Kiwi Arnold extends stay with Top 14 side Lyon

Bath rocked as Wales star Faletau suffers broken arm

LYON, Oct 9, (AFP): New Zealand’s Toby Arnold will remain at Lyon until 2022 after signing a three-year contract extension with the Top 14 side, the club announced Tuesday.

The 31-year-old winger’s current deal was set to expire in 2019 but Arnold has been rewarded for consistently high performances since joining the club in 2013.

Arnold started 25 of Lyon’s 28 fixtures last season and, despite in-house competition from the likes of Noa Nakaitaci, Alexis Palisson and Xavier Mignot, has started all of Lyon’s six Top 14 matches so far this season.

Promoted to France’s top flight in 2016, Lyon have gone from strength to strength, qualifying for the Top 14 final phase for the first time in 2017 when they reached the semi-finals after eliminating Toulon and Mayol in the playoffs.

Lyon launched a massive summer recruitment campaign to boost their chances of progress in what will be their first participation in the European Cup this season.

Lyon get their European campaign underway on Sunday when they host Cardiff Blues at the Stade Gerland.

Wales back row is likely to miss the November internationals after suffering a broken arm during Premiership clash with

Bath have yet to give a timeframe for Faletau’s recovery, but the 27-year-old is set to be sidelined for several weeks. That would make it a race against time to feature for when they face and

in November. It is also a blow for Bath, who kick off their European Champions Cup campaign against on Saturday.

Bath face in the Champions Cup this month before they resume Premiership action by tackling Worcester on Nov 17.

“Bath Rugby can confirm that Taulupe Faletau broke his arm during last week’s Gallagher Premiership fixture against Exeter Chiefs. We wish him a speedy recovery,” a statement on the club’s website read.

Wales head coach will name his Test squad early next week and the potential loss of Faletau, who has 72 caps and started all three Tests for the

against last year, would be a significant setback. RC Toulon’s French prop Sébastien Taofifenua (center), vies with Montpellier’s Georgian prop Mikheil Nariashvili (left), and South African lock Paul Willemse during the French Top 14 rugby union match between Montpellier and Toulon on Oct 7 at the GGL Stadium in Montpellier,

southern France. (AFP)

South African playmaker will be out of action for “at least two months” with a badly twisted ankle, the club announced Tuesday.

Goosen sustained the injury early in Sunday’s match against which Montpellier won 29-17 to consolidate their fourth place in the Top 14. The absence adds to coach

woes ahead of their European Champions Cup match with Edinburgh on Saturday, with ex-All fly-half (calf) out and a biceps injury.

nursing

Winger suffered a thigh injury in the Toulon match, with fellow Fijian

and scrum-half Georgian prop

and

coach

and

and

also both out. locks and backrowers

are all also sidelined.

Toulon, sitting a lowly 12th in the Top 14, have drafted in Kiwi lock from on a oneyear deal with one more as an option.

He is the first of five recruits to be unveiled by Toulon president to boost a pack lacking the injured

selections throughout the Rugby Championship have generated their share of criticism but there have been few complaints about the decision to switch to fullback.

After playing 22 consecutive tests on the wing, Haylett-Petty was handed the number 15 jersey after incumbent suffered an ankle strain in the tournament opener against the

Such was Haylett-Petty’s poise in the rearguard position that Cheika elected to keep the tall Western Australian there even when Folau returned from injury, shifting the to the wing instead.

While Cheika tweaked his forward pack and changed his playmaking combinations back and forth, HaylettPetty remained one of the few constants during the last five matches of the competition.

A nasty stomach complaint on the eve of the final match against on Saturday threatened to break the streak but Haylett-Petty rose from his sickbed to score two tries and take the man-of-the-match award in Salta.

“I always felt like I was going to feel much better come game time and our medical staff did a really good job getting me right,” the 29-year-old said.

“I was obviously a little bit nervous pre-game but once I got out there and started to warm up I felt pretty good and I was able to get through 80.”