Injured Perpignan
and All Black fly-half Dan Carter is to stay in
France until June as he continues to recuperate from his
ruptured Achilles.
The world’s highest profile player has
recently had his cast removed from his left foot and will
now continue his rehab under the supervision of Perpignan’s
medical team and All Blacks team doctor Deb Robinson.
Carter’s father, Neville, said progress
was being made, although it was a slow process. “I think
it’s a case of him just starting to put a wee bit of weight
on it, but it’s still miles away from being able to do
anything strenuous yet.”
Carter sustained his injury while
playing against Stade Francais in January, and it was
initially thought he would return to New Zealand to
convalesce. But the Catalans were keen to maximise the
player’s commercial draw having seen their audacious – and
lucrative – six-month contract cut short in terms of
Carter’s on-field contribution.
Over in Biarritz, meanwhile, the
build up continued to this weekend’s crucial Basque derby
with Bayonne – which could go a long way to deciding
the final Heineken Cup slot.
Biarritz hooker Benoit August played
down his club’s recent good form as he looked ahead to the
Bayonne clash. “It is said that we are in good momentum, but
that does not mean much. In rugby you must always start
again,” he told L’Equipe.
Bayonne won 14-12 in Biarritz back in
October, a defeat which sparked a run of six consecutive
league defeats for the team who were French champions in
2002, 2005 and 2006.
Top 14 Table
/ Top 14 Fixtures
At one point Les Biarrots had slipped
down to 10th place in the league but their recent
revival – five league wins in seven sparked by the
irrepressible form of Dimitri Yachvili and Imanol
Harinordoquy – now sees them just five points behind Bayonne
as they seek to try and secure Heineken Cup qualification.
Top level European rugby is imperative
for a club of Biarritz’s standing but defeat at Bayonne on
Saturday night would be a hammer blow to their ambitions.
They have started the week in positive
fashion, though, with confirmation they have signed Grenoble
number eight Raphael Lakafia. The highly rated
20-year-old is the son of France’s former javelin record
holder Jean-Paul Lakafia.
The club’s England flanker Magnus
Lund has also been in the press this week, admitting
that the ferocity of French club rugby took him by surprise
after his summer move from Sale Sharks.
Lund, speaking to the BBC, said: “Certainly there is
a difference in terms of personal discipline. When you’re
playing there seem to be a lot more cheap shots out here.”
He added: “In England everyone seems to
concentrate on getting their own job done and working for
the team, whereas here they do seem to take out their
personal vendettas a little more. There’s no question that
it’s a really tough game and they have got the mentality of
‘one in, all in’ if anything happens.”
In a wide-ranging interview he also
gave his backing to any England players moving to France –
such as Wasps trio James Haskell, Riki Flutey and Tom Palmer
- and said crossing the Channel should not be a barrier to
international selection.
“If guys are moving away and big teams
like Stade Francais are interested in them, it shows what
strength there is,” he said.
“If they’ve got players playing well in
England, then pick those players. But if there are guys like
Andy Goode at Brive, then he should get his shot,” said the
25-year-old flanker.
“If England want to do the best they
can they should pick the best players,” he stated.
Elsewhere in Top 14 more players have
extended their contracts with Stade Francais’
Guillaume Bousses, 27, signing on until 2011 and Castres
duo Luc Ducalcon, 25, and Cameron McIntyre, 27, agreeing to
two more years each.
And with the Heineken Cup
quarter-finals looming Stade Toulousain, who travel
to Wales to play Cardiff Blues, have re-registered utility
back Nicolas Bezy for the knockout stages.
Their opponents have added a trio of
youngsters with current Wales Under-20 captain Scott
Andrews, ex Under-20 captain Sam Warburton and Under-21 lock
James Down all coming into their squad.
The two sides are due to meet at the
Millennium Stadium on April 11.
On the injury front Stade Francais’
Laurent Sempere has been ruled out for three weeks after
coming off against Stade Toulousain on Sunday during the
club’s 15-11 defeat. Post-match examinations confirmed he
has an acromio-clavicular lesion.
Federale 1 club Dijon face
losing Tongan tighthead prop Semisi Telefoni, with London
Irish keen to take the player over to England, and the
Exiles are also thought to be in the running to sign
Gloucester fly-half Ryan Lamb, who has been courted by ProD2
leaders Racing Metro 92.
London Wasps are another Guinness
Premiership club seeking reinforcements and look set to
battle it out with Brive for the services of
Gloucester’s Italian prop Carlos Nieto, while Saracens’
Census Johnson is now said to be favouring a move to Top 14
– possibly joining Philippe Saint-Andre’s Toulon
revolution.
