Top 14:
ARU to
tempt Giteau with captaincy; Toulouse without Skrela and
Elissalde
02 December
2008
The
‘will he/won’t he?’ Matt Giteau story continues to develop
by the day, if not the hour, with the latest developments
including the reported offer of the national captaincy in an
effort to keep him in Australia.
The
Wallaby fly-half has admitted to weighing up a staggering
financial offer from Top 14 club Bayonne (see
report), but news reports Down Under claim the
Australian Rugby Union is unwilling to release from his
contract and will offer the captaincy as a sweetener for
staying.
In
addition to being contracted to ARU until 2011, Giteau also
has a year left of his club contract with the Western Force
still to run.
It now
appears that should Giteau simply walk out on that he could
be hauled before the International Rugby Board, together
with the club he moves to.
That
could mean a more low profile to fellow Aussie out fit the
ACT Brumbies, who are also thought to be courting the
Wallaby playmaker.
Meanwhile, former Australia coach Eddie Jones – now with
English club Saracens – has rubbished the reported size of
the Bayonne offer, reputed to be nearly $10m (Aus) for four
years.
“It is
not that much mate, they have their figures wrong. There
must be something wrong with those conversion charts in
Australia,” he told Sydney radio station 2KY.
“My
understanding is it is about $1.2m a year over three years,
so it is about $3.6m. That is good money, but nothing like
what they are talking about,” he added.
Bayonne, who have denied offering
Giteau a contract, confirmed today they are seeking to move
their May 9 clash with Toulouse to Bordeaux FC’s
Chaban-Delmas stadium.
Sebastien Chabal is another
high-profile recruit currently being courted by French
clubs.
The
French international has stated his intent to leave English
club Sale at the end of the season and has expressed a
desire to play in Paris, possibly with Racing Metro ’92 if
they achieve promotion to Top 14.
But
reports in France this week have also linked him with
Montpellier.
No day would be complete without a Toulon
story and it appears that today’s is another frank
assessment from millionaire president Mourad Boudjellal, who
remains deeply unhappy with his team’s ongoing struggle
against relegation.
The
outspoken president has questioned Tana Umaga’s transfer
dealings and said he wished he had taken a more active role
in player recruitment back in the off-season.
He
didn’t name names, surprisingly, but said: “I should have
gone into battle more in the summer. I let some good players
go by. I was less of a presence. With the budget we had, we
have not made a team that is competitive enough.”
Toulon
are currently hovering just about the drop zone following
Saturday’s home defeat to Dax, a performance that has been
widely criticised in the French press.
Indeed,
even Ross Skeate, one of Toulon’s most recent recruits,
lamented the quality of his own team’s showing.
The
South African, writing on www.rossskeate.com, described the
match as an “anticlimax” after recent improved showings, but
said the team had only itself to blame for the result.
“What
adds to the hurt is how badly specific facets of the game
went. Of course it was a rainy, muddy, terrible day, but we
should have played to these conditions.
“For wet
weather we needed to consolidate our possession – first
phase of course being the key – and kick for territory,
using aggressive defence to camp in the opposition half. But
unfortunately it was Dax that incorporated the better
tactics,” he admitted.
“Our
first phase wasn’t great. That’s probably the main source of
the pain. Our scrumpiece functioned well, but our lineout
did not. Losing more than one lineout a game is too much for
me, and missing out on several gives me sleepless nights,”
said the tall second row.
Toulon
are awaiting the arrival of Skeate’s fellow countryman Jake
White this week as the former Springbok coach prepares to
start a three-week ‘consultancy’ role at the club.
During
that time Toulon will only have one opponent as they are due
to play Montpellier home and away over consecutive weekends
in the European Challenge Cup. They then follow up with a
Top 14 match against? You guessed it, Montpellier again.
But it
looks like Montpellier’s Irish full-back Mark McHugh could
miss all three matches after suffering from an inflamed
adductor that could put him out for 15 days.
European
rugby will dominate the next fortnight but there was bad
news for Top 14 leaders Toulouse as they prepare to
take on the Newport Gwent Dragons in the Heineken Cup.
A torn
thigh muscle has ruled out international fly-half David
Skrela for a month and they will also be without
Jean-Baptiste Elissalde, who has a broken finger.
For most
clubs that could be a mortal blow but such is Toulouse’s
strength in depth they will still be able to pair up former
All Black scrum half Byron Kelleher with fly-half Freddie
Michalak.
Guy
Noves’ charges were in irresistible form as they dispatched
Bayonne at the weekend but there will be no resting on their
laurels, with All Black forwards coach Mike Cron taking two
training sessions at the club this week.
They
have also confirmed that former Brive winger Yves Donguy has
signed a new contract extending his stay at the club by a
further three years, while 29-year-old international prop
has signed on for four more years.
Stade
Francais are due to take on
Harlequins at the Stade de France this weekend and it looks
like be a sell-out crowd with only 3,000 tickets still
unsold.
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