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After Eddie Jones phonecall, Carl Fearns wants to play for France...but there's a hitch

By James Harrington
Carl Fearns

Liverpudlian in Lyon Carl Fearns has set his sights on playing international rugby for France following a telephone conversation with England boss Eddie Jones – but will have to wait longer than he was expecting to don Les Bleus’ jersey.

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The flanker was in the middle of a tug-of-love between Top 14 side Lyon and English Premiership outfit Gloucester earlier this year, before opting to remain at the French club he had joined from Bath in 2015.

He told The Daily Mail that he agreed to join Gloucester this summer, intending to push for an England call-up, but a phone call from Jones – in which, Fearns said, Jones called him ‘a whinger and a moaner’, who ‘would not last 15 minutes’ in international rugby – helped him decide his future remained in the shadow of the Alps in southeast France.

So, in June, the 28-year-old signed a new three-year deal with Lyon, effectively ruling himself out of the England reckoning, due to the RFU’s policy of not selecting overseas-based players.

Fearns, who has been nominated for the Top 14 Player of the Year award for the 2016-17 season, along with New Zealand’s Victor Vito and France’s Remi Lamerat, added he would be open to a call up to Guy Novès’ France squad – if only to prove Jones wrong.

“If I’m wanted by the French national team, I would do it – 100 per cent.” he said. “I want to play international rugby. I feel like when I play against international players, I am at their standard, so I want to test myself at that level.”

“I qualify for France at the end of this season, so we will see what happens there. It’s something I would seriously think about. I will have just turned 29 by then, so if it’s possible, I will look at it.”

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But there’s a problem. While Fearns could, technically, qualify for France through the Sevens squad, Bernard Laporte, the embattled president of the French Federation de Rugby (FFR) announced in December 2016 that France will no longer select non-French citizens for the national side.

“We told World Rugby that we had made a decision not to select foreign players even if the regulations allow,” said Laporte, as he announced the decision.

Fearns does not have a French passport and has not lived in the country long enough to qualify for citizenship.

Foreign-born players in Guy Noves’ elite squad for the 2017-18 season, Uini Atonio, Virimi Vakatawa and Noa Nakaitaci, are all French citizens.

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Adrian 43 minutes ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

6 Go to comments
T
Trevor 3 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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B
Bull Shark 7 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

Of the rugby I’ve born witness to in my lifetime - 1990 to date - I recognize great players throughout those years. But I have no doubt the game and the players are on average better today. So I doubt going back further is going to prove me wrong. The technical components of the game, set pieces, scrums, kicks, kicks at goal. And in general tactics employed are far more efficient, accurate and polished. Professional athletes that have invested countless hours on being accurate. There is one nation though that may be fairly competitive in any era - and that for me is the all blacks. And New Zealand players in general. NZ produces startling athletes who have fantastic ball skills. And then the odd phenomenon like Brooke. Lomu. Mcaw. Carter. Better than comparing players and teams across eras - I’ve often had this thought - that it would be very interesting to have a version of the game that is closer to its original form. What would the game look like today if the rules were rolled back. Not rules that promote safety obviously - but rules like: - a try being worth 1 point and conversion 2 points. Hence the term “try”. Earning a try at goals. Would we see more attacking play? - no lifting in the lineouts. - rucks and break down laws in general. They looked like wrestling matches in bygone eras. I wonder what a game applying 1995 rules would look like with modern players. It may be a daft exercise, but it would make for an interesting spectacle celebrating “purer” forms of the game that roll back the rules dramatically by a few versions. Would we come to learn that some of the rules/combinations of the rules we see today have actually made the game less attractive? I’d love to see an exhibition match like that.

29 Go to comments
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