Top 14: Brive clear the decks as rebuilding process continues; ALFD issues drug warning

It seems that Brive – who recently signed England centre Riki Flutey – are clearing their decks for more big-name summer transfers.

The ambitious Limousin club is currently fifth in Top 14 and is being funded by the substantial financial resources of Daniel Derichebourg.

England World Cup winner Ben Cohen confirmed his departure earlier in the week, when he signed a two-year deal with Guinness Premiership side Sale Sharks. Others being allowed to depart – according to AFP - include Cohen’s fellow winger Norman Ligairi, England’s Ben Johnston and Wales’ Barry Davies.

Johnston has failed to nail down a regular starting slot this season but Davies has been in impressive form of late, with the Welsh full-back scoring tries on Brive’s last two games.

It is understood that Davies had sought a two-year extension but was disappointed to be only offered a new deal for one year.

Romania’s Alex Manta and Tonga’s Sukanaivalu Hufanga have also been told they can leave, while South African lock Johan Van Zyl has announced his retirement.

But the departures are likely to be balanced by another raft of arrivals, with Scotland international Sean Lamont thought to be on the verge of signing following a flying visit to meet club officials earlier in the week.

The prolonged rumoured courting of Ireland’s Geordan Murphy is also ongoing as the club seeks to add strength to its squad in preparation for an assault on the Heineken Cup next season – providing it qualifies.

Coaches Christophe Laussucq and Ugo Mola have both signed contract extensions, while Jean-Philippe Bonrepaux, Ireland’s Damian Browne and Antoine Claassen have also been offered new deals.

Toulon, inevitably, are also involved in another high-profile transfer, with Sale captain Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe set to follow his boss – Philippe Saint-Andre – to the Top 14 club.

The Argentine international has confirmed he will be leaving the Manchester club for France in the summer.

“It was a really hard decision to leave, but I have the opportunity to sample a different culture in France,” said Lobbe.

Sale’s director of rugby Kingsley Jones said the club had “done everything we possibly can to keep Juan at the club, but we can’t compete with the market in France where there is no salary cap”.

Elsewhere in Top 14 contract negotiations and renewals continue apace. Mont-de-Marsan’s Marc Giraud will join Montpellier next season, while Montauban’s 29-year-old Romanian prop Bogdan Balan has signed a contract extension until 2012.

Bayonne’s Nicolas Lafitte, meanwhile, has ended his season and is looking at a four to six month lay-off due to imminent back surgery.

The spectre of drug use by French sportsmen has also been in the news this week following results of a survey undertaken by ALFD, the country’s anti-doping agency.

It analyzed 138 hair samples from various French sportsmen – including athletes, footballers and rugby players – and found that 22 tests (16%) showed signs of having used the steroid DHEA - dehydroepiandrosterone.

ALFD chief Pierre Bordry described the results as “quite worrisome” but said individuals with abnormal results would not be sanctioned as it was the first time it had conducted hair tests – which are still not recognised by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA).

"We hope that those who are taking these products stop taking them, because it's very bad for their health," he said. "It's more important to tell them to stop taking them than to sanction the athletes."

Blood and urine tests have so far proved ineffective in testing for DHEA, unless they are conducted within 24-48 hours of administration.

Pierre Camou, president of the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR), said he was “not surprised” by the results, but insisted that rugby had stringent testing procedures in place to combat the threat of drug abuse. “There is an excellent commission for medical monitoring of all players in the Top 14,” he added.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) also announced that it was “fully convinced of the importance of research carried out by the AFLD and will get even closer to the AFLD and the FFR to consider ways of preventing strengthened”.

In a separate move Bordry also confirmed ALFD had taken a hair sample this week from seven-times Tour de France winner Lance Armstrong, who is currently training in France.