Toulon's incoming director of rugby
Philippe Saint-Andre is hopeful that the prolonged courtship of Jonny
Wilkinson will be concluded by the end of April.
Saint-Andre has confirmed that
negotiations with the England fly-half remain ongoing, and that a deal could
be sealed if and when Toulon guarantee their Top 14 survival.
"I am trying to sign one or two good
high-profile players and Jonny Wilkinson is one of those," he said.
"In the next two or three weeks we will
know if he is coming," added Saint-Andre.
It is believed that one of the sticking
points is whether Toulon will still be in Top 14 next season, a scenario now
looking increasingly likely after their weekend win over Montauban (33-20)
lifted them eight points clear of the relegation zone.
Wilkinson, the international record
points scorer, met club owner Mourad Boudjellal in Toulon last month, and
watched the club's 29-32 home defeat by Perpignan.
Reports in the English press suggest
Boudjellal wants to unveil Wilkinson as Toulon's star signing when they play
their 'home' game against Stade Toulousain on April 18 - the match has been
switched to Marseille's Stade Velodrome to accommodate a sell-out crowd of
35,000 - but Toulon's survival is unlikely to be confirmed by then.
Elsewhere, James Haskell's agent
has rubbished rumours that the London Wasps flanker is set to snub Stade
Francais over fears for his international future.
It was widely reported in the British
press earlier this week that Haskell, 24, had got cold feet over his
proposed move to the Paris club and was now seeking to join Bath instead.
But his agent Anthony Noguera told
The Daily Telegraph that Haskell had no such plans and that his
international career would be unaffected by his move across the Channel.
"James will be available for England
duty as often as any player based in the Premiership," he said. "There has
been a lot of speculation about his future based on false assumptions.
"We have spoken to Rob Andrew [The
RFU's director of elite rugby] and show him the terms of James's contract
with Stade Francais. He [Haskell] will be going to Paris, not Bath," added
Noguera.
Fellow Top 14 outfit Biarritz
have also confirmed they will have another English international on the
books their season with news that Leicester's Ayoola Erinie will be
joining in the summer.
Midi Olympique reported that the
29-year-old former Wasps centre has signed a two-year deal with the French
club. The paper also said that Australian international Mark Gerrard,
26, has joined on a two-year contract.
In other news, Toulon's New
Zealand full-back Orene Ai'i has been ruled out for the rest of the
season.
Ai'i has not played since injuring his
knee against Bayonne on March 7, and is now set to miss the remainder of the
season following confirmation that he requires surgery.
Montpellier's French
international Louis Picamoles is also injured, and is expected to be
out of action for three weeks after in Saturday's 23-21 home defeat by
Castres.
Stade Francais' Australian coach
Ewen McKenzie has been singing the praises of rugby league convert Mark
Gasnier while on a visit home back to Sydney.
"He has extraordinary skills, more than
I thought," said McKenzie of the former St George Illawarra star.
Asked whether he would be good enough
to represent the Wallabies McKenzie replied: "It depends on where he is
living, doesn't it. If he's in Australia I think he'd be able to play Super
14 rugby - and if he plays Super 14 rugby then he is a good chance of
playing for Australia."
But McKenzie didn't rule out Gasnier
qualifying to represent France in the future either. "I think he is enjoying
not being in a goldfish bowl," said the Stade Francais coach. "He misses his
surfing, that is the thing he misses most."
