By
Clement Mazella
Published on
Sep 18, 2024 at 12:27 PM
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The very respectful public of La Rabine believed in July that it could encourage Leigh Halfpenny in Top 14.
The experienced Welsh full-back and scorer (35 years old; 101 caps) even came to take physical tests at RCV. But Vannes, who had to fine-tune his recruitment well after the other clubs of the Elite, did not follow up. The coach Jean-Noël Spitzer explained it.
Leigh Halfpenny rejected by Vannes
The Breton technician immediately dismissed the idea of a financial problem. The reason is quite different. “We were doubtful about him because he had had little playing time in the last two seasons. It’s an important criterion. You rarely do better than what you did in the previous two seasons at that age.
Jean-Noël Spitzer continued: “When you take a player who is old enough, you have to take into account his last 2-3 seasons. The players of that age that we have at the club, they played. You know that you will be able to do the same thing with them. Halfpenny, it was a risk.”
On July 5, 2021, Leigh Halfpenny suffered a serious knee injury with Wales. It took him over a year to play again, and his performances were sporadic. During the 2022-2023 season, he played 12 matches. Selected for the 2023 World Cup (only 1 match played), he then did a stint with the Crusaders in New Zealand. It was limited to a single match, due to a pectoral injury.
Surano will help out at the back
As it comes to playing its first Top 14 season, Vannes can therefore only count on Gwenaël Duplenne as a specialist in the full-back position. RCV has tried to find the rare pearl, is still continuing, but is not succeeding. “It will take a combination of circumstances to get someone back from now on,” says Spitzer.
The Vannes coach mentions that winger Paul Surano will help out in this position. “He played very decent games last year. Since Nick Abendanon left, we have been looking, but it is not so easy to find a full-back who fulfills the essential functions of the position.”
CM, with Florian Tiercin (Actu Morbihan) in Vannes
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