James Harrington

This is where you will find all of The Rugby Paper’s James Harrington news, views, opinion and other content.

Top 14: Racing 92’s delight at smash and grab

23 February 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington Racing really needed that. A first win in the Top 14 since they beat Pau on the road in […]

Patrice Collazo’s mission to rescue Racing 92

9 February 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington Lo! And, indeed, behold! Former Montpellier, Toulon, Brive and La Rochelle coach Patrice Collazo has parachuted in to save […]

Encore for exiled prop star Rabah Slimani

19 January 2025 0 comments

French Column by James Harrington Last Wednesday, Fabien Galthie named six uncapped players in his 42-strong list for the first match of the senior men’s […]

Fabien Galthie’s Six Nations dilemma: Who gets the vote at 10?

12 January 2025 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington There are bigger rugby weeks to come in 2025, but the Wednesday between January’s twin Champions and Challenge Cup […]

Stuart Lancaster looks like he will hang on

29 December 2024 0 comments

French Column, By James Harrington In the end, after weeks of speculation, chairman Laurent Travers will leave Racing 92 at the end of the season, […]

Oyonnax must live without Joe El-Abd

15 December 2024 0 comments

By James Harrington Oyonnax’s seven-try 53-10 bonus-point win over ProD2 rivals Soyaux-Angouleme on Friday – their first victory since October 25 – was a relief […]

France won’t play All Blacks in USA

8 December 2024 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington The FFR has rejected a proposal from New Zealand to relocate the third Test of next July’s tour to […]

Manu Tuilagi makes mark for Bayonne

13 October 2024 0 comments

French Column, by James Harrington While the focus of French rugby attention is on Stade Ernest Wallon and the return to action of a certain […]

Henry Chavancy notches No. 400 for Racing 92

15 September 2024 0 comments

French Column – By James Harrington Racing 92’s veteran centre Henry Chavancy reached a remarkable career milestone on Saturday when he came on to replace […]

Carbonel will add the flair for Stade

25 August 2024 0 comments

James Harrington French column Last season, Stade Francais finished second in the Top 14 to qualify directly for the semi-finals – where an after-the-hooter conversion […]

Vannes facing a tough early test

21 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promoted ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against 23-time French champions Toulouse […]

Time for players to behave properly

14 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There are no ‘good’ responses to Melvyn Jaminet’s violently racist outburst on social media, or the serious sexual assault allegations levelled […]

Jalibert is top of the ‘wanted’ list again

7 July 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Never mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on the Bouclier de Brennus […]

Terrific Toulouse go on the rampage

30 June 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN “We didn’t just lose the arm wrestle – we had our wrists broken under the table,” Bordeaux boss Yannick Bru admitted, […]

Carbonel winner ensures last-gasp Montpellier survival

16 June 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN THE English Football League’s Championship play-off final is sometimes referred to as ‘the richest game in football’, with £100million of spoils […]

Hogg has eyes set on Top 14 surprise

9 June 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Stuart Hogg’s reported surprise reverse-ferret back into the professional game after his retirement last year – and repeated suggestions that he […]

Gopperth misses out on top flight

2 June 2024 0 comments

FRENCH COLUMN By JAMES HARRINGTON Jimmy Gopperth won’t be the oldest-ever player to feature in the Top 14 next season after all, after his Provence […]

TV deal hits the €700m jackpot

26 May 2024 0 comments

By JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Jeroboams of champagne all round at Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) headquarters earlier this week, after its TV rights tender […]

Dramatic finale puts Brive into play-offs

19 May 2024 0 comments

By JAMES HARRINGTON The ProD2 supplied a final glorious regular-season round for the ages in a perfectly timed reminder to broadcasters interested in bidding for […]

I may sell Toulon for €1 – Lemaitre

12 May 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A matter of weeks after ProD2 strugglers Biarritz were sold for €1, Toulon owner Bernard Lemaitre suggested he might be willing […]

Biarritz’s fight for survival goes on

5 May 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Ten days ago, under-new-management ProD2 strugglers Biarritz gave themselves what looked a lot like a crucial safety net with a 26-30 […]

Record crowds flock to matches

28 April 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON – FRENCH COLUMN More people than ever are flocking through the turnstiles of Top 14 and ProD2 matches, according to figures published by […]

JIFF looks likely to play a vital role

21 April 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON – FRENCH COLUMN It’s logical – as the final stop-start sprint in a hard-fought Top 14 season begins – to think purely in […]

Biarritz’s future is back in its hands

14 April 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN To the relief of fans, white smoke was finally seen over the stand tops of Biarritz’s Parc des Sports d’Aguilera recently, […]

TV deal to break €500m barrier

7 April 2024 0 comments

FRENCH COLUMN – JAMES HARRINGTON France’s Ligue Nationale de Rugby hopes to pocket more than half-a-billion euros, after launching a call for tenders for Top […]

Toulon heading in right direction

24 March 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TOULON coach Pierre Mignoni earned something of a reprieve this weekend, as his side’s 54-7 win over Montpellier at Stade Mayol […]

Toulouse and Stade in line for a race to glory

17 March 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The top two tiers of French domestic rugby have been on hiatus this weekend, giving fans a clear run at the […]

Oyonnax have to keep on believing

10 March 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Oyonnax manager Joe El-Abd promised last week that his side would ‘fight to the end’ following their so-near-so-far 35-39 home defeat […]

Big clubs are hit by ‘doublon’ clashes

3 March 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN We always knew the World Cup would play havoc with the Top 14 season – as soon as the 2023/2024 schedule […]

Toulon need to win over the critics

18 February 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Sometimes it’s not immediately obvious whether a side is in good shape or not. A simple look at the Top 14 […]

Calvet’s likely to step in at Agen

11 February 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France Under-20s coach Sebastien Calvet has emerged as favourite to replace Bernard Goutta on the conveyor-belt of managers at ProD2 side […]

Davidson relief as Castres stop rot

4 February 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The afternoon after the Friday-night chastening Six Nations defeat in Marseille before, a subdued French rugby audience tuned in to the […]

Lyon get it right against Perpignan

28 January 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON In a league featuring the likes of Racing 92 and Toulouse, Toulon and La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Stade Francais, there’s a ‘big match’ […]

Lucu the man to replace Dupont

21 January 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN An email drop and social media flurry confirmed the line-up of France’s 34-player training squad for the Six Nations, which kicks […]

No rush to get Tuilagi involved

14 January 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Something of a big deal was made last week about the fact that, a matter of days before Fabien Galthie announces […]

Farrell’s future the only talk in town…

7 January 2024 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Fabien Galthie will have a reduced training squad for the 2024 Six Nations after a player release agreement was reached between […]

Simmonds is facing a fight for survival

31 December 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN THE final weekend of 2023 – and we’re almost at the halfway point of the Top 14 season. There’s still a […]

O’Gara’s problems keep on coming

24 December 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Australian hooker Tolu Latu went straight into La Rochelle’s matchday squad for pre-Christmas trip to Stade Francais, days after completing a […]

Olympics causing financial headache

17 December 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The new cycle of French senior men’s rugby starts here – a month-and-a-half after the 2023 Rugby World Cup ended, and […]

Davies enjoying life in a new lake

10 December 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN SWAPPING Dragons for a new challenge at Grenoble – and the lens of Welsh rugby for relative anonymity in southeast France […]

Laporte & Co hit the panic button

3 December 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A week after ripping out their coaching set-up and employing an Etch-a-Sketch style reset to their season, Montpellier officially hit the […]

Cockerill goes out, Collazo comes in

26 November 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TIME was very firmly called on Richard Cockerill’s brief run as Montpellier manager six days ago, after just five months and […]

Welsh warrior bows out in style

19 November 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Rugby – even thoroughly modern professional rugby – sometimes proves it still has at least a little room for a smidgeon […]

Clermont claim first away win with Urios

12 November 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The smile on Christophe Urios’s face said it all, as his Clermont side ended a year-long losing streak on the road […]

Stade set bar high in bid for new start

5 November 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The Laurent Labit-Karim Ghezal era at Stade Francais officially starts here – and the talk around Stade Jean Bouin is of […]

We’re all set for the real start to season

29 October 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TODAY, as fans get their breaths back after the Rugby World Cup final and the end of 48 matches of intense […]

I’m going nowhere, promises Galthie

22 October 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN “I have a contract that runs until June 2028, so no.” That was France head coach Fabien Galthie’s succinct – and […]

Galthie’s spolit for options out wide

15 October 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN WHENEVER an international match is on the horizon, whether or not there’s a Rugby World Cup on – there is, by […]

Kolbe move to Toulon in the spotlight

8 October 2023 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON The pre-season period of summer 2021 was fairly humdrum in France. Not that most players, coaches, or journalists for that matter, minded much. […]

Galthie joy as France’s wait for Meafou is nearly over

8 October 2023 0 comments

Expect to see New Zealand-born, Australia-raised Emmanuel Meafou in a France squad as early as next year in time for the start of the next phase […]

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