France

As usual it’s the French Pro D2 that sees the greatest number of Americas players in action. At least 16 will be on show over the weekend, as many as 19 including three possibles on Sunday. Uruguayan scrumhalf Agustín Ormaechea got the ball rolling last night with a try-scoring performance …

Canadian prop Doug Wooldridge is joining Clermont Auvergne. Multiple French sources had indicated that the World Cup tighthead was one of several targets for the Top 14 club as a medical joker for long-term casualty Davit Zirakashvili, and Rugby Canada has now confirmed the signing. Zirakashvili, a Georgian international, fractured his right forearm against …

In what is surely a first for North American rugby at least, two Americas players will line up together in the midfield for Clermont Espoirs – the academy side – against Toulon on Sunday. Top Canadian prospect George Barton, 18, will line up with 19-year-old USA export Moses Fuala’au in …

Canadian star Jamie Cudmore will have surgery on a neck injury in the coming days, sidelining him for the next 3-4 months. The big second row suffered a herniated disc playing for Clermont Auvergne against Racing 92 on December 27 in Top 14 action. The news comes at a bad …

A number Americas rugby players will feature in Week 11 of the Top 14. Due to the holidays all seven of the league matches are to be played on Sunday. First up at 2pm will be Oyonnax hosting Stade Français. Although both teams are competing in this season’s European Champions Cup …

Former Pumas fullback Martín Bustos Moyano has extended his contract with Bayonne for a further two years. The French club was relegated from the Top 14 last season and currently sits in second place on the Pro D2 table, with strong aspirations of an immediate return to the first division. …

Uncapped Argentine prop Carlos Muzzio has extended his contract with Stade Montois for a further three years. The 30-year-old loosehead specialist joined the Pro D2 club from Tarbes ahead of the 2014-15 season and has established himself as first choice in the no1 jersey over the past 18 months. He …

Veteran Canadian second-rower Jamie Cudmore will leave Clermont at the end of the 2015-2016 season. Confirmation was made by Frank Azema that the 37 year old’s eleventh season at the Central French team will be his last. While at Clermont Cudmore has played in numerous French and European finals, winning …

A number of Americas players will be in action on Friday as the French Pro D2 approaches the mid-point of the competition. Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, and the USA are all represented. Agustín Figuerola starts things off at scrumhalf for league-leading Lyon against 5th place Colomiers. The former Pumas scrumhalf moved …

As part of the Get Into Rugby‬ program Stéphane Lagache of the Fedération Française de Rugby (French Rugby Federation – FFR) has been involved in a Rugby Sevens coaching course in the Caribbean nation of the Dominican Republic. Organized in conjunction with the French Embassy, the Dominican Republic’s Ministry of Sport …