James Harrington
French Column: Big guns want to take on All Blacks
By James Harrington Could Fabien Galthie head to New Zealand for July’s three-Test tour with a France squad that looks more like ‘first team’ than originally...
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James Harrington
/ 3 weeks agoTop 14: Raffaele Storti set to get his chance at Grenoble
French Column by James Harrington Portugal winger Raffaele Storti has made a habit of not doing things the easy way –...
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James Harrington
/ 4 weeks agoTop 14: All set for exciting race to the finish
French Column - By James Harrington Twelve Top 14 teams were involved this Champions and Challenge Cup round-of-16 weekend. The two...
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James Harrington
/ 1 month agoTop 14: Paul Gustard to stay at Stade Francais after all
French Column - By James Harrington So, Paul Gustard will remain at Stade Francais next season after all, despite asking to...
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International Rugby
/ 1 month agoRomain Ntamack: I’d love to take on All Blacks
By James Harrington - French Column So, Romain Ntamack wants to go to New Zealand in July. New Zealand have already...
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James Harrington
/ 2 months agoTop 14: Racing 92’s delight at smash and grab
French Column - By James Harrington Racing really needed that. A first win in the Top 14 since they beat Pau...
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James Harrington
/ 3 months agoPatrice Collazo’s mission to rescue Racing 92
French Column - By James Harrington Lo! And, indeed, behold! Former Montpellier, Toulon, Brive and La Rochelle coach Patrice Collazo has...
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James Harrington
/ 3 months agoEncore for exiled prop star Rabah Slimani
French Column by James Harrington Last Wednesday, Fabien Galthie named six uncapped players in his 42-strong list for the first match...
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James Harrington
/ 4 months agoFabien Galthie’s Six Nations dilemma: Who gets the vote at 10?
French Column - By James Harrington There are bigger rugby weeks to come in 2025, but the Wednesday between January’s twin...
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James Harrington
/ 4 months agoStuart Lancaster looks like he will hang on
French Column, By James Harrington In the end, after weeks of speculation, chairman Laurent Travers will leave Racing 92 at the...
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James Harrington
/ 5 months agoOyonnax must live without Joe El-Abd
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...
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International Rugby
/ 5 months agoFrance won’t play All Blacks in USA
French Column - By James Harrington The FFR has rejected a proposal from New Zealand to relocate the third Test of...
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Columnists
/ 7 months agoManu Tuilagi makes mark for Bayonne
French Column, by James Harrington While the focus of French rugby attention is on Stade Ernest Wallon and the return to...
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James Harrington
/ 8 months agoHenry Chavancy notches No. 400 for Racing 92
French Column - By James Harrington Racing 92’s veteran centre Henry Chavancy reached a remarkable career milestone on Saturday when he...
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James Harrington
/ 8 months agoCarbonel will add the flair for Stade
James Harrington French column Last season, Stade Francais finished second in the Top 14 to qualify directly for the semi-finals –...
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James Harrington
/ 9 months agoVannes facing a tough early test
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promoted ProD2 winners Vannes will kick off their first-ever season in the Top 14 at home against...
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James Harrington
/ 10 months agoTime for players to behave properly
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There are no ‘good’ responses to Melvyn Jaminet’s violently racist outburst on social media, or the serious...
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James Harrington
/ 10 months agoJalibert is top of the ‘wanted’ list again
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Never mind that the words ‘Stade Toulousain’ have only just been meticulously punched into the plaque on...
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James Harrington
/ 10 months agoTerrific Toulouse go on the rampage
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN “We didn’t just lose the arm wrestle – we had our wrists broken under the table,” Bordeaux...
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Club Rugby
/ 11 months agoCarbonel winner ensures last-gasp Montpellier survival
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN THE English Football League’s Championship play-off final is sometimes referred to as ‘the richest game in football’,...
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James Harrington
/ 11 months agoHogg has eyes set on Top 14 surprise
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Stuart Hogg’s reported surprise reverse-ferret back into the professional game after his retirement last year – and...
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James Harrington
/ 11 months agoGopperth misses out on top flight
FRENCH COLUMN By JAMES HARRINGTON Jimmy Gopperth won’t be the oldest-ever player to feature in the Top 14 next season after...
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James Harrington
/ 11 months agoTV deal hits the €700m jackpot
By JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Jeroboams of champagne all round at Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) headquarters earlier this week, after...
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James Harrington
/ 12 months agoDramatic finale puts Brive into play-offs
By JAMES HARRINGTON The ProD2 supplied a final glorious regular-season round for the ages in a perfectly timed reminder to broadcasters...
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James Harrington
/ 12 months agoI may sell Toulon for €1 – Lemaitre
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A matter of weeks after ProD2 strugglers Biarritz were sold for €1, Toulon owner Bernard Lemaitre suggested...
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James Harrington
/ 12 months agoBiarritz’s fight for survival goes on
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Ten days ago, under-new-management ProD2 strugglers Biarritz gave themselves what looked a lot like a crucial safety...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoRecord crowds flock to matches
JAMES HARRINGTON - FRENCH COLUMN More people than ever are flocking through the turnstiles of Top 14 and ProD2 matches, according...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoJIFF looks likely to play a vital role
JAMES HARRINGTON - FRENCH COLUMN It's logical – as the final stop-start sprint in a hard-fought Top 14 season begins –...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoBiarritz’s future is back in its hands
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN To the relief of fans, white smoke was finally seen over the stand tops of Biarritz’s Parc...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoTV deal to break €500m barrier
FRENCH COLUMN - JAMES HARRINGTON France's Ligue Nationale de Rugby hopes to pocket more than half-a-billion euros, after launching a call...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoToulon heading in right direction
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TOULON coach Pierre Mignoni earned something of a reprieve this weekend, as his side’s 54-7 win over...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoToulouse and Stade in line for a race to glory
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The top two tiers of French domestic rugby have been on hiatus this weekend, giving fans a...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoOyonnax have to keep on believing
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Oyonnax manager Joe El-Abd promised last week that his side would ‘fight to the end’ following their...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoBig clubs are hit by ‘doublon’ clashes
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN We always knew the World Cup would play havoc with the Top 14 season – as soon...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoToulon need to win over the critics
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Sometimes it’s not immediately obvious whether a side is in good shape or not. A simple look...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoCalvet’s likely to step in at Agen
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France Under-20s coach Sebastien Calvet has emerged as favourite to replace Bernard Goutta on the conveyor-belt of...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoDavidson relief as Castres stop rot
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The afternoon after the Friday-night chastening Six Nations defeat in Marseille before, a subdued French rugby audience...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoLyon get it right against Perpignan
JAMES HARRINGTON In a league featuring the likes of Racing 92 and Toulouse, Toulon and La Rochelle, Bordeaux and Stade Francais,...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoLucu the man to replace Dupont
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN An email drop and social media flurry confirmed the line-up of France’s 34-player training squad for the...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoNo rush to get Tuilagi involved
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Something of a big deal was made last week about the fact that, a matter of days...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoFarrell’s future the only talk in town…
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Fabien Galthie will have a reduced training squad for the 2024 Six Nations after a player release...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoSimmonds is facing a fight for survival
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN THE final weekend of 2023 – and we’re almost at the halfway point of the Top 14...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoO’Gara’s problems keep on coming
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Australian hooker Tolu Latu went straight into La Rochelle’s matchday squad for pre-Christmas trip to Stade Francais,...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoOlympics causing financial headache
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The new cycle of French senior men’s rugby starts here – a month-and-a-half after the 2023 Rugby...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoDavies enjoying life in a new lake
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN SWAPPING Dragons for a new challenge at Grenoble – and the lens of Welsh rugby for relative...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoLaporte & Co hit the panic button
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A week after ripping out their coaching set-up and employing an Etch-a-Sketch style reset to their season,...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoCockerill goes out, Collazo comes in
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TIME was very firmly called on Richard Cockerill’s brief run as Montpellier manager six days ago, after...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoWelsh warrior bows out in style
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Rugby – even thoroughly modern professional rugby – sometimes proves it still has at least a little...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoClermont claim first away win with Urios
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The smile on Christophe Urios’s face said it all, as his Clermont side ended a year-long losing...
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James Harrington
/ 1 year agoStade set bar high in bid for new start
JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The Laurent Labit-Karim Ghezal era at Stade Francais officially starts here – and the talk around Stade...
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