On the eve of the Montauban reception, FCG president Patrick Goffi and his director of rugby Aubin Hueber formalized no less than ten extensions and two recruits. Enough to prepare solidly for next season, while waiting to see the staff do the same…
The New Year greeting period is also a crucial one at the professional club level, during which preparation for the next season takes place. In particular on the thorny subject of contract extensions, so sensitive among clubs aspiring to join the upper echelon…”We met with all the players before December 15, who had until midnight on January 2 to give us a response, specified President Patrick Goffi. It was a big year at the end of their contracts, especially for many players trained at the club, and it was about moving forward quickly. And in this regard, the Isère club struck hard by formalizing the extensions of no less than 9 players this Wednesday, the day before the reception of Montauban at the Stade des Alpes.
Among which we find the pillars Zack Gauthier (2027), Tommy Raynaud (2026) and Eli Eglaine (2028), the hooker Lilian Rossi (2028), the second row on loan from La Rochelle Thomas Ployet (2026), the flanker Antonin Berruyer ( 2027), scrum-halves Barnabé Couilloud (2027) and Eric Escande (2027), fly-half Sam Davies (2028) and center Romain Fusier (2027). Good news to which we will soon have to add the second row Thomas Lainault and the flanker Victor Guillaumond as well as the young Max Clément and Hugo Trouilloud, with whom agreements should be quickly found.
Official for Ruffenach and Callandret
In fact, there are no longer many uncertainties, which only concern non-Jiff second rows Pierce Phillips and Brandon Nansen and medical wildcards Ryno Pieterse and Cameron Holt, whose cases will be dealt with later in the season. Among the confirmed departures, there are only hooker Mathis Sarragallet (Lyon) and winger Geoffrey Cros (Brive), as well as number eight Pio Muarua (in advanced negotiations with Clermont). To replace these players, the FCG has already validated two recruits: Pau hooker Romain Ruffenach (30 years old) who signed for two seasons, and Bayonne winger Aurélien Callandret (27 years old) who signed hired for three years. Finally, it is the young U20 trained at the Mathis Baret club who will “replace” numerically Muarua, in the planned succession plan.
-Other recruits are obviously to be expected in the event of accession to the Top 14 but for the moment, it is firstly on the subject of the staff that Patrick Goffi and Aubin Hueber wish to focus on to extend it as quickly as possible, start with the coaching duo Nicolas Nadau-Patrick Pézery. Negotiations are underway and appear on track to be finalized quickly, probably before the end of January. The only certainty is that defense coach Tom Palmer will not stay in Isère, replaced position for position by Lionel Ringeval who is already involved on a daily basis with the team.
Morocco
