Dan Leo: I had to quit France to get fit for World Cup!

French clubs may be rolling in money but their conditioning methods are rooted firmly in the dark ages, according to London Irish lock Dan Leo.
Former Wasps man Leo, 31, returned to England over the summer following stints with Bordeaux and Perpignan in a bid to boost his World Cup chances with Samoa.
He reckons he would have had little chance of competing at next year’s global gathering had he remained within French rugby‘s faulty training regime.
Leo told The Rugby Paper: “I needed to come back to England because I want to be in the best shape possible to put my best foot forward for the World Cup.
“In France they throw money at you but they still don’t have that level of professionalism English clubs have – certainly not the clubs I was at anyway, hence the reason why we probably got relegated last season at Perpignan.
“They realise now, probably too late, that they needed to change the mentality.
“It’s a bit different at some of the very top clubs – Toulon, Toulouse and Clermont – but in that middle to bottom of the table group they just want you to be as big as possible and they don’t really mind how you put that size on.
“With most French clubs it’s all about having a solid set-piece and grinding teams down on the back of the scrum and maul. But that’s not the way to go about it, particularly at international level where you need to be fast and mobile.
“Because of the way things were in France, I needed to get out. It’ll be my last World Cup next year and I want to make sure it’s a good one.”
He added: “It’s the reason I came to Irish. They have fantastic new training facilities and having Steve Walsh, who used to be at Toulon, as head of S&C is a big bonus.
“When you’re in your early 30s it’s about managing your fitness, but France is not the place to go if you need tender loving care or have injury issues.
“All the money, it seems, goes into the playing resources and not so much on support staff, which is the opposite of what’s happening in England.
“There’s a lot of investment going into off-field staff here and when you’re getting towards your twilight years, that’s what you’re looking for.”
Leo has been named in Samoa’s squad for their upcoming three-Test series against Italy, Canada and England, at Twickenham on September 22.
He believes they can do some damage, adding: “We have a good team coming together and playing England in our third match is great for us.
“Normally we get our big game first which means we don’t get enough preparation time, but, hopefully, this time we’ll put up a decent fight.
“We’ve got a core group of experienced players, while guys like Ken Pisi, Alapati Leiua and Jack Lam give us a youthful look. We just need everyone fit.”
NEALE HARVEY