Wales' record try-scorer Shane Williams has admitted he could follow club colleagues James Hook and Lee Byrne to France next season.

The 33-year-old is out of contract with the Ospreys at the end of the current campaign and the international winger is on the radar of several Top 14 clubs.

Moneyed Toulon made an offer to sign him last season but were rebuffed by the Ospreys as Williams was still under contract. Toulon then signed England winger Paul Sackey instead.

But Williams has failed to agree terms on a new deal with the Welsh region and his potential availability is being closely monitored across 'Le Channel'.

His departure would be another major blow for the Ospreys following the deals already agreed by Hook (to join Perpignan) and Byrne (to join Clermont). News of his stalled contract talks also comes just days after club and international colleague Alun Wyn-Jones admitted to considering French leave (possibly with Byrne at Clermont), while former Ospreys star Gavin Henson has already made the switch to Toulon.

And the Welsh exodus - primarily from Ospreys - could yet be further swelled by scrum-half Mike Phillips also moving to Top 14.

"I have been talking to the Ospreys and I want to stay, but I don't have a concrete offer from them at present," Williams told the Western Mail.

Williams, who scored twice in Wales' weekend win against Scotland, said all contract talks were presently on hold until the end of the RBS Six Nations. But he did add that the option of going to France was a very real one.

"I'll have to see what materializes but there is interest in me from France," he confirmed. "I don't want to say specifically where from," he added, "and that is something I may also have to consider."

Williams said he believed current club colleagues Hook and Byrne would both flourish in France, but remained non-committal about joining them in Top 14 next season.

"Whether I would end up following them out there, I genuinely don't know. I've always said I'm a home bird at heart. I've never left my valley and never really had any desire to.

"I think I've got two years left in me playing rugby though and the time will soon come when I have to make concrete plans about where I spent them," said the Welsh record try-scorer.

Byrne, meanwhile, has been giving his initial impressions of future club Clermont Auvergne after a whistle-stop tour of the defending French champions this week.

The Welsh full-back explained his decision to leave the Ospreys for Clermont in the summer, saying he was attracted by the idea of playing in "probably the best league in the world".

He added: "It was really the best choice for me. I looked at the history of the club, its players and the club's ambitions. I want to win trophies."

Byrne also said he had fond recollections of his previous playing experience at Clermont's Stade Marcel Michelin from last season's Heineken Cup clash against the Ospreys.

"The atmosphere was incredible," he recalled. "I've never experienced this at any other club I have played at until now. That made my decision earlier."

One transfer that has gone through, with immediate effect, is Rudi Coetzee's switch from Bourgoin to Perpignan.

The South African centre has been signed as a "medical joker" to cover the Catalans' increasingly depleted back line (due to injury). Perpignan, ironically, are set to play Bourgoin in Top 14 this weekend, but Coetzee will not be featuring - with the official reason given as lack of time to "acclimatize" to his new colleagues.

Coetzee, 29, becomes the fourth player to leave Bourgoin in recent weeks as the financially troubled club tries to lighten its salary load. Alex Tulou (Montpellier), Sylver Tian (SU Agen) and Nemani Nadolo (Exeter Chiefs) have already left Top 14's basement club under similar deals.

Finally, Toulon have been given a boost - if they needed one - with confirmation that Jonny Wilkinson has been released by England to play in Top 14 this weekend.

Toulon travel to Agen on Saturday and Wilkinson has been allowed to return to France following an agreement between the club and the England management. According to reports in France the England management struck a deal with Toulon to allow Wilkinson to return if he played less than 20 minutes during last weekend's thumping of Italy.

This weekend is a blank one in the RBS Six Nations but no French players have been allowed to return to their clubs, so Toulon's success in securing Wilkinson is something of a coup. It is understood the club made a special plea as Felipe Contepomi, their other first-half, is currently injured, along with recent signing Gavin Henson.

Wilkinson returned to train with Toulon on Monday and club coach Philippe Saint-André must be delighted by his "special relationship" with the RFU.

SU Agen
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Dewald Senekal *	30	Back row	Toulon	South African
Sylver Tian *	30	Full-back	Bourgoin	Ivory Coast
Hendro Scholtz *	31	Back row	Free State Cheetahs	South African
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-

 

Bayonne				Bayonne squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Rémy Martin	31	Back row	Montpellier	French
Jean-Baptiste Peyras	26	Winger	Montpellier	French
Arnaud Heguy	26	Hooker	Biarritz	French

Biarritz Olympique				Biarritz squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Eusebio Guinazu *	29	Prop	Stormers	Argentine
Arnaud Heguy	26	Hooker	Bayonne	French
Benoit Baby	27	Full-back	Clermont Auvergne	French
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Ayoola Erinle	30	Centre	-	English
Fabien Alexandre *	25	Back row	Grenoble	French

 

Bourgoin				Bourgoin squad page
In	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Alex Tulou *	23	Flanker	Montpellier	Samoan
Sylver Tian *	30	Full-back	SU Agen	Ivory Coast
Nemani Nadolo *	22	Winger	Exeter Chiefs	Fijian
Rudi Coetzee *	29	Centre	Perpignan	South African

Brive				Brive squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Gerhard Vosloo	31	Back row	Clermont Auvergne	South African
Alexis Palisson	23	Winger / Full-back	Toulon	French

 

Castres Olympique				Castres squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Josh Tatapu	24	Centre	Otago	Samoan
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Sébastien Tillous-Borde	25	Scrum-half	Toulon	French
Yoan Audrin	29	Centre	Montpellier	French
Benjamin Kayser	26	Hooker	Clermont Auvergne	French
Cameron McIntyre	29	Fly-half	-	New Zealand

Clermont Auvergne				Clermont squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Gerhard Vosloo	31	Back row	Brive	South African
Benjamin Kayser	26	Hooker	Castres	French
David Skrela	31	Fly-half	Stade Toulousain	French
Lee Byrne	30	Full-back	Ospreys	Welsh
Regan King	30	Centre	Llanelli Scarlets	New Zealand
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Agustin Creevy	25	Hooker	Montpellier	Argentine
Benoit Baby	27	Full-back	Biarritz	French

 

La Rochelle
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Greg Goosen *	27	Full-back	Racing-Métro 92	South African
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-

Montpellier				Montpellier squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
Rémy Martin	31	Back row	Bayonne	French
Jean-Baptiste Peyras	26	Winger	Bayonne	French
Alex Tulou *	23	Flanker	Bourgoin	Samoan
Yoan Audrin	29	Centre	Castres	French
Agustin Creevy	25	Hooker	Clermont Auvergne	Argentine
Lucas Amorosino	25	Full-back / Winger	Leicester Tigers	Argentine
Clément Marienval	25	Winger	Toulon	French
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-

Perpignan				Perpignan squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
James Hook	24	Fly-half / Centre	Ospreys	Welsh
Rudi Coetzee *	29	Centre	Bourgoin	South African
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-

Racing-Métro 92				Racing-Métro squad page
Players Signed	Age	Position	Previous club	Nationality
-	-	-	-	-
Out	Age	Position	Club	Nationality
Greg Goosen *	27	Full-back	La Rochelle	South African