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Biarritz sign array of stars, including Cubelli, Kuridrani, Dixon
By Liam Heagney
Newly promoted Biarritz have capped an impressive week of stellar player recruitment by officially confirming they have added 32-year-old Argentina scrum-half Tomas Cubelli from Western Force to their roster ahead of the new 2021/22 Top 14 season.
It was only June 12 when the French club secured their promotion to the top flight, a kick from ex-England back-rower Steffon Armitage defeating local rivals Bayonne in a penalty shootout after the promotion/relegation final had ended in a 6-all draw after extra-time.
They have since moved quickly to enhance their squad with a recruitment blitz that encouragingly began with the signing of 30-year-old Wallabies midfielder Tevita Kuridrani from Western Force for three years.
They have further added former Ireland prop James Cronin, 30, from Munster and ex-All Blacks back-rower Elliot Dixon, 31, from the Highlanders on two-year deals, the same length of contract given to Brett Herron, the 25-year-old Harlequins out-half.
It hasn't all been overseas shopping as there have also been some French signings, including Clement Darbo from Provence and Vincent Martin from Montpellier. Meanwhile, an addition to their staff has seen Barry Maddocks of the Dragons snapped up as their attack coach.
Contract extensions were also agreed for ex-All Blacks midfielder Francis Saili, skipper Armitage, ex-Munster back-rower Dave O'Callaghan, Johnny Dyer, Ushangi Tcheishvili and Ilian Perraux who were all pivotal in the recent campaign that got Biarritz back into the Top 14 for the first time since their 2014 relegation.
It marked the end of a seven-year absence from a top-flight where they were crowned champions in 2006, beating Toulouse in the final while also finishing runners-up in that same year's Heineken Cup.
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Latest Comments
That's really stupidly pedantic. Let's say the gods had smiled on us, and we were playing Ireland in Belfast on this trip. Then you'd be happy to accept it as a tour of the UK. But they're not going to Australia, or Peru, or the Philippines, they're going to the UK. If they had a match in Paris it would be fair to call it the "end-of-year European tour". I think your issue has less to do with the definition of the United Kingdom, and is more about what is meant by the word "tour". By your definition of the word, a road trip starting in Marseilles, tootling through the Massif Central and cruising down to pop in at La Rochelle, then heading north to Cherbourg, moving along the coast to imagine what it was like on the beach at Dunkirk, cutting east to Strasbourg and ending in Lyon cannot be called a "tour of France" because there's no visit to St. Tropez, or the Louvre, or Martinique in the Caribbean.
Go to commentsJust thought for a moment you might have gathered some commonsense from a southerner or a NZer and shut up. But no, idiots aren't smart enough to realise they are idiots.
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