Brits abroad

[francoisfou]

Round 9 of the Top takes place this weekend, and their are some notable absentees:

Toulon v Pau - For Toulon Dave Ribbans 4 and Ben White 21. For Pau Dan Robson 9 and Joe Simmonds 22
Bayonne v Montpellier - Harry Williams 23 for Montpellier and Sam Simmonds either injured, rested or dropped
Clermont v Racing - Neither Arundell nor Wade in the Racing team
La Rochelle v Perpignan - Jack Nowell 14 for LR and Ali Crossdale 11 for Perpignan
Bordeaux/Bègles v Oyonnax - Rory Sutherland 17 for Oyonnax

Stade Français v Toulouse on Sunday evening and the sides have yet to be announced

[francoisfou]

There's only one Brit playing in this evening's Stade Français v Toulouse game this evening - Joe Marchant at 13 for SF.
Jack Willis isn't available yet after his injury at the World Cup, and for the moment I don't know when he'll be back training.

[francoisfou]

Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph on the thoughts of René Bouscatel, the President of the Ligue National de Rugby, of English players crossing the channel to play in the Top14.
I hope that the blazers in the RFU read this article carefully and then come up with a plan to ensure that the top tier of English club rugby will once again be able to compete at the highest level.

Top 14 chief: 'English players flooding to France is bad for rugby'
René Bouscatel conceded that the influx of English talent is good news for clubs now but questions its long-term value to the French game

Charles Richardson,
RUGBY REPORTER
4 December 2023 • 5:00pm

The roll-call of England internationals choosing to turn their backs on the Premiership and cross the Channel lengthens by the week. Of those who were part of Steve Borthwick’s squad at the World Cup, Henry Arundell, Jack Willis, Joe Marchant and David Ribbans have all chosen to plant their flags with Top 14 clubs this season. Lewis Ludlam, Northampton’s club captain, will join Ribbans in Toulon next season, with others rumoured to be joining him.

Outside of Borthwick’s squad, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds, Dan Robson and Harry Williams are fellow internationals who departed the English system last season to embark on a sojourn in France.

On the face of it, the allure of the Top 14 – and, even, the ProD2 – is a feather in the cap of the French system. René Bouscatel, the president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (the governing body of France’s first and second tier) shares that viewpoint - to an extent. Bouscatel, who spent 25 years as president of Toulouse, is not quite as convinced that the benefits of an influx of English players are as explicit as they might seem for the wider sport.

“The fact that the English clubs have experienced difficulties, with quite a lot of players coming to France, is at the same time good news for the clubs that are signing them, but I’m not sure it’s good news for rugby in general,” Bouscatel says.

“We have both experienced highs and lows. England got ahead of us at the dawn of professionalism but now they’re facing challenges - and I think it’s damaging to take advantage of these difficulties by bringing lots of English players to France.

“It’s good news for the clubs who receive foreign players, including the English. It’s good news for the attractivity of our leagues, but it’s not necessarily good news for rugby long term in general.

“At a high-performance level, competition is vital. You need opposition teams who are at a similar level. I take no pleasure in the plight of English clubs - nor other countries.

“If some English players came to France and some French players went to England that would be great. I’d be happy about that, as it would enrich both leagues. It shouldn’t be too massive, though, as it would weaken one country or the other. We need to strike a balance.”

Despite the disappointing quarter-final exit from their own World Cup, rugby in France continues to boom. Rather than the abrupt exit dampening spirits, the hosting of the tournament has seen unprecedented audience figures for domestic rugby across the Channel. There has been a 10 per cent rise in the average television audience for Top 14 and Pro D2 rugby - which is broadcast by subscription-only Canal+ - and the play-off semi-finals, to be held over one weekend in Bordeaux in June 2024, sold out in four days. Société Générale and GMF, two long-standing sponsors, have renewed their partnerships and there are three more to come.

But, Bouscatel stresses, the advice to his English counterparts is simple: it is not all about money. Keeping the competition vibrant - six Top 14 clubs qualify for the end-of-season play-offs, unlike four in the Premiership - is vital.

“At the beginning, English rugby was based on millionaires, guys with a lot of money who thought they were always right because they had a lot of money,” he says. “Not all of them were like that - but a lot.

“Bath is a good example. They are supposed to have been building a stadium for the past 25 years. I have been there countless times, and they show me the plans every time, but I haven’t seen it. I always have to take my umbrella there - it rains a lot. I mean this in the nicest way possible, as I’m a friend of Bruce [Craig], but they’re dreamers there.

“The English are kings of marketing! But if you want to sell, it needs a good product. We have built a product. Two successive European champions. Our league is attractive. When I was a young president, there was one club - mine, Toulouse - which was better than the rest. We won four titles in a row, never against the same finalist. Today, the champions don’t tend to follow on, and in the Top 14, on the last day of the championship last season, there were 10 clubs who could have finished in the top six to potentially be crowned champions of France.

“I think, what has been corrosive within the English game was that the economical product was prioritised over the sport. In France, we prioritised the sport - building our product, our competition - and from the success of that, we generated an economical benefit. Not the other way round. At one time, I was president of Toulouse and we lost by 70 points against Wasps in the Heineken Cup. We had to change.”

Others followed suit and now France, domestically, blazes a trail

[Banquo]

Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph on the thoughts of René Bouscatel, the President of the Ligue National de Rugby, of English players crossing the channel to play in the Top14.
I hope that the blazers in the RFU read this article carefully and then come up with a plan to ensure that the top tier of English club rugby will once again be able to compete at the highest level.

Top 14 chief: 'English players flooding to France is bad for rugby'
René Bouscatel conceded that the influx of English talent is good news for clubs now but questions its long-term value to the French game

Charles Richardson,
RUGBY REPORTER
4 December 2023 • 5:00pm

The roll-call of England internationals choosing to turn their backs on the Premiership and cross the Channel lengthens by the week. Of those who were part of Steve Borthwick’s squad at the World Cup, Henry Arundell, Jack Willis, Joe Marchant and David Ribbans have all chosen to plant their flags with Top 14 clubs this season. Lewis Ludlam, Northampton’s club captain, will join Ribbans in Toulon next season, with others rumoured to be joining him.

Outside of Borthwick’s squad, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds, Dan Robson and Harry Williams are fellow internationals who departed the English system last season to embark on a sojourn in France.

On the face of it, the allure of the Top 14 – and, even, the ProD2 – is a feather in the cap of the French system. René Bouscatel, the president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (the governing body of France’s first and second tier) shares that viewpoint - to an extent. Bouscatel, who spent 25 years as president of Toulouse, is not quite as convinced that the benefits of an influx of English players are as explicit as they might seem for the wider sport.

“The fact that the English clubs have experienced difficulties, with quite a lot of players coming to France, is at the same time good news for the clubs that are signing them, but I’m not sure it’s good news for rugby in general,” Bouscatel says.

“We have both experienced highs and lows. England got ahead of us at the dawn of professionalism but now they’re facing challenges - and I think it’s damaging to take advantage of these difficulties by bringing lots of English players to France.

“It’s good news for the clubs who receive foreign players, including the English. It’s good news for the attractivity of our leagues, but it’s not necessarily good news for rugby long term in general.

“At a high-performance level, competition is vital. You need opposition teams who are at a similar level. I take no pleasure in the plight of English clubs - nor other countries.

“If some English players came to France and some French players went to England that would be great. I’d be happy about that, as it would enrich both leagues. It shouldn’t be too massive, though, as it would weaken one country or the other. We need to strike a balance.”

Despite the disappointing quarter-final exit from their own World Cup, rugby in France continues to boom. Rather than the abrupt exit dampening spirits, the hosting of the tournament has seen unprecedented audience figures for domestic rugby across the Channel. There has been a 10 per cent rise in the average television audience for Top 14 and Pro D2 rugby - which is broadcast by subscription-only Canal+ - and the play-off semi-finals, to be held over one weekend in Bordeaux in June 2024, sold out in four days. Société Générale and GMF, two long-standing sponsors, have renewed their partnerships and there are three more to come.

But, Bouscatel stresses, the advice to his English counterparts is simple: it is not all about money. Keeping the competition vibrant - six Top 14 clubs qualify for the end-of-season play-offs, unlike four in the Premiership - is vital.

“At the beginning, English rugby was based on millionaires, guys with a lot of money who thought they were always right because they had a lot of money,” he says. “Not all of them were like that - but a lot.

“Bath is a good example. They are supposed to have been building a stadium for the past 25 years. I have been there countless times, and they show me the plans every time, but I haven’t seen it. I always have to take my umbrella there - it rains a lot. I mean this in the nicest way possible, as I’m a friend of Bruce [Craig], but they’re dreamers there.

“The English are kings of marketing! But if you want to sell, it needs a good product. We have built a product. Two successive European champions. Our league is attractive. When I was a young president, there was one club - mine, Toulouse - which was better than the rest. We won four titles in a row, never against the same finalist. Today, the champions don’t tend to follow on, and in the Top 14, on the last day of the championship last season, there were 10 clubs who could have finished in the top six to potentially be crowned champions of France.

“I think, what has been corrosive within the English game was that the economical product was prioritised over the sport. In France, we prioritised the sport - building our product, our competition - and from the success of that, we generated an economical benefit. Not the other way round. At one time, I was president of Toulouse and we lost by 70 points against Wasps in the Heineken Cup. We had to change.”

Others followed suit and now France, domestically, blazes a trail

well its a load of bollox, they've built a great product on the back of shed loads of money from private investors and municipal funding (and they have done a better job in selling TV rights)- Rugby is embedded in their (and many) communities in a totally different way to ours. Admittedly their average attendances are higher, but that's because they started with big ones in the first place. To call on the RFU to somehow magic that cash up is naive and in any case they have no real control over the top tier of English Rugby- its also true that they have no clue about strategy either, but that's not the 'blazers' (who ironically have been holding the useless board to account-ish), its the RFU executive who aren't interested in anything bar Prem and England men and women.

[francoisfou]

Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph on the thoughts of René Bouscatel, the President of the Ligue National de Rugby, of English players crossing the channel to play in the Top14.
I hope that the blazers in the RFU read this article carefully and then come up with a plan to ensure that the top tier of English club rugby will once again be able to compete at the highest level.

Top 14 chief: 'English players flooding to France is bad for rugby'
René Bouscatel conceded that the influx of English talent is good news for clubs now but questions its long-term value to the French game

Charles Richardson,
RUGBY REPORTER
4 December 2023 • 5:00pm

The roll-call of England internationals choosing to turn their backs on the Premiership and cross the Channel lengthens by the week. Of those who were part of Steve Borthwick’s squad at the World Cup, Henry Arundell, Jack Willis, Joe Marchant and David Ribbans have all chosen to plant their flags with Top 14 clubs this season. Lewis Ludlam, Northampton’s club captain, will join Ribbans in Toulon next season, with others rumoured to be joining him.

Outside of Borthwick’s squad, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds, Dan Robson and Harry Williams are fellow internationals who departed the English system last season to embark on a sojourn in France.

On the face of it, the allure of the Top 14 – and, even, the ProD2 – is a feather in the cap of the French system. René Bouscatel, the president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (the governing body of France’s first and second tier) shares that viewpoint - to an extent. Bouscatel, who spent 25 years as president of Toulouse, is not quite as convinced that the benefits of an influx of English players are as explicit as they might seem for the wider sport.

“The fact that the English clubs have experienced difficulties, with quite a lot of players coming to France, is at the same time good news for the clubs that are signing them, but I’m not sure it’s good news for rugby in general,” Bouscatel says.

“We have both experienced highs and lows. England got ahead of us at the dawn of professionalism but now they’re facing challenges - and I think it’s damaging to take advantage of these difficulties by bringing lots of English players to France.

“It’s good news for the clubs who receive foreign players, including the English. It’s good news for the attractivity of our leagues, but it’s not necessarily good news for rugby long term in general.

“At a high-performance level, competition is vital. You need opposition teams who are at a similar level. I take no pleasure in the plight of English clubs - nor other countries.

“If some English players came to France and some French players went to England that would be great. I’d be happy about that, as it would enrich both leagues. It shouldn’t be too massive, though, as it would weaken one country or the other. We need to strike a balance.”

Despite the disappointing quarter-final exit from their own World Cup, rugby in France continues to boom. Rather than the abrupt exit dampening spirits, the hosting of the tournament has seen unprecedented audience figures for domestic rugby across the Channel. There has been a 10 per cent rise in the average television audience for Top 14 and Pro D2 rugby - which is broadcast by subscription-only Canal+ - and the play-off semi-finals, to be held over one weekend in Bordeaux in June 2024, sold out in four days. Société Générale and GMF, two long-standing sponsors, have renewed their partnerships and there are three more to come.

But, Bouscatel stresses, the advice to his English counterparts is simple: it is not all about money. Keeping the competition vibrant - six Top 14 clubs qualify for the end-of-season play-offs, unlike four in the Premiership - is vital.

“At the beginning, English rugby was based on millionaires, guys with a lot of money who thought they were always right because they had a lot of money,” he says. “Not all of them were like that - but a lot.

“Bath is a good example. They are supposed to have been building a stadium for the past 25 years. I have been there countless times, and they show me the plans every time, but I haven’t seen it. I always have to take my umbrella there - it rains a lot. I mean this in the nicest way possible, as I’m a friend of Bruce [Craig], but they’re dreamers there.

“The English are kings of marketing! But if you want to sell, it needs a good product. We have built a product. Two successive European champions. Our league is attractive. When I was a young president, there was one club - mine, Toulouse - which was better than the rest. We won four titles in a row, never against the same finalist. Today, the champions don’t tend to follow on, and in the Top 14, on the last day of the championship last season, there were 10 clubs who could have finished in the top six to potentially be crowned champions of France.

“I think, what has been corrosive within the English game was that the economical product was prioritised over the sport. In France, we prioritised the sport - building our product, our competition - and from the success of that, we generated an economical benefit. Not the other way round. At one time, I was president of Toulouse and we lost by 70 points against Wasps in the Heineken Cup. We had to change.”

Others followed suit and now France, domestically, blazes a trail

well its a load of bollox, they've built a great product on the back of shed loads of money from private investors and municipal funding (and they have done a better job in selling TV rights)- Rugby is embedded in their (and many) communities in a totally different way to ours. Admittedly their average attendances are higher, but that's because they started with big ones in the first place. To call on the RFU to somehow magic that cash up is naive and in any case they have no real control over the top tier of English Rugby- its also true that they have no clue about strategy either, but that's not the 'blazers' (who ironically have been holding the useless board to account-ish), its the RFU executive who aren't interested in anything bar Prem and England men and women.

Indeed they have, but I've no idea what the chances are of improving the tv rights in England. Would there be sufficient demand from the UK public to watch Premiership and Championship matches? Here in SW France, I don't subscribe to Canal+, but I believe many do to watch Top14 and ProD2. The only matches shown on terrestrial tv are the European (and South African) Champions' League games, which I await with eager anticipation this weekend - Toulouse v Cardiff on Saturday and La Rochelle v Leinster on Sunday.

[francoisfou]

Billy Searle, who had signed for Toulouse as a World Cup joker, hasn't been retained and has joined Biarritz in ProD2 with other Brits Jonathan Joseph, Charlie Matthews and Zach Kibirige.
However, the once mighty Biarritz are currently languishing in 14th place - 2 off the bottom of the table.

[Banquo]

Here's an interesting article from the Telegraph on the thoughts of René Bouscatel, the President of the Ligue National de Rugby, of English players crossing the channel to play in the Top14.
I hope that the blazers in the RFU read this article carefully and then come up with a plan to ensure that the top tier of English club rugby will once again be able to compete at the highest level.

Top 14 chief: 'English players flooding to France is bad for rugby'
René Bouscatel conceded that the influx of English talent is good news for clubs now but questions its long-term value to the French game

Charles Richardson,
RUGBY REPORTER
4 December 2023 • 5:00pm

The roll-call of England internationals choosing to turn their backs on the Premiership and cross the Channel lengthens by the week. Of those who were part of Steve Borthwick’s squad at the World Cup, Henry Arundell, Jack Willis, Joe Marchant and David Ribbans have all chosen to plant their flags with Top 14 clubs this season. Lewis Ludlam, Northampton’s club captain, will join Ribbans in Toulon next season, with others rumoured to be joining him.

Outside of Borthwick’s squad, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Joe Simmonds, Dan Robson and Harry Williams are fellow internationals who departed the English system last season to embark on a sojourn in France.

On the face of it, the allure of the Top 14 – and, even, the ProD2 – is a feather in the cap of the French system. René Bouscatel, the president of the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (the governing body of France’s first and second tier) shares that viewpoint - to an extent. Bouscatel, who spent 25 years as president of Toulouse, is not quite as convinced that the benefits of an influx of English players are as explicit as they might seem for the wider sport.

“The fact that the English clubs have experienced difficulties, with quite a lot of players coming to France, is at the same time good news for the clubs that are signing them, but I’m not sure it’s good news for rugby in general,” Bouscatel says.

“We have both experienced highs and lows. England got ahead of us at the dawn of professionalism but now they’re facing challenges - and I think it’s damaging to take advantage of these difficulties by bringing lots of English players to France.

“It’s good news for the clubs who receive foreign players, including the English. It’s good news for the attractivity of our leagues, but it’s not necessarily good news for rugby long term in general.

“At a high-performance level, competition is vital. You need opposition teams who are at a similar level. I take no pleasure in the plight of English clubs - nor other countries.

“If some English players came to France and some French players went to England that would be great. I’d be happy about that, as it would enrich both leagues. It shouldn’t be too massive, though, as it would weaken one country or the other. We need to strike a balance.”

Despite the disappointing quarter-final exit from their own World Cup, rugby in France continues to boom. Rather than the abrupt exit dampening spirits, the hosting of the tournament has seen unprecedented audience figures for domestic rugby across the Channel. There has been a 10 per cent rise in the average television audience for Top 14 and Pro D2 rugby - which is broadcast by subscription-only Canal+ - and the play-off semi-finals, to be held over one weekend in Bordeaux in June 2024, sold out in four days. Société Générale and GMF, two long-standing sponsors, have renewed their partnerships and there are three more to come.

But, Bouscatel stresses, the advice to his English counterparts is simple: it is not all about money. Keeping the competition vibrant - six Top 14 clubs qualify for the end-of-season play-offs, unlike four in the Premiership - is vital.

“At the beginning, English rugby was based on millionaires, guys with a lot of money who thought they were always right because they had a lot of money,” he says. “Not all of them were like that - but a lot.

“Bath is a good example. They are supposed to have been building a stadium for the past 25 years. I have been there countless times, and they show me the plans every time, but I haven’t seen it. I always have to take my umbrella there - it rains a lot. I mean this in the nicest way possible, as I’m a friend of Bruce [Craig], but they’re dreamers there.

“The English are kings of marketing! But if you want to sell, it needs a good product. We have built a product. Two successive European champions. Our league is attractive. When I was a young president, there was one club - mine, Toulouse - which was better than the rest. We won four titles in a row, never against the same finalist. Today, the champions don’t tend to follow on, and in the Top 14, on the last day of the championship last season, there were 10 clubs who could have finished in the top six to potentially be crowned champions of France.

“I think, what has been corrosive within the English game was that the economical product was prioritised over the sport. In France, we prioritised the sport - building our product, our competition - and from the success of that, we generated an economical benefit. Not the other way round. At one time, I was president of Toulouse and we lost by 70 points against Wasps in the Heineken Cup. We had to change.”

Others followed suit and now France, domestically, blazes a trail

well its a load of bollox, they've built a great product on the back of shed loads of money from private investors and municipal funding (and they have done a better job in selling TV rights)- Rugby is embedded in their (and many) communities in a totally different way to ours. Admittedly their average attendances are higher, but that's because they started with big ones in the first place. To call on the RFU to somehow magic that cash up is naive and in any case they have no real control over the top tier of English Rugby- its also true that they have no clue about strategy either, but that's not the 'blazers' (who ironically have been holding the useless board to account-ish), its the RFU executive who aren't interested in anything bar Prem and England men and women.

Indeed they have, but I've no idea what the chances are of improving the tv rights in England. Would there be sufficient demand from the UK public to watch Premiership and Championship matches? Here in SW France, I don't subscribe to Canal+, but I believe many do to watch Top14 and ProD2. The only matches shown on terrestrial tv are the European (and South African) Champions' League games, which I await with eager anticipation this weekend - Toulouse v Cardiff on Saturday and La Rochelle v Leinster on Sunday.

Not that high- though I think decent coin is made, and the Champ now have their own rights but no partner as yet.

[francoisfou]

The first round of the European/Saf Champions' Cup starts tonight:

Bristol v Lyon - Kpoku wears 4 for Lyon
Toulon v Exeter - Singleton 2, White 9 and Ribbans 19 for Toulon
Racing v Quins - Arundell 15
Toulouse v Cardiff - Blair Kinghorn's début at 15 for Toulouse

[francoisfou]

In the Challenge Cup:

Ospreys v Benetton - Paolo Odogwu (is he still a Brit?) on the wing for Benetton, Jacob Umaga at 10 and Sam Hidalgo-Clyne the bench scrum half.
Dragons v Oyonnax - Rory Sutherland starts for Oyonnax.

[francoisfou]

Round 10 of the Top14 begins this evening:

Perpignan v Bayonne - Ali Crossdale at 11 for Perpignan
Bordeaux/Bègles v Lyon - Joel Kpoku on the bench for Lyon
Toulouse v Toulon - Kinghorn 15, Jack Willis is back from injury and has a place on the Toulouse bench. For Toulon, White & Biggar half backs, Ribbans 5, Singleton 16
Stade Français v La Rochelle - 13 Joe Marchant for SF
Pau v Clermont - Joe Simmonds 10 and Dan Robson on the bench for Pau
Racing v Oyonnax - Christian Wade 14 for Racing, Rory Sutherland on the bench for Oyonnax

[francoisfou]

Round 10 of the Top14 begins this evening:

Perpignan v Bayonne - Ali Crossdale at 11 for Perpignan
Bordeaux/Bègles v Lyon - Joel Kpoku on the bench for Lyon
Toulouse v Toulon - Kinghorn 15, Jack Willis is back from injury and has a place on the Toulouse bench. For Toulon, White & Biggar half backs, Ribbans 5, Singleton 16
Stade Français v La Rochelle - 13 Joe Marchant for SF
Pau v Clermont - Joe Simmonds 10 and Dan Robson on the bench for Pau
Racing v Oyonnax - Christian Wade 14 for Racing, Rory Sutherland on the bench for Oyonnax

And Montpellier v Castres - Sam Simmonds at 8 for Montpellier.

[Mikey Brown]

Round 10 of the Top14 begins this evening:

Perpignan v Bayonne - Ali Crossdale at 11 for Perpignan
Bordeaux/Bègles v Lyon - Joel Kpoku on the bench for Lyon
Toulouse v Toulon - Kinghorn 15, Jack Willis is back from injury and has a place on the Toulouse bench. For Toulon, White & Biggar half backs, Ribbans 5, Singleton 16
Stade Français v La Rochelle - 13 Joe Marchant for SF
Pau v Clermont - Joe Simmonds 10 and Dan Robson on the bench for Pau
Racing v Oyonnax - Christian Wade 14 for Racing, Rory Sutherland on the bench for Oyonnax

And Montpellier v Castres - Sam Simmonds at 8 for Montpellier.

It will be interesting to see how Sam Simmonds gets on longer term as a direct replacement for Mercer. He was never thought to convince for England but looks to be settling in well so far? Feels like he may have missed the boat with England regardless though.

[francoisfou]

Round 10 of the Top14 begins this evening:

Perpignan v Bayonne - Ali Crossdale at 11 for Perpignan
Bordeaux/Bègles v Lyon - Joel Kpoku on the bench for Lyon
Toulouse v Toulon - Kinghorn 15, Jack Willis is back from injury and has a place on the Toulouse bench. For Toulon, White & Biggar half backs, Ribbans 5, Singleton 16
Stade Français v La Rochelle - 13 Joe Marchant for SF
Pau v Clermont - Joe Simmonds 10 and Dan Robson on the bench for Pau
Racing v Oyonnax - Christian Wade 14 for Racing, Rory Sutherland on the bench for Oyonnax

And Montpellier v Castres - Sam Simmonds at 8 for Montpellier.

It will be interesting to see how Sam Simmonds gets on longer term as a direct replacement for Mercer. He was never thought to convince for England but looks to be settling in well so far? Feels like he may have missed the boat with England regardless though.

Remember that Montpellier were Top14 Champions when Mercer was there, but today they're a couple of points adrift in last place, which won't look too good on Simmonds cv.

[Peej]

What were the results?

Has to be said, Umaga appears to be going decently at Bennetton

[francoisfou]

And Montpellier v Castres - Sam Simmonds at 8 for Montpellier.

It will be interesting to see how Sam Simmonds gets on longer term as a direct replacement for Mercer. He was never thought to convince for England but looks to be settling in well so far? Feels like he may have missed the boat with England regardless though.

Remember that Montpellier were Top14 Champions when Mercer was there, but today they're a couple of points adrift in last place, which won't look too good on Simmonds cv.

Sam's brother Joe, however, is doing rather well at Pau and is currently the Top14 top points scorer.

[francoisfou]

Round 11 of the Top14 begins this evening with Oyonnax at home to Pau, for whom Dan Robson and Joe Simmonds are at 9 and 10. Worthy of note is the début of All Black 2nd row Sam Whitelock for Pau, alongside his brother Luke (who's been with Pau since 2019) who' will wear 7.

[FKAS]

It will be interesting to see how Sam Simmonds gets on longer term as a direct replacement for Mercer. He was never thought to convince for England but looks to be settling in well so far? Feels like he may have missed the boat with England regardless though.

Remember that Montpellier were Top14 Champions when Mercer was there, but today they're a couple of points adrift in last place, which won't look too good on Simmonds cv.

Sam's brother Joe, however, is doing rather well at Pau and is currently the Top14 top points scorer.

Before his bizarre fall out with Baxter, Joe was pretty effective and moving his pack into the right areas of the pitch and kicking goals. I suspected the move to France would work him, good to see it is.

[Banquo]

Remember that Montpellier were Top14 Champions when Mercer was there, but today they're a couple of points adrift in last place, which won't look too good on Simmonds cv.

Sam's brother Joe, however, is doing rather well at Pau and is currently the Top14 top points scorer.

Before his bizarre fall out with Baxter, Joe was pretty effective and moving his pack into the right areas of the pitch and kicking goals. I suspected the move to France would work him, good to see it is.

always rated Joe- he had one great season where his kicking percentage was off the charts, when that fell away his form dipped,but was still a really good 10, with great gas. Not sure what, if anything went wrong.

[Mellsblue]

Remember that Montpellier were Top14 Champions when Mercer was there, but today they're a couple of points adrift in last place, which won't look too good on Simmonds cv.

Sam's brother Joe, however, is doing rather well at Pau and is currently the Top14 top points scorer.

Before his bizarre fall out with Baxter, Joe was pretty effective and moving his pack into the right areas of the pitch and kicking goals. I suspected the move to France would work him, good to see it is.

What did he fall out with Baxter about?

[FKAS]

Sam's brother Joe, however, is doing rather well at Pau and is currently the Top14 top points scorer.

Before his bizarre fall out with Baxter, Joe was pretty effective and moving his pack into the right areas of the pitch and kicking goals. I suspected the move to France would work him, good to see it is.

What did he fall out with Baxter about?

No idea. It was bizarre wasn't it. He went from being captain and starting flyhalf to sat behind a struggling Harvey Skinner sometimes not in the squad or playing 15.

[Mellsblue]

Before his bizarre fall out with Baxter, Joe was pretty effective and moving his pack into the right areas of the pitch and kicking goals. I suspected the move to France would work him, good to see it is.

What did he fall out with Baxter about?

No idea. It was bizarre wasn't it. He went from being captain and starting flyhalf to sat behind a struggling Harvey Skinner sometimes not in the squad or playing 15.

Do you know it was a falling out or is it just guesswork? He did lose form quite precipitously but it wasn’t as if his replacements were any better.

[FKAS]

What did he fall out with Baxter about?

No idea. It was bizarre wasn't it. He went from being captain and starting flyhalf to sat behind a struggling Harvey Skinner sometimes not in the squad or playing 15.

Do you know it was a falling out or is it just guesswork? He did lose form quite precipitously but it wasn’t as if his replacements were any better.

Guesswork. His form loss was in line with the rest of the side and not serious enough you'd drop a European winning flyhalf and captain for a struggling rookie in Skinner.

[francoisfou]

Bayonne v Racing - Arundell at 14
Lyon v Montpellier - Sam Simmonds starts on the bench for Montpellier
Toulon v Stade Français - For Toulon Dan Biggar 10, Ben White 9, Dave Ribbans 5 and Kieron Brookes on the bench. Zack Henry on the bench for SF
La Rochelle v Toulouse - Jack Willis starts at 8 for Toulouse

[francoisfou]

Round 15 of ProD2 gets under way this evening with Grenoble v Provence.
For Grenoble, former Ospreys' and Wales' flyhalf Sam Davies starts at 10 for Grenoble along with 2nd row Pierce Philips, who played for Worcester 2017-19.
For Provence the evergreen Jimmy Gopperth wears 10.

[francoisfou]

Round 15 of ProD2 gets under way this evening with Grenoble v Provence.
For Grenoble, former Ospreys' and Wales' flyhalf Sam Davies starts at 10 for Grenoble along with 2nd row Pierce Philips, who played for Worcester 2017-19.
For Provence the evergreen Jimmy Gopperth wears 10.

Provence would've been top if they'd won, but they were stuffed 45-10.
The other round 15 fixtures are this evening:

Vannes v Angoulême - Sione Kalamafoni (not a Brit, but we know him from the Premiership with Glaws and Tigers) wears 8 for Vannes (who are top)
Rouen v Mont de Marsan - Valentino Mapapalangi (ditto, and also played for Tigers) is at 8 for Rouen (who are bottom)
Agen v Valence Romans - Ex Tiger Joe Maksymiw wears 4 for Agen and Henry Purdy 22
Biarritz v Brive - Zack Kibirige wears 14, Jonathan Joseph 13, former Wales centre Tyler Morgan 12 and Charlie Matthews 4 for Biarritz (a lowly 15th)