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All Blacks legend Brad Thorn on the family bond that led to Test coaching debut
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Ex-England prop Perry Freshwater lines up new Top 14 role – report
By Liam Heagney
Former England prop Perry Freshwater will be on the move in the Top 14 at the end of this season, with a French media story claiming he will swap Perpignan for a stint with Paul Gustard’s Stade Francais.
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L’Equipe have reported that scrum coach Freshwater, the ex-Leicester front-rower who won the 2009 Top 14 with Perpignan as a player, is poised to leave the Catalan club for a Parisian adventure.
Freshwater, who debuted for England in 2005, began his post-playing career helping English-speaking players to settle at Perpignan but has been in charge of the club’s scrum since 2016. That will change, though, next summer.
A L’Equipe report read: “Stade Francais has a reinforcement for its staff for next season. According to our information, the Parisian club has reached an agreement with the English technician, Perry Freshwater (51 years old).
“The former England prop will bring his knowledge of the scrum, as he has done in Perpignan since 2016 following his playing career.
Top 14
P
W
L
D
PF
PA
PD
BP T
BP-7
BP
Total
1
Bordeaux
14
11
3
0
50
2
Toulouse
14
9
4
1
47
3
Toulon
14
9
5
0
43
4
Clermont
14
8
6
0
38
5
Bayonne
14
9
5
0
38
6
Stade Rochelais
14
8
6
0
36
7
Montpellier
14
7
7
0
34
8
Castres
14
7
7
0
31
9
Racing 92
14
5
8
1
26
10
Lyon
14
5
7
2
26
11
Pau
14
5
9
0
25
12
Perpignan
14
5
9
0
24
13
Stade Francais
14
5
9
0
23
14
Vannes
14
3
11
0
16
“Freshwater recently confirmed his departure to his management after reaching an agreement with Stade Francais. The latter also announced on Monday the recruitment of Mathieu Blin as a consultant until the end of the season to take care of the scrum before the arrival of Freshwater.”
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After reaching last season’s semi-final with a second place finish, Stade have been in free fall this season and last weekend’s 19-46 home loss to leaders Bordeaux left them 13th in the 14-team league.
