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A touch of irony maybe that this eason's Elite 1 player of the year was basically sacked by TO for on-pitch discipine problems. He's had a good season but really, player of the season ? A few other contenders maybe like Mikael Murcia, Garry Lo, Joan Guasch or Baptiste Fabre to name a few ?

Classic game of two halves with St Esteve just shading it thanks to better fitness imo. Really warm out there with temperatures stll up in the 30°s during the game so a great effort from both sides. ASC missing the power of Garry Lo.

The company Vichy Catalan is a bona fida company so i'm assuming it's true. Still good publicity for the company tho' !

No, no more idea than if a USAP player walked through the streets.

Very weird Gordon, i've watched St Gaudens a few times this season and they've either been brilliant or rubbish ! Time for Dumas to go, he has outstayed his welcome just like he did at TO13. St G need some young blood with fresh ideas.

I have to throw another name in the ring Gordon, Baptiste Fabre is a 17 year old who has excelled at scrum half with a few performances at hooker and stand-off this season at Albi. He's a decent kicker too and looks set to have a very bright future. He spent a few weeks at Leeds Rhinos last autumn on a training camp. A nice kid now doing his Bac Pro at Carcassonne.

It was announced a few months back that a company called Vichy Catalan, a soft drinks company would be sponsoring the Elite 1 next season so the new name is the Vichy Elite 1. A name to conjour up some emotions maybe ?

Yeah, great town.

Gordon, I know you like to hear superflous information, a bit of a "where are they now" moment actually. Thierry Alibert, of SL reffing fame a few years back is still involved in the game. I bumped into him at the Lescure second team recently game where he was in charge of the team. He ended his association with the FFR13 as head of the French referees when Marc Palanques took over in 2017. He has a good job working for Orange and lives very happily with his family close to Albi.

Top six just about sorted now. Albi edged a thriller at the Mazicou and continued their progression under Joris Canton after they dispensed with the services of Eric Anselme. They are a good side to watch in full flow but just need to improve their consistency and discipline , which probably goes for most teams at this level. Good to see Villeneuve back in the top six after some pretty disasterous years. The kind of Director of Rugby, David Despin put in place a youth policy a couple of season back which is positive and Julien Rinaldi has made a difference. Breaking into the top three or four is the next giant leap required but funds may prevent that.

The in-goal areas at the Ernest Argèles in Toulouse are gi-normous, at least ten metres ?

I reckon the deal is already done.

...or London....

Regarding Nanterre XIII, the news came out in early april and the outcry and support from clubs and fans around the world was considerable. The update is sketchy and attempts to gain more info hasn't been forthcoming from either the club, the local council or the French Federation. I've contacted various people involved and no one has replied. Nanterre continue to play matches, mainly 9s tournaments and did quite well in the annual Rotterdam tournament a couple of weeks back.

Enjoyed the game at Sheffield. It will be biased as long as the coach's son is commentating I suppose.