Just
days after
securing promotion to Top 14
the needle has already begun, with Racing Metro 92 president
Jacky Lorenzetti taking a sideswipe at his Stade
Francais counterpart Max Guazzani.
"He
considers the [Stade Francais] shirt as a kind of tool for
merchandising. We believe it is the identity of the club,"
said Lorenzetti. "Do not touch the shirt - it displays the
club's colours," he added.
Lorenzetti also confirmed that Racing would continue to play
their home games at Colombes stadium next season - the
former home of the national team before the Parcs des
Princes - but that it would be extended to hold 14,000
spectators.
In the
meantime, plans continue for the building of an all-new
30,000 stadium which he hopes will be completed in either
2012 or 2013.
The
outspoken Lorenzetti also wasted no time laying in to Pierre
Yves Revol, the president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby
(LNR).
In
particular he is unhappy about the recently agreed salary
cap, due to be phased in over the next couple of seasons.
"This is
a failure in England. The real gauge is that wages should
not exceed 55% of the club's overall budget," he argued.
Lorenzetti further said that the current television contract
for Top 14 (€29.5 pa) should be "balanced" with that of
French football (€668 pa).
Stade
Toulousain president René
Bouscatel, meanwhile, has indicated that the defending Top
14 champions could play more of their home matches at the
Stade Municipal next season.
Stade
have sold out 11 of their 13 matches held at their usual
home ground of Stade Ernest Wallon this season - capacity
18,700 - and Bouscatel said he was now considering switching
more matches to the larger 35,000 capacity Stade Municipal.
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Top 14 Transfers
Perpignan's Nathan Hines, has incurred the wrath of
the club's supporters after snubbing the Catalans in
preference for joining up with the British an Irish Lions.
The
Lions depart for their South African tour before the end of
season Top 14 play-off semi-finals, leaving Hines to make a
tricky decision as the Catalans seek to end a 54-year wait
for their sixth Championship.
"I have
a torn heart but what can I do? If I am not in London on May
18 I will not be selected by the Lions," said the Scottish
lock.
"Last
year I was a substitute for Perpignan in the play-off
semi-final. Imagine if I were to refuse the Lions and the
same thing happened to me? No, that isn't possible.
Representing the Lions is the crème de la crème, the squad
of squads, the best players from four countries. It is
difficult to explain, it is something all British players
want to experience," he said.
"Some
fans don't understand the importance of the Lions for a guy
like me, but they want Perpignan to have the best chance of
winning the title. They said to me 'Why are you going? You
have a choice'. Others have said to me they were
disappointed but have wished me good luck anyway," added
Hines.
Meanwhile, club colleague Dan Carter has been urged
to take his time as he recovers from the ruptured Achilles
which terminated his season back in January.
"The
last thing we want to do is push him because that would be
the end of it," said All Blacks coach Graham Henry.
"He will
play club and representative rugby before international
play. There is no point in trying to push him. In his
position the stop, start an acceleration off the nark is
critical," added Henry.
The New
Zealand coach described Carter as being in "a hell of a good
space" and described himself as content with the players'
ongoing convalescence in France.
Elsewhere, injuries have curtailed the season for Clermont
Auvergne's Marius Joubert and Montauban's Miguel
Avramovic.
Joubert,
29, is programmed in for surgery on May 4 after picking up a
persistent groin injury against Bayonne on January 31. The
Springbok centre will now have to sit out the play-offs and
Clermont's attempts to end their Championship hoodoo after
nine out of nine final failures.
Argentine centre Avramovic, 27, sprained his left knee
against Brive at the weekend and will now be unavailable for
the final two games - away to Perpignan and Biarritz.
Dax's
Top 14 future may remain uncertain but it received a welcome
boost this week with confirmation that two of its players -
Yves Pedrosa and William Bonet - have signed contract
extensions. Former Brive player Pedrosa has signed a
one-year deal, while ex-Bourgoin player Bonet has extended
until 2012.
Scottish
international winger Sean Lamont may not be
following brother Rory across the
Channel after all, according the BBC. Sean
had been heavily linked with a proposed move to Brive, but
that deal has now apparently fallen through.
Jim
Mallinder, Lamont's club boss at Northampton Saints,
remains unsure where the 28-year-old will be plying his
trade next season. "We'll just have to wait and see," he
said.
Bourgoin captain Julien Frier is
confident his side can beat Worcester Warriors in Saturday's
European Challenge Cup semi-final after pulling off a
shock victory away to London Irish
in the previous round.
"The
result was a bit unexpected," he admitted of the London
Irish win, but said that victory had now given them great
confidence to win the tournament - and qualify for the
Heineken Cup.
"We
managed to pull off a great achievement - and an upset from
our opponents' point of view - while winning away from home
was also a huge plus that gave us a real boost. I suppose
you could say that we needed that considering the somewhat
hectic situation our club was in earlier in the season,"
said Frier.
The
34-year-old flanker was part of the Bourgoin team which won
the inaugural ECC 12 years ago and is hoping for a repeat
performance this season. Their Top 14 survival remains
undecided after a "complicated season", but a surprise
defensive bonus point gained during last weekend's narrow
13-6 defeat at Stade Toulousain has taken a step nearer
safety.
"Now
that the game against Toulouse is behind us we are fully in
'European mode' - and we even rested a lot of players to
allow our men to be fresh and ready for the European
Challenge Cup semi-final," he admitted.
France
internationals Morgan Parra and Yann David were among a host
of rested players, and Frier believes the combination of
that and home advantage will give them the edge on Saturday.
Bourgoin
beat Worcester 29-14 at Stade Pierre Rajon back in December
- during the pool matches - but lost 27-6 at Sixways the
following weekend.
"The
fact that we have already beaten them at home is no
guarantee that history will repeat itself - it is a knockout
game and it is totally different to a pool game," warned
Frier. "However, knowing their players and their style will
help us prepare and analyse their game - but in now way will
we take anything for granted."
Frier is
hoping that the omens are on Bourgoin's side as they beat
London Irish en route to their 1997 EEC triumph. And if they
reach the final this year he promised to savour the moment.
"Back in
1997, I was much younger and came on from the replacements
bench, so I didn't quite appreciate the achievement of being
in a final and experience the true joy of such a victory.
But now that is something that would mean a lot to me, to
the club and to our fans. We have such a great atmosphere at
Pierre Rajon and the fans are awesome, even though our
stadium has a fairly small capacity of just over 8,000," he
said.
Bourgoin
were given a boost this week when club president
René Flamand said
its parlous financial situation was
now under control, but ProD2 outfit
Bourg-en-Bresse are not so optimistic.
"We are
on the verge of explosion," warned president Philippe Duc.
"The estimates to June 30 show a deficit of €240,000," he
said. The DNACG has been informed and "documentation" sent
said Duc, adding: "There is a real emergency".
Bourg,
who face relegation to Federale 1, are the second ProD2 club
to be hit by financial crisis this season. The future of FC
Auch Gers still remains uncertain despite the club raising
€100,000 during a weekend 'rugbython'.
