James Harrington

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

Melikidze makes it count for Bordeaux

2 October 2022 2 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN SATURDAY’S Top 14 match between Bordeaux and Stade Francais was not one for the annals – persistent rain, a slippery ball […]

Verdict on corruption charges is awaited

25 September 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Tuesday, December 13. That’s the date a Paris court delivers its verdicts on FFR President Bernard Laporte, vice president Serge Simon, […]

Jalibert in line to join Barrett at Racing 92

18 September 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France international fly-half Matthieu Jalibert’s unfortunately timed early-season travails continued on Saturday, amid renewed questions over his future at Bordeaux and […]

Racing 92 hit hard by Vakatawa retirement

11 September 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN For Racing 92, this is the first weekend after the unexpected retirement before. A matter of days after the club’s French […]

Toulouse will take title, say coaches

4 September 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Toulouse will win the Top 14 title at the end of another tight season – according to a survey of the […]

Concern as refs switch to other side

28 August 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Another of French rugby’s leading gamekeepers turned coach this week, as Top 14 referee Maxime Chalon put down his whistle and […]

Transfer market that never sleeps

21 August 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Accepted wisdom has it that the shortest period of time is the New York Second – helpfully defined in the Urban […]

Tide has turned on overseas galacticos

14 August 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN IT is a truth long universally accepted that the Top 14 is a pension-liner for big-name overseas players. The roll-call of […]

Toulouse spoilt for choice at full-back

7 August 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN How do you solve a problem like three current international full-backs competing for the only available 15 jersey at one Top […]

Broncan: We want to invest in youth

31 July 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Pre-season is now underway for all Top 14 sides apart from champions Montpellier, who officially return to camp on Monday. Some […]

Fofana, one of the stars of 2006, to bow out

24 July 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Clermont star Wesley Fofana this week became the latest Top 14 player to join the annual line of those permanently signing […]

Top eight to follow in Spring’s footsteps

17 July 2022 25 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Young Racing 92 fullback Max Spring earned careful praise from France head coach Fabien Galthie after a mixed performance on debut […]

Clash of the champions will open new season

10 July 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Two blockbuster matches are scheduled for the opening weekend of the 2022/23 Top 14 season as European champions La Rochelle entertain […]

Galthie in no rush to sign up his coaches

3 July 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON – FRENCH COLUMN FFR President Bernard Laporte was ready to offer Les Bleus’ head coach Fabien Galthie a new, extended contract if he […]

All eyes on Mercer as he rules in Paris

26 June 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN There’s no doubt the better side won Friday’s Top 14 final. Montpellier’s 29-10 win over Castres at Stade de France was, […]

France star Woki still weighing his options

19 June 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN No sooner have France’s Top 14 clubs just about closed the book on recruitment for the year then speculation begins on […]

World Cup will be won and lost in the run-up

29 May 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Fifteen months out from the 2023 World Cup, the rugby debate in host nation France is getting around to the workload […]

Racing 92 play down any move for Jones

22 May 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Try double: Matthieu Jalibert helped Bordeaux book their place in the play-offs England head coach Eddie Jones set the rugby rumour […]

Bayonne win battle for home semi-final

15 May 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Away from the bright lights of the European semi-finals, the regular season of France’s second-tier ProD2 drew to a close on […]

ProD2 call for system reset to aid recruitment

8 May 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Biarritz’s long-inevitable relegation from the Top 14 was finally confirmed last weekend when they lost 48-13 at home to Castres, 24 […]

All to play for as it begins to get serious

1 May 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON Like any other league, the business end of the Top 14 season is played in a haze of permutations and possibilities on a […]

Beauxis: Time to hang up my boots

24 April 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Arguably the most wonderfully and frustratingly French of French fly-halves, Lionel Beauxis, confirmed he will call time on his 19-year professional career […]

No respite as the race for play-offs ramps up

17 April 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The rugby season in Europe’s top three leagues gets confused at this time of year, as we head into the business […]

Toulon must do their maths to avoid points deduction

17 April 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN TOULON’S end-ofseason run-in – and their points total for next season – may be complicated by JIFF rules. Under current rules, […]

Toulon fans in uproar at Carbonel departure

10 April 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Even by Toulon’s unusual standards, this season has been an extraordinary tale of failure and redemption. But, while confidence is mounting […]

Barlot gets the better of big rival Mauvaka

3 April 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Castres Olympique hooker Gaetan Barlot scored his third Top 14 try of the season yesterday, scoring a personal point in a […]

Les Bleues inspired to follow the men’s lead

27 March 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN A little over 24 hours after England’s statement win over Scotland in the first match of the 2022 Women’s Six Nations, […]

No time to rest as pressures mount up

20 March 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN This should have been a weekend off for those Top 14 and ProD2 players not involved in Super Saturday –a chance […]

Biarritz’s top-flight dream all but over

13 March 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Promotion and relegation matters returned firmly to the forefront of Top 14 rugby minds, after bottom side Biarritz lost 45-17 at […]

Lock star Jolmes is latest UFO to appear

6 March 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The French for UFO is OVNI – which stands for objet volant non identifié. It is a term that has, over […]

Juggernaut Joseph has found his smile at Pau

27 February 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN This has been a bleublanc-rouge letter week for former France U20 phenomenon Jordan Joseph. It started last Saturday, with a fullblooded […]

Lemaitre puts his faith in Mignoni

20 February 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Toulon president Bernard Lemaitre pulled something of a recruitment rabbit out of his hat this week, as he confirmed current Lyon […]

Toulouse suffer fifth defeat in a row

13 February 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN No Top 14 matches were originally scheduled for this weekend – the second of the Six Nations – as clubs were […]

Overseas players facing the squeeze

6 February 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN It turns out the week leading up to the first round of the Six Nations – the week Covid limits were […]

France must deliver… and Galthie knows it

30 January 2022 1 comment

FRANCE Fans expect this to be best year yet under Galthie, writes James Harrington Talisman: Antoine Dupont is expected to be fit for the opening […]

Relief as Dupont returns to action

30 January 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Forty-nine days after he last played rugby, scrum-half, Antoine Dupont returned to action last night, alongside international half-back partner Romain Ntamack, […]

Galthie’s surprise UFO lands his chance

23 January 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France coach Fabien Galthie revealed his squad selection for Les Bleus’ first training camp ahead of the 2022 Six Nations on […]

Dupont is suddenly a doubt for Six Nations

16 January 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN No matter what Leinster thought about the situation when the news broke, European rugby officials took one of just two reasonable […]

Galthie: We have means to take title

9 January 2022 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France coach Fabien Galthie will announce his 42-player squad for the Six Nations a week on Monday, a day before Eddie […]

New Covid rules test powers of persuasion

2 January 2022 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN After much of the second round of European competition was called off before Christmas because of Covid- 19, it was inevitable […]

New deals depend on Six Nations silverware

26 December 2021 2 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Two years, or 20 matches if you prefer, is how long it has taken Fabien Galthie and his staff to transform […]

Coly looks destined to be rival for Dupont

19 December 2021 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN Depending on your point of view, the fact that France’s so-called ‘golden generation’ shows no sign of disappearing any time soon […]

New loans aiming to return with interest

12 December 2021 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN What do Top 14 back rows Jordan Joseph and Martin Devergie, hookers Guillaume Marchand and Bastien Soury, scrumhalf James Hart, centres […]

Mid-table Racing on top of the JIFF chart

12 December 2021 0 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON THE argument that the French Top 14 is a haven for overseas megaplayers is increasingly hard to defend – to the point where, […]

Mercurial Teddy’s off in search of Test rebirth

5 December 2021 2 comments

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN France international winger Teddy Thomas wasn’t even in Racing 92’s squad for this weekend’s Top 14 defeat at Castres – yet […]

Mercer in top form as Eddie looks on

28 November 2021 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN The Top 14 returned after a three-week international break for two rounds ahead of the start of the European competitions, with […]

Success of Ruiz puts refs in hot demand

21 November 2021 1 comment

JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN You’d be forgiven for thinking – especially after World Rugby’s sanction against Rassie Erasmus following his video rant after the First […]