Henson granted reprieve by Toulon

May 03, 2011

Controversial Wales centre Gavin Henson has been handed a reprieve by Top 14 side Toulon, weeks after being told to leave the club.

The 29-year-old was suspended and on the way out two weeks ago after reports of a fight with a team-mate.

Henson had only made two appearances for Toulon since joining from the London-based Saracens in February.

But now Toulon Chairman Mourad Boudjellal said on Monday the club had changed their minds in regards to Henson's future.

"I consulted my staff, I consulted the group and I decided this morning to return Gavin Henson to the line-up until the end of the season, while hoping that the end of the season can be as late as possible," Boudjellal said.

"He trained this weekend. He's at the disposal of the group and could be on the team this Saturday for Montpellier."

"The group is ready to forget the evening to make a new start. We were clear that we're not giving him a second chance, we're giving him a final chance. Gavin Henson at Toulon won't be unbridled."

"He knows that at the next incident, there won't be any warning shots given before the trigger is pulled."

Boudjellal said Henson was not the only one to blame for the incident which almost saw him sacked.

A regretful Henson faced up to Boudjellal and the chairman decided his attitude was good enough to warrant another chance.

"Gavin probably did say things that he didn't mean, in any case he really seems to regret it," Boudjellal said.

"He also gave the impression of really wanting to stay at Toulon and to play for this club and to do his best for the club. Those are elements that we took into account."

"In any case the lad I had in front of me, whom I saw twice, was ready to sacrifice a lot to stay at the club. Bear in mind that this is a lad who is being sought by several English clubs, so we decided to keep him."

Toulon, sitting in fifth spot and two points off a home quarter-final play-off, face Montpellier in a must-win game on Saturday.

Danny Cipriani is reportedly keen on a return to the northern hemisphere

May 01, 2011
Toulon have claimed that reports linking them with a move for Danny Cipriani are pure speculation but admitted that they are in the market for a fly-half.

Cipriani is currently plying his trade in Australia with the Melbourne Rebels and still has a year to run on his contract with the Super Rugby outfit.

It has been claimed that he is keen to return to the northern hemisphere and Toulon has been mooted as a possible destination for the former England international as they require cover for Jonny Wilkinson and Matt Giteau during the forthcoming Rugby World Cup.

However, Toulon team manager Tom Whitford would not confirm whether an approach has been made for the player.

"Danny has a good pedigree but it is all speculation at the moment," he told BBC Sport. "We are looking for a 10 who can play in the Top 14 during the World Cup.

"We are in contact with numerous players. I can't confirm as such whether we have been in contact with Cipriani's representatives or not, but he is obviously a talented player, and we try to sign talented players who would bring a lot to the team.

"Cipriani is a high-profile player, not just on the pitch but off it as well. We would like to concentrate on players performing on the pitch but of course he is a good player, he has a good pedigree and he has played for England."

Errors cost Force win

May 01, 2011
Western Force coach Richard Graham says his side played well enough to win in their heartbreaking Super Rugby loss to the Crusaders.

As has often happened throughout the club's history, the Force led with less than 10 minutes remaining but conceded two late tries to fall 42-30 to the Christchurch-based side on Saturday.

Graham said while he was frustrated with aspects of the side's game, he was still happy with their overall performance in a game where they fell to a 12-0 deficit within 10 minutes but came back to make a contest of it.

"We showed some fantastic character. We were composed and we got ourselves back into it," he said.

"Ultimately, I thought we were good enough to win it. We just made a couple of crucial errors right there at the end that hurt us."

"If we got them to a breakdown, I thought some of our defence was outstanding. I thought our hits were as good as they have been at any point this season."

"It was just the unstructured stuff that caused us problems."

But Graham said his side would have to produce a better performance to beat New South Wales in Sydney next Saturday.

"Clearly our kicking game and our one-on-one tackles in our kick-chase need improvement," he said.

"It's important for us, we need to keep winning. We're getting a full-strength side, as we did in round one, and now we need to win."

"It would be nice to rain on (the Waratahs') parade. But we're proud and competitive people and I couldn't care about NSW. We need to focus ourselves and prepare well for the weekend."

Graham said he was pleased with the way star Wallabies flanker David Pocock performed in his first appearance since he suffered a knee injury against the Sharks in round three.

"It was good to get him through the 80 minutes," he said.

"We planned to just asses it and see how he was going and he was going well enough to leave him on for the whole game, which was good."

Fellow Test loose forward Matt Hodgson will be a chance to return to the run-on side against the Waratahs after starting on the bench against the Crusaders in his return from a shoulder injury, while Mitch Inman could also make the side after a long layoff with an elbow ailment.

Peel rubbishes Waratahs link

May 01, 2011
Sale Sharks scrum-half Dwayne Peel has dismissed reports linking him with a move to play Super Rugby for the New South Wales Waratahs.

It had been rumoured that the Waratahs had lined up Peel as a replacement for Luke Burgess, who is to join Toulouse after this year's Rugby World Cup. However, while Peel admits that he is flattered by the speculation, he insists that he has had no contact with the Australian outfit.

"That's just media speculation to be honest," he told BBC Sport. "There's nothing much in it really. I've obviously got another year left on my contract with Sale.

"It's great to be talked about in that vein and I'm not sure where it's come from. Obviously with Burgess leaving Waratahs it leaves them a nine short, I suppose. It's a great competition. I watch on TV. Obviously it's something I'd like to be involved in but I'm not sure. I'm 30 in August."

Peel has endured a trying season with the Sharks, who are currently third from bottom in the Aviva Premiership standings. However, the former British & Irish Lion is optimistic that Sale can turn things around next year.

"It's been frustrating to be honest," he said. "It's been a real difficult season for everyone involved with the club obviously with coaches coming in, coaches leaving. But hopefully next year we can move on. There's a lot happening behind the scenes at the club. There's players being signed on a daily basis almost.

"There's going to be a whole new squad next year. I'm optimistic for next year with some big players coming in."

All Blacks star forward Richie McCaw says he's happy to have made it through his first run-on appearance of the Super Rugby season, despite spending a portion of it in the sin bin.

1 May 2011
All Blacks star forward Richie McCaw says he's happy to have made it through his first run-on appearance of the Super Rugby season, despite spending a portion of it in the sin bin.

McCaw received a yellow card for slowing the play down 49 minutes into the Crusaders' vital 42-30 bonus-point win over the Western Force in Perth, but completed the match after his 10 minutes on the sidelines.

The Crusaders captain had played only 29 minutes for his side this season before the Force game due to a foot injury and said it felt good to spend a prolonged period on the field.

"I actually felt remarkably good lungs-wise and running around the track. Perhaps the timing was a bit off, but you have to feel your way back in with that," he said.

"I just enjoyed getting out there really ... it feels great to get underway. I was pretty happy with where I was at and I'll be better for it next week."

"(His injured foot) seems to be fine. It got jumped on at one point so there's the usual bruises, but it feels pretty good and wasn't an issue at all."

But the loose forward admitted he should have known better than to get sent off in a key situation.

"I knew it was pretty critical to keep our discipline, I was barking that at the boys and then I was the one who gave away the penalty and ended up in the bin," he said.

"You could put that down to a bit of rust, but I'm still a bit disappointed with myself."

Crusaders coach Todd Blackadder said he was happy with the way they bounced back from last week's loss to the Highlanders.

"We started off really well and controlled the game with our good structure," he said.

"We kept our heads at the vital time and made some good decisions, which won us the game."

The result saw the Crusaders establish an eight-point gap over the seventh-placed Waratahs, with both sides having played 10 games.

But victory was soured by an apparent back injury to starting prop Ben Franks, which has him in doubt for their two-game tour of South Africa.

"We're just holding our breath on him at the moment, but it's not looking good," Blackadder said.

Blackadder said star playmaker Daniel Carter was a chance to return for next Saturday's clash against the Stormers, while Kieran Read would be available.

Crusaders call up injury cover for Franks

May 01, 2011

The Crusaders have called up prop Nicholas Barrett as cover for Ben Franks who injured his back playing in the eleventh Round Super Rugby clash against the Force.

Barrett is already travelling from Christchurch to Cape Town to join the rest of the Crusaders squad.

Franks injured his lower back during the first half of the match and left the field.

Franks stayed with the squad and has travelled to Cape Town.

He will be assessed during the week as to his availability to play the Stormers at Newlands in Cape Town.

Heineken Cup: Northampton 23-7 Perpignan

May 1, 2011

Final Score Northampton 23 (20) Perpignan 7 (7)

Scorers

Northampton Saints Tries: Foden, Clarke

Penalties: Myler 3

Conversions: Myler 2

PerpignanTries: Guirado

Conversions: Porical

Referee: George Clancy (Ireland)

Teams

Northampton Saints: B Foden; C Ashton, J Clarke, J Downey, P Diggin; S Myler, L Dickson; S Tonga'uiha, D Hartley [capt], B Mujati, C Lawes, C Day, C Clark, P Dowson, R Wilson

Replacements: B Sharman, A Waller, T Mercey, M Sorenson, M Easter, S Commins, S Geraghty, J Ansbro

Perpignan: J Porical; A Plante, D Marty, G Hume, J Candelon; N Laharrague, D Mele; P Freshwater, G Guirado, N Mas [capt], R Alvarez Kairelis, R Tchale Watchou, G Le Corvec, B Guiry, D Chouly

Replacements: C Geli, K Pulu, J Schuster, H Tuilagi, K Boulogne, M Edmonds, J Michel, G Vilaceca