC.
The
French champions - who initially expressed outrage after the
player had been cited - have confirmed that they will not
appeal the suspension, with Le Corvec now cleared to play
again on April 17, enabling him to take part in the final
two rounds of Top 14, as well as the championship play-offs.
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