JOHNNY SEXTON MIGHT be on his way home but we are still guaranteed an Irish presence in next season’s Top 14. Former Munster back row James Coughlan has had a very strong season for Pau in the ProD2 and they confirmed their promotion to the top tier of French rugby with a 31-5 win over Montauban yesterday.
Coughlan will be joined by Munster flanker Sean Dougall at the club next season, and All Black Conrad Smith is also set to join after the World Cup. Pau are sponsored by Total, the world’s fifth biggest oil company, so they have a fair amount of money to throw around.
They also have former French internationals Damien Traille and Jean Bouilhou in their ranks but Coughlan has been one of the club’s stand-out performers this year.
Simon Mannix, who was the Munster backs coach under Rod Penney, is the Pau head coach and Coughlan spoke very positively about his leadership skills when he talked to The42 earlier in the season.
The club also reportedly tabled an offer of €500,000 per year for All Blacks out-half Colin Slade, although he has yet to agree to join.
Pau have the kind of money that makes Toulon’s comic book mogul look like he’s running a lemonade stand, and it will be interesting to see how aggressive they are in the transfer marker ahead of next season.
Good stuff! Good opportunity for McCarthy to kick on now and gain some form. With the Sheffield lads getting exposure and some youth coming through things could really come along now. Coybig
Great move for McCarthy. Guaranteed first team football with a solid team will hopefully help him regain his fitness and form and his place in the Irish team.
Hopefully Zaha goes the other way now. Everton could do surprisingly well this season
@Kerrydone: err, why would Zaha go to Everton….not much of a difference between 11 and 7…,
@Matisyahu Kelleher: You think that’s the reason players move?