Top 14: Sebastien Chabal set to return
23
October 2008
 French
man-mountain Sebastien Chabal looks set for a return to Top
14 next season according to Phillipe Saint-Andre, his
current coach at English Guinness Premiership side Sale.
The
talismanic forward, who left Bourgoin for Sale in 2004, has
been told he is free to leave in the summer after
Saint-Andre had a heart-to-heart with the 30-year-old.
It
appears that while Chabal is more than happy to remain in
Manchester his family is less keen, leaving the French
international to shuttle back and forth across the channel
each week.
“I feel good there [at Sale] but there are personal reasons
which mean I could return to France,” Chabal told L’Equipe
this week.
Despite
admitting he wanted to stay Chabal, who turned down an offer
to join Toulon in the summer, confirmed that family had to
be put first.
“My wife
and my kids live in England. They haven’t moved away. But my
eldest is studying in France and it is true that my wife,
who has also stayed in France with the little one, hasn’t
come back since the end of the summer holidays.
“At the
moment I am coming and going and it is weighing on me. If I
have a family it is to live with them, so that is bothering
me,” he said.
There is
no doubt that being back in France would also help Chabal
add to his 30 international caps, but he said it was
Saint-Andre’s idea to leave rather than his own.
“I
wouldn’t have wanted to speak about it so early in the
season but it was Phillipe who brought up the subject.
“He said
‘You can’t continue like this, you could return to France
next season’. It was just an idea thrown out there by
Philippe,” confirmed Chabal.
Saint-Andre admitted it would be a loss to
the team but said he couldn’t allow the current situation to
continue.
“I had
an honest and frank discussion with Seb some days ago. There
is no problem with him on a sporting level, it’s a question
of problems outside the game, an estrangement from his
family which is weighting too heavily on him,” said Sale’s
director of rugby.
“He will
finish the season with us and he will leave. We can’t keep a
player against his wish and stop him from being happy.”
Chabal’s
availability is sure to spark a scramble for his signature
with the player enjoying cult status due to his distinctive
looks and wholehearted approach to the game.
Meanwhile, Stade Francais’ Australian coach Ewen McKenzie
has admitted that more rugby league stars from his homeland
could be heading to France next season.
The
former Warratahs coach signed Mark Gasnier in the summer and
with fellow NRL converts Sonny ‘Bill’ Williams and Craig
Gower also in Top 14 it seems the attraction of earning
mega-euros has not been lost on those back in Australia.
“Since
I’ve been here I’ve had enquiries from lots of people –
league, union, Test players,” McKenzie told Australia’s
Daily Telegraph.
“It’s
not even as much about rugby chasing league. It’s more about
rugby league managers offering their players to rugby union.
“How do
people in France know about their players? It’s not like we
are sitting here watching games of rugby league. They know
because the managers send you a list of names and then they
send you a video,” admitted McKenzie.
“I
think the exchange rate is probably the biggest worry for
Australian rugby at the moment. The pound and the euro are
very strong against the Australian dollar at the moment.
It’s gone up significantly even since I’ve been here in the
last three months.
“That’s
why it is attractive. You can make some serious money and
then I guess you can go home and convert it back – giving
you the best of both worlds,” he said.
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