France
Les Bleus coach Phillipe Saint-Andre pulled a major surprise on Wednesday by leaving out tour captain Thierry Dusautoir.
There was however room in the starting line up for mercurial vetern flyhalf, Frederic Michalak.
Dusautoir, the 2011 player of the year underwent surgery to his left arm after tearing his bicep during this year’s French Top 14 competition and is still regaining full power.
Deon Fourie
DHL Stormers and WP player Deon Fourie has signed a 2 year deal with newly promoted French club Lyon.
Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith & Danie Rossouw at Toulon
Toulon’s South African contingent capped an unbelievably successful seven days by lifting the Bouclier de Brennus shield in Paris, after defeating Castres 18-10 in the Top 14 Final to go with their Heineken Cup title.
Former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was given the perfect send-off by Bakkies Botha, Juan Smith, Craig Burden and Bryan Habana, who all started the final, with Danie Rossouw and Michael Claassens appearing off the bench.
The match was Rossouw’s last before retirement and brings down the curtain on a truly glorious career in which he was won every trophy available to him, from league titles in Japan, France and Super Rugby to two Heineken Cups and of course the Rugby World Cup and old Tri-Nations.
Jonny Wilkinson for Toulon in the 2014 Top 14 Final against Castres, his last game before retirement.
Jonny Wilkinson ended his career by helping Toulon to the French title with victory over Castres in Paris.
The former England fly-half, 35, kicked all but three of his side’s points in an 18-10 victory in the Top 14 final.
His display included four penalty kicks and a drop goal reminiscent of his winning kick against Australia to win England the World Cup in 2003.
Today is almost Groundhog Day in France as Toulon once again take on Castres in the Top 14 final, but this year there is one crucial difference. Jonny Wilkinson, as the rugby world and his wife is well aware, will hang up his boots on Saturday evening having played the final 80 minutes in his glittering career. Worryingly for Castres, it would be hard to imagine that Wilkinson’s Toulon team-mates will allow him to sign off with an anti-climax.
It’s not just Wilkinson that Toulon will be aiming to win for – the whole team have a score to settle with their opponents. Castres upset the applecart last season by defeating Toulon 19-14 in the final to claim their first league title in 20 years. Having become the first French club to secure back-to-back Heineken Cups last weekend, Toulon are now aiming to secure a league and cup double that will send their already devoted fans into absolute pandemonium.
England’s Rugby World Cup hero Jonny Wilkinson announced on Monday that he will retire at the end of the season after Toulon’s Heineken Cup and French Top 14 finals.
“I would like to take this opportunity to formally announce my retirement from playing rugby,” the 34-year-old said in a statement on his club’s website.
“I have an enormous number of people to thank for their support from all around the world but especially here in France and in England,” Wilkinson said.
Defending champions Castres will play European champions Toulon in a repeat of the 2013 French championship Final, after they edged Montpellier 22-19 after extra-time in an engrossing encounter in Lille on Saturday.
For Castres it was the third successive time they had beaten Fabien Galthie’s Montpellier in the play-offs, after their opponents had got the better of them on their way to the Final in 2011.
While Castres’ South African scrumhalf Rory Kockott scored 14 of their points, it was 35-year-old Fijian centre Seremaia Bai who dropped a rare goal on the stroke of half-time of extra-time that made the difference in the end.
Hooker Benjamin Kayser is to miss France’s three-test tour of Australia in June because of a neck injury, his club Clermont said on Wednesday.
Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen is on the verge of announcing a move to France at the end of the current Vodacom Super Rugby season.
Goosen has been eyeing a move since early in the season, and is likely to sign for French club Racing Metro in the next few days, leaving his Toyota Cheetahs side with a massive dilemma.
Rory Kockott was once again the star for Castres as the defending champions ended Clermont’s 77-game unbeaten run on home soil in a shock result in Saturday’s Top 14 play-off.
Away winners in France have been rarities all season, but there were upsets in both the weekend’s play-offs.
Corey Flynn has signed a two year contract with Toulouse in France starting after the current Crusaders season.
This announcement comes on the same day as the All Blacks training squad was released.
On Friday night Toulouse locked horns against Racing Metro in the Top 14 playoffs for a much-anticipated game at the Stade Ernest-Wallon.
Nineteen minutes in, with Racing Metro 6-3 up, Toulouse’s centre Florian Fritz was tackled and as a result made contact with the onrushing knee of Racing Metro’s Francois Van Der Merwe.
It was a sickening blow, with the results clearly shown on television, as Fritz had blood pouring down his face and splattered on his arm. As play stopped and Toulouse’s medics tended to Fritz, it was clear he was visibly dazed. He had to be escorted off the pitch and stumbled onto the ground when he decided to walk off instead of being carried off on a stretcher.
Former Springbok loose forward Pedrie Wannenburg has moved from French club Castres to fellow Top 14 side Oyonnax.
Veteran Toulon flyhalf Frederic Michalak has been preferred to Montpellier’s Francois Trinh-Duc in France coach Philippe Saint-Andre’s squad to tour Australia in June.
Saint-Andre named a 31-man squad on Wednesday and once again Trinh-Duc finds himself out in the cold, with Michalak recalled as back up for first-choice flyhalf Remi Tales.
Although first choice under Saint-Andre’s predecessor Marc Lievremont, Trinh-Duc has found himself eased out of international reckoning under the new coach.
France will travel to Australia eyeing a successful three-test tour ahead of next year’s World Cup, coach Phillippe Saint-Andre said Tuesday.
Les Bleus could only finish fourth in this year’s Six Nations, with three victories in their five matches, but Saint-Andre was quick to proclaim his team as potential World Cup winners on English soil in 2015.
The first step in that mission was a testing tour of Australia.
A late try by Oyonnax’s Jonathan Bousquet gave his side a losing bonus point that kept them in the French Top 14 and sent Perpignan down for the first time in 103 years.
With Bayonne winning comfortably 23-13 against champions Castres it came down to a straight fight between Perpignan and Oyonnax for survival.
Iconic former French international Sebastien Chabal, popularly known as the “Caveman”, has announced Monday that he will retire from the sport next weekend.
World Cup winning Springbok Danie Rossouw has announced that he will retire from professional rugby at the end of the European season.
The versatile forward, who is equally at home at lock, flank or eighthman, will finish the season at RC Toulon before hanging up his boots.
French club rugby’s governing body, the LNR (Ligue Nationale de Rugby) has announced radical new plans (entitled the ‘New Deal’, showcasing France’s bizarre love of anglicised naming devices) designed to improve the Top 14, and by proxy the French international team, from the start of next season.
Versatile Stormers forward Deon Fourie could further his career at French club Lyon.
Holders Toulon look set to be able to call on influential flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson and hooker Craig Burden for the European Cup semifinal against Munster.
The pair, out injured for the past two weeks, have reported fit and both turned out for training on Monday.
New Zealand flyhalf Stephen Brett will join second division leaders Lyon on a two year deal from Bayonne next season.
The 28-year-old, who has been capped by the All Blacks at Under-21 level, signed with Bayonne one year ago and has made 20 Top 14 appearances, kicking 15 penalties and a conversion.
Australia’s 2015 World Cup preparations will be well tested on their end-of-season European tour in November with coach Ewen McKenzie trying to replicate their potential campaign for the Webb Ellis trophy as much as possible.
McKenzie’s side will play five matches on five successive weekends, which includes clashes against World Cup Pool A opponents England and Wales.
Springbok and Toulon lock Bakkies Botha has tweeted an X-ray showing nine steel pins inserted into a plate in his broken arm.
The Springbok and Toulon lock successfully underwent an operation to have a plate inserted in his arm after he broke it in Toulon’s 23-10 Top 14 defeat against Brive.
Botha is expected be out for two-and-a-half months, and he has indicated that his rehabilitation is on track.
South African star Bryan Habana scored a try on his return to action after a three-month absence because of a hamstring injury as Toulon beat Bordeaux-Begles 22-20 in a thrilling Top 14 encounter on Saturday.
The 30-year-old – a World Cup winner in 2007 – touched down in the 66th minute as Toulon came from 20-9 down to prevail, largely thanks to 14 points from Frederic Michalak.
The Cheetahs are fighting tooth and nail to retain the services of Springbok flyhalf Johan Goosen, but know they are in a tough tug-o’-war.
Cheetahs backline coach Hawies Fourie, speaking to this website during the team’s bye week, admitted they are aware of reports that Goosen has dashed off to France for talks about his future.
Springbok and Cheetahs flyhalf Johan Goosen has secretly flown to France to explore possible future career opportunities, the Volksblad website reports.
The Cheetahs have a bye weekend in Super Rugby which enabled the 21-year-old to head abroad.
The long-running debate over the future of the European Cup could be resolved by Thursday.
A new competition will involve teams from all of the Six Nations’ countries and will run alongside a challenge cup and a developmental tournament.
South African rugby fans need not worry about securing match tickets for Springbok matches at Rugby World Cup 2015 in England following the establishment of SA Rugby Travel, it was announced on Tuesday.
The new company – a joint venture between the South African Rugby Union and Tourvest Destination Management – has secured thousands of tickets for likely Springbok matches and tailored packages to suit a wide range of fans’ pockets and experience choices.
A new European Cup accord will be signed this week after nearly two years of fraught negotiations and stand-offs. The six unions involved in the tournament, together with officials from competing sides in England, France and Wales, met in Paris on Monday to finalise the details.
It was hoped the stakeholders would be able to sign the heads of agreement at the meeting but the translation of the document into Italian was completed only over the weekend and their rugby federation said it had not had time to fully scrutinise it.
France (13) 20 / 22 (12) Ireland (Final Score)
France and Ireland did battle in the Six Nations tournament at
Stade de France, Paris at 19:00 SA Time (18:00 French Time, 17:00 GMT).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 5 & SH5 on TV in SA.
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Brian O’Driscoll wants the emotion of his final Test to propel Ireland to the Six Nations title in Paris on Saturday.
Ireland’s points difference of 81 is likely to mean any win over France will seal their first title since 2009, but England and France could deny them.
Wales, France, Ireland, England, Scotland and Italy have named thie teams for the weekend’s Six Nations action.
Wales named 6 changes in their side for the clash against Scotland.
France made 4 changes to their side, including bringing back Gael Fickou, for their clash against Ireland on the weekend.
Ireland made just 1 change to their side to face France.
England made no changes to their starting side and has made only 1 change on the bench, bringing back Manusamoa Tuilagi in the place of Alex Goode, for their clash with Italy in Rome.
After initially only naming the forwards and sweating over the composition of his backline, Scotland coach, Scott Johnson, has named his backline, with Edinburgh winger Dougie Fife winning his first cap.
Italy coach, Jacques Brunel, has made 3 changes to the Italy side, to face England, with Sergio Parisse returning to the fold and leading the team.
Scotland (14) 17 / 19 (9) France (Final Score)
Scotland and France did battle in the Six Nations tournament at
Murrayfield, Edinburgh at 19:00 SA Time (17:00 GMT, 18:00 French Time).
This was the live match discussion Article.
The match was broadcast LIVE on SuperSport 7 on TV in SA.
*******************
France manager Philippe Saint-Andre has made seven changes to the team that put in a dismal display against Wales as Les Bleus seek to put their Six Nations challenge back on track when they face Scotland at Murrayfield on Saturday.
Saint-Andre has remained loyal to Jules Plisson at flyhalf for the fourth match in a row, pairing the Stade Français player with Maxime Machenaud and relegating Jean-Marc Doussain to the bench.