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Bastareaud moves into pack for first game with Lyon
By Josh Raisey
Lyon have made the much-anticipated announcement that new signing Mathieu Bastareaud will start for them this evening against Grenoble at number eight.
The former Toulon player joined Lyon in July on a short term contract before he moves to New York to play in Major League Rugby in 2020.
The 54-cap France international had flirted with the idea of moving from the centres to the back-row, but many may have dismissed it as fanciful thinking.
However, he has his chance of making his mark this evening at the Stade Pierre Rajon.
In a 36-man squad, coach Pierre Mignoni has options should this experiment not pay off, particularly with Carl Fearns on the bench behind Bastareaud.
While some may say that this decision borders on lunacy, this is the time to do it before the Top 14 season starts. Furthermore, if there is one back in world rugby that may be better suited in the pack, it is the 20 stone Bastareaud.
In fact, only this year former France international Thomas Castaignede recommended the 30-year-old made the transition to keep his test hopes alive, although he has since retired from international duty. With the player not as young as he once was, the belief was that he would eventually be too slow to keep up with the outside backs.
While there is more to being a back-row player than simply being a strong ball-carrier, Bastareaud is deceptively strong at the breakdown, and has a physique that lends itself to getting over the ball and being hard to dislodge.
This may be a stroke of genius that pays off for Lyon, only if it is for the short period of time that Bastareaud is with the club. With the Top 14 season kicking off in only three weeks, former centre does not have long to learn the ropes, however.
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Latest Comments
Willis is decent in the lineout to be fair, but definitely lacking a heavyweight ball carrier.
I think between Underhill, Curry, and Willis there isn't a huge amount between them. Maybe Willis would be good enough to start, but he wouldn't massively improve the team.
Go to commentsI'm not sure he is getting there and I don't think he will. Progress has been glacial honestly. Our attacking structure hasn't improved at all, except that he's now picking Marcus Smith who is a one man attack at the moment... And our defence for obvious reasons is now awful. I would have faith in Borthwick if I had faith in his assistant coaches... But I don't think Wigglesworth is an attack coach and why would he be? He's never been an attack coach and he spent his entire career box kicking. Our defence coach has never been employed as a defence coach and is still the head coach of a second division French side with an awful defensive record. The fact that Borthwick appointed them both is a poor reflection. If we still had Felix Jones and we had Mike Catt/Nick Evans or someone in the attack coach role, I'd be content to be patient and that results will come. With Wigglesworth and Joe El Abd, I have no faith that we will improve and I've seen no signs that we are.
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