The 2010/11 league
fixtures will be unveiled by the LNR on Thursday and rumour
has it that they want to begin the new season with a
headline grabbing match, perhaps Toulon against new
champions Clermont Auvergne.
What is certain is the
new season will begin on Friday August 13th - unlucky for
some - with the first two rounds of matches scheduled to be
played in the evening to try and protect players against the
heat.
Most Top 14 teams are
now back in pre-season training with the current emphasis on
fitness as they build towards to the new league campaign. A
number of friendlies have also now been confirmed (see
below).
Top 14 Transfers 2010/11
One team notable by its
absence will be Montauban, now preparing for life in French
rugby's amateur ranks, although many of last season's squad
have now found new employment with other sides in Top 14 and
ProD2.
Scrum-half Julien Audy
is one such player, with the feisty number nine now
preparing for his debut season with Bayonne - who were
ironically spared relegation due to Montauban's financial
meltdown.
Unsurprisingly, Audy
has described his new environs as "more professional" than
Montauban's, and the scrum-half is still clearly bitter
about how events unfolded at the end of last season.
"I'm sad because it is
the club I love, the one which allowed to begin my
professional career and play my first Heineken Cup game two
years ago. It was a good group," said Audy. The
international aspirant described the club's financial crisis
as "nonsense" and claimed inactivity proved their eventual
downfall as the impending bankruptcy was highlighted as
early as January 2010.
"It's really horrible," lamented Audy. "I am fortunate to be
with a new club which is ambitious but many of the
(Montauban) players are unemployed and I know that I am
privileged. But I've grown up a lot during those difficult
months at Montauban," he added.
Audy's former team-mate
Mirko Lozupone became the latest Montauban player to find a
new club after signing for Grenoble this week. The
25-year-old Italian hooker has agreed a two-year deal with
the ProD2 side, where he will join former club colleague
Rida Jahouer.
Fellow ProD2 outfit Pau
have also announced a new signing, with former Stade
Toulousain trainee Laurent Thuery (22) agreeing a one-year
contract, while FC Auch Gers have snapped up 24-year-old
lock Antony Etchegaray from Mont-de-Marsan.
ProD2 Transfers 2010/11
Carcassonne, meanwhile,
are the new Fédérale 1 champions after beating Saint-Etienne
16-3 in the Jean Prat Trophy final in Chateaurenard on
Sunday. Both sides will play in ProD2 next season, although
Carcassonne will be without Nicolas Nadau (35) and Franck
Tournaire (37), who both announced their retirement after
Sunday's victory.
Pre-Season
friendlies:
July 23
Bourgoin v Montpellier
July 24
Aurillac v Brive (Jean Alric, 19.30)
July 25
La Rochelle v Grenoble (Angouleme)
July 29
Lyon OU v Stade Francais (Tignes)
July 30
La Rochelle v Stade Toulousain (Mazamet)
SU Agen v Brive (Sainte-Foy la Grande, 18.30)
Bourgoin v Clermont Auvergne
Toulon v Racing-Métro 92
August 3
Bourgoin v Sale Sharks
August 5
Toulon v Stade Francais
August 6
Biarritz Olympic v La Rochelle (Aguiléra)
Brive v Leicester Tigers (Stade Amédée Domenech, 20.00)
Grenoble v Bourgoin
Perpignan v Racing-Métro 92
