Racing snap up bargain of the season in Fickou
Stade Francais will cover the cost of part of Gael Fickou’s wages at Racing 92 to get his salary off their books after deciding the player was a luxury they did not need. The club’s owner, Capri-Sun King Hans-Peter Wild, paid Toulouse €700,000 to release Fickou from the final season of his contract in 2018 and bring him to the capital on a five-year deal.
Now, he has crossed into the suburbs on a four-year contract – and Racing get a full-fat French international at a semi-skimmed price.
Fickou has been earning a reported €800,000 a year in Paris – but played just 13 times.
In those purely bald terms, cutting that amount from the wage bill for such a small return seems a logical move. But, in fairness, it’s not the player’s fault. The 2019 World Cup, Six Nations and Autumn International call-ups and Covid account for a good chunk of the matchdays in his two-and-a-bit seasons in Paris.
The move was not his choice. “It was not necessarily... a decision taken by me, but it was a delicate decision to take,” he said in the week. “I am of course disappointed to leave my teammates at Stade Francais, but I am also happy to join the guys at Racing, who I also know very well.
“I rub shoulders with them either in the national team or nearly every day in Paris because we are very close… Stade Français is a club that I love, I will try to finish in the best way possible.”
A regular Fickou-Vakatawa club midfield combo won’t do Fabien Galthie’s international plans any harm, either. And while those two are on international duty, Racing can count on Henry Chavancy, Olivier Klemenczak, or Kurtley Beale.
Much of the talk about Fickou’s move has been what it means for Ireland international Simon Zebo. His contract is up at the end of the season, with whispers of a return to Munster becoming increasingly unsubtle.
Few have so far considered what Fickou’s move means for Stade who, despite the fact Alex Arraté and Julien Delbouis recently extended their stays, have a gaping hole in their midfield ranks. Waisea can play in the centre as well as in the wing, but expect midfield reinforcements among the new arrivals.
Word on the French side of the Channel is, however, that the club have studied Ollie Lawrence’s CV but decided to take their interest no further.
Other than Jonathan Danty’s switch to La Rochelle, we’d heard mostly crickets from Stade Francais in the transfer market this season until this. Most of Stade’s work so far has focused on retention.
Yesterday, Stade welcomed a Clermont side still wondering who will be in charge next season after Franck Azema confirmed his departure a few weeks ago.
Edinburgh’s Richard Cockerill as well as Bayonne’s Yannick Bru, La Rochelle’s Jono Gibbes and Brive’s Jeremy Davidson were joined on the of names this week by former France international Olivier Magne. Guy Noves was also reportedly sounded out, but declined the chance of a return to top-flight rugby coaching even on a short-term deal saying, at 67, he was ‘too old’.
The ongoing uncertainty over who’s in charge next season did not extend to the pitch, as the visitors won 34-27, after Stade replacement Lester Etien was sent off for dangerous play.
It is widely anticipated Azema will take the reins at Montpellier next season. If he was watching their match at Toulouse with futurecoach interest, he would have been impressed with their gritty performance as they duked out an important 29-16 win on the road to put nine points between them and the relegation play-off spot.
Pau, current occupiers of that unwanted 13th position, lost ground, as their comeback fight at Castres came up just short. The hosts, who at one point had a try-scoring bonus in the bag, should probably consider themselves lucky to win 38-33 after a penalty-strewn performance, in which they lost experienced prop Lucas Pointud to a serious injury late in the second half.
Louis Picamoles’ debut for Bordeaux following his early move from Montpellier ended in a 26-11 defeat at home against Atlantic coast rivals La Rochelle to ramp up the pressure on leaders Toulouse.
Bayonne, meanwhile, picked up four vital points in their survival battle, beating Racing 92 23-13 – to leave the third-placed Paris side, who failed to pick up a bonus point in defeat for the first time this season, four points behind the Rochelais in second with its play-off bye.
Brive condemned relegated Agen to another monster loss, running in eight tries in a 57-3 win. The returning Thomas Laranjeira scored his 1,000th point for the club.
Toulon played nearly an hour with 14 players after Ma’a Nonu was sent off for elbowing Lyon scrumshortlist half Jean-Marc Doussain in the face.
It cost them the game as Lyon racked up seven tries and a half-century of points in a 54-16 win.
■ It has been a quietly monumental week in French professional club rugby.
Former Toulouse president Rene Bouscatel was elected to take over from Paul Goze as president of the LNR in what is regarded as a stiff rebuke of the rugby establishment in France – and what has to be recognised as a surprise win for Bernard Laporte.
The big club guns’ favoured candidate, La Rochelle’s Vincent Merling, was not elected to the steering committee, leaving the route to the top job clear for late candidate Bouscatel. Even though he promised to ‘fight tooth and nail’ for the clubs, there’s little doubt that he – along with new key members of the LNR’s top table – are much more FFR friendly than the previous incumbents.
“I am disappointed to leave my teammates but I’m happy to join Racing” - Gael Fickou