Toulon face battle to keep Guirado as rival plans massive offer - reports
Billionaire-bankrolled Top 14 giants Montpellier are working to prise France captain Guilhem Guirado from Toulon after next year’s Rugby World Cup, reports in France say.
Guirado, who missed the June tour of New Zealand after being rested by national coach Jacques Brunel in the summer, is in the final year of his current contract with the three-time European champions, after joining the club from Perpignan when they were relegated in 2014.
It is expected that next year’s tournament in Japan will be the 32-year-old hooker’s international swansong – and Montpellier’s owner Mohed Altrad appears to be hoping that it will also prompt him to switch clubs for a second time.
The rumours on Guirado’s future at Toulon started swirling after early contract talks with officials at the club reached no definitive conclusion, according to twice-weekly rugby newspaper Midi Olympique.
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The paper claims that Montpellier are determined to tempt the 60-cap French international to the GGL Stadium, even though South Africa’s 74-cap international Bismarck du Plessis has a contract with the club through to June 2020.
Guirado, who hails from Céret, in the southwestern department of Pyrénées-Orientales, which neighbours the Hérault, of which Montpellier is the capital, is expected to receive an offer ‘commensurate with his international status’, Midi Olympique said.
His arrival ‘would send a strong signal on the market, both in sporting and symbolic terms’ the paper said, suggesting it could indicate a – partly rule-oriented – shift away from the club’s apparent reliance on South African players.
Under increasingly strict player quota regulations, an average of 15 players in a Top 14 club’s matchday squad of 23 must be qualified to play for France. While Montpellier has consistently hit the required mark, the number of imported players – notably those from South Africa – has regularly been commented on in France.
As the rules get tighter, and the punishments for failing to maintain the required average more severe, the premium on France qualified players is set to go through the roof. And one of Guirado’s standing will be one of the highest-valued players on the market.
It may well be time for him to cash in.
Altrad has form when it comes to splashing the cash in his continuing search for silverware.
In 2017, he paid English Premiership side Northampton €1million to bring Louis Picamoles back to France. Earlier in 2018, he stumped up a reported €1.4million to get Johan Goosen off the books at Racing 92 and end his two-year ‘retirement’ from rugby. And he has made young flanker Yacuba Camara one of the highest paid homegrown players in France.
Meanwhile, English papers have reported that a number of Top 14 clubs may be chasing the signature of a certain Maro Itoje.
So, Midi Olympique asked Montpellier’s Mohed Altrad the obvious question. And he gave the obvious non-response: “It depends on the opinion of our coach Vern Cotter, but we would be interested because he is a very high level player.”
Read into that what you will.
Comments on RugbyPass
Wasnt late. Ref 2 assistants andTMO all saw it so who are you to say it was?
3 Go to commentsAre the Brumbies playing the Blues twice in a row?
3 Go to commentsBig difference from the Saders. Forwards really muscled up and laid a solid platform. Scooter brought some steel and I liked the loosie combination. Newell has been rather disappointing this season but stepped up big time - happy also to see Franks dot down. He should do that more often! Reihana had a good game and there seems to be more flair and invention with him in the saddle. McNicoll plays well from the back and is reliable plus inventive when he joins the line. Keep it up chaps!
3 Go to comments🤦♂️🤣 who cares who’s the best . All I know is the All Blacks have the star coach but have few star players now …
30 Go to commentsJe suis sûr que Farrell est impatient de jouer avec Lopez et Machenaud et d’être entraîné par Collazo… 🤭
1 Go to commentsAn on field red (aka a full red) in SRP must surely carry a bigger suspension than a red card given by the bunker as that carries a 20 minute team punishment. Had Damon Murphy abdicated his responsibility as a ref and issued both Drua players a yellow, which would have been upgraded to a 20 minute red by the bunker, that would have killed Australia and New Zealand’s push for the 20 minute red to be trialled globally from July this year.
11 Go to commentsEver so often you all post a Danny Care story that isn’t the announcement that he has finally re-signed for one more, victory tour season at Quins and I’m just like, “well you fooled me again!” My absolute favorite player ever, we need to make his final year at the Stoop (and Twickers) official already. I know he supposedly snubbed France but I won’t feel better until he signs.
1 Go to commentslate hit what late hit it wasn’t at all late and can clearly see he was committed before the tackle
3 Go to commentsChristian Lio -Willies 2 try perfomance was a standout. As was captain Scott Barrett. Up front was where the boys won it.They are a great team and players. Fantastic Crusaders , you can keep going.
3 Go to commentsI don't know how the locals feel about that? I guess if you call yourselves the Worcester Wasps that might be appease. But really we need more teams in the Premiership in my view so they are not padding it out as they are at the moment. It might curtail so many players going abroad as well
5 Go to commentsNZ 😭😭😭is certainly rivaling England for best whingers cup!😭😭😭 !!!
30 Go to commentsYup. New Zealand won 3 out of 10 world cups played. SA 4 out of 8 attempts 30 Vs 50 per cent.🤔🤔
30 Go to commentsShould've done this years ago. Change Saturday kick off times to around 11am. Up and off and back home before 3pm, limit travel time too. Allows players to actually do something else with their Saturday that's family oriented or being rugby fans they could ‘watch’ pro rugby. Increases crowds etc. How can anyone that enjoys grassroots and pro rugby have to choose between the two on Saturdays?
9 Go to commentsI bet he inspired those supporters just as much.
1 Go to commentsBen Smith Springboks living rent free in his head 😊😂
67 Go to commentsGood to hear he would like to play the game at the highest level, I hadn’t been to sure how much of a motivator that was before now. Sadly he’s probably chosen the rugby club to go to. Try not to worry about all the input about how you should play rugby Joey and just try to emulate what you do on the league field and have fun. You’ll limit your game too much (well not really because he’s a standard athlete like SBW and he’ll still have enough) if you’re trying to make sure you can recycle the ball back etc. On the other hard, you can totally just try and recycle by looking to offload any and everywhere if you’re going to ground 😋
1 Go to commentsThis just proves that theres always a stat and a metric to use to justify your abilities and your success. Ben did it last week by creating an imaginary competition and now you did the same to counter his argument and espouse a new yardstick for success. Why not just use the current one and lets say the Boks have won 4 world cups making them the most successful world cup team. Outside of the world cup the All Blacks are the most successful team winning countless rugby championships and dominating the rankings with high win percentages. Over the last 4 years statistically the Irish are the best having the highest win rate and also having positive records against every tier 1 side. The most successful Northern team in the game has been England with a world cup title and the most six nations titles in history. The AB’s are the most dominant team in history with the highest win rate and 3 world cups. Lets not try to reinvent the wheel. Just be honest about the actual stats and what each team has been good at doing and that will be enough to define their level of success.
30 Go to commentsHow is 7’s played there? I’m surprised 10 or 11 man rugby hasn’t taken off. 7 just doesn’t fit the 15s dynamics (rules n field etc) but these other versions do.
9 Go to commentsPick Swinton at your peril A liability just like JWH from the Roosters Skelton ??? went missing at RWC
14 Go to commentsLike tennis, who have a ranking system, and I believe rugby too, just measure over each period preceding a world cup event who was the longest number one and that would be it. In tennis the number one player frequently is not the grand slam winner. I love and adore the All Blacks since the days of Ian Kirkpatrick when I was a kid in SA. And still do because they are the masters of running rugby and are gentleman on and off the field - in general. And in my opinion they have been the majority of the time the best rugby team in the world.
30 Go to comments