French rugby is currently full of news regarding player movements and player contract offers and extentions.
Toulouse has offered South African prop, Schalk Ferreira a 3-Tear extention to his current deal after some outstanding performances by him. Toulon has extended Deon Armitage’s contract for 2 years whilst Maxime Mermoz has signed on till 2017. After some speculation about Jonny Wilkinson’s possible retirement, it appears he might want to continue on at Toulon for another year.
Tommaso Allan, Italian international flyhalf, has also won him a contract extention with Perpignan.
Toulouse – Schalk Ferreira:
South African prop Schalk Ferreira was rewarded for a series of outstanding performances by being offered a three-year extension to his contract by French rugby giants Toulouse on Tuesday.
The 29-year-old — who will be tied to the club till the end of the 2016/17 season — was originally signed only as medical cover while Georgian prop Vasil Kakovin recovered from a serious knee injury suffered back in August.
However, since making his debut for Toulouse on September 8 he has appeared in every one of the four-time European champions games, nine in the Top 14 and four in the European Cup.
Toulouse forwards coach William Servat was moved to say recently that Ferreira “had without doubt a great future ahead of him at Toulouse”.
Toulon – Delon Armitage:
England international fullback Delon Armitage has signed a two-year extension to his Toulon contract, tying him to the south coast Top 14 club until 2016, the European champions said Tuesday.
The 30-year-old, who has not played for England since moving to France in 2012, won the European Cup in his first season with Toulon.
Although born in the West Indies, Armitage spent six years of his childhood on the Cote D’Azur and started playing rugby with Nice before being selected for France’s under-16 team.
On returning to England he joined Richmond before signing for London Irish, where he spent 10 years before moving to Toulon.
His brother Steffon, also an England international, plays alongside him on the south coast of France while another brother Guy plays for his old club, Irish.
A fourth brother, Bevon, plays for another of his former clubs, Nice.
Toulon – Maxime Mermoz:
France centre Maxime Mermoz has signed a contract extension with Heineken Cup champions Toulon that will keep him at the club until 2017.
The 27-year-old — capped 25 times since making his test debut against Australia in 2008 — has been at Toulon since signing from Perpignan last year.
Mermoz, who was part of the France side that lost 8-7 to New Zealand in the 2011 World Cup final, enjoyed immediate success with Toulon when they beat fellow French side Clermont in the European Cup final earlier this year.
Toulon – Jonny Wilkinson:
Former England flyhalf Jonny Wilkinson says that he could play on for another year with Heineken Cup champions Toulon in France.
Toulon are understood to be looking at signing Wilkinson’s former Newcastle Falcons and England team mate Toby Flood as well as Cardiff Blues fullback Leigh Halfpenny.
Wilkinson signed a one year contract extension for this season and was expected to hang up his boots at the end of this season.
However after Toulon beat Exeter Chiefs 32-20 in the Heineken Cup on the weekend the 34 year old said that he has not yet ruled out signing for another season.
“Yes, I’m contemplating it every day, every week, every match ” but I’m keeping it very simple.” Wilkinson told the Rugby Paper.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about other people as well, and what is in the best interests of this club.”
Wilkinson is still a favourite of Toulon fans at Stade Mayol and after Wilkinson scored a try on the weekend they chanted, “We want Jonny!”
Toulon coach Bernard Laporte said that he too wants Wilkinson to extend for another season with Toulon rather him retiring.
“I want Jonny to play all the time – he’s unique,” Laporte said.
“But only Jonny is able to say whether he will play one more year. He’s a professional guy, he’s intelligent, and we are not pressuring him. We’ll wait.”
Laporte said that Toulon are trying to cover all of thier bases by signing two players as a replacement for Wilkinson and confirmed that they have been on contact with Halfpenny and Flood.
“We have been in contact with Leigh Halfpenny, but we have not signed him, and we speak about Toby Flood ” but in France you can only have 16 foreigners at a club, so we cannot take them all,” explained Laporte.
Toulon club owner said that Wilkinson is such a valuable player that it would take two players replace Wilkinson should he retire.
“We will have to replace Jonny with two players ” a play-maker and a kicker with a 90 per cent success rate like Jonny,” Boudjellal said.
“To find all that in one player is difficult so we’ll have to find it in two.
“If his body says ‘stop,’ Jonny will finish his career at the end of the season. Right now, he doesn’t know. Everything depends on the next six months. ”
“Having one day to replace Jonny Wilkinson is the kind of thing that falls on you once in one hundred years.”
Wale fullback Halfpenny is insisting on a release clause for all of Wales’ internationals and training camps which makes his £500,000-a-year price tag a stiff one as he could miss more than a third of the 26-match Top 14 season.
Cardiff Blues say that they will “fight to the death” to keep Halfpenny.
“We have made offers to both players but the numbers are not enough,” Blues chairman Peter Thomas said.
“That’s why we are talking to the Union. For everyone’s sake, everything must come to a head in the next few weeks.
Perpignan – Tommaso Alla
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Young Italian international flyhalf Tommaso Allan recent performances in the Top 14 have earned him a contract extension with Perpignan.
The 20-year-old – born in Italy to a Scottish rugby playing father and an Italian mother – has become Perpignan’s first choice fly-half having started the campaign third in line.
However, first choice Camille Lopez is out for the rest of the season with ruptured cruciate ligaments and Welsh international James Hook has been deployed mostly at fullback.
Allan, who played for Scotland at every youth level before opting to play for the Italy senior team, earned a rave review from Perpignan manager Marc Delpoux regarding his performance in Saturday’s 18-17 defeat by Irish province Munster in their European Cup clash in which he scored 12 points although he also missed several penalties.
“For a lad that the majority of you (journalists) didn’t even know he existed a year ago, his performance wasn’t just good, it was extraordinary.”