Bordeaux recruit an ex-referee but deal for former AB Saili is off

Laurent Cardona has become the latest retired referee to join the staff of a Top 14 club, linking up with Bordeaux for the 2022/23 season but he now reportedly won’t be working there with former All Blacks midfielder Francis Saili. Capped twice in 2013, the 31-year-old Aucklander was contracted to relegated Biarritz until June 2024.

However, he was recently named on the list of 19 Biarritz leavers with the club making preparations for its return to Pro D2 and it was expected that Saili would move on to Bordeaux, the Top 14 semi-finalists. For weeks that move appeared to be a done deal but it has not come to fruition and French media are now reporting that Saili could head home to New Zealand.

Rugbyrama.fr reported: “For several weeks, recruiters have been working on the arrival of Francis Saili but the last negotiations carried out this week have been unsuccessful. The Biarritz player, who will leave the club despite a current contract until June 2024, could suddenly return to New Zealand.”

Cardona, meanwhile, had conducted several training sessions this past season for Bordeaux and having now whistled his last Top 14 match at the age of 45, he will become a coach at the club to help them with officiating.

Recruiting a recently retired referee is becoming quite a French trend as Jerome Garces has worked with the France national team that won the recent 2022 Guinness Six Nations Grand Slam, Alexandre Ruiz is working for Top 14 finalists Montpellier while Romain Poite has been unveiled as a Toulon signing for the 2022/23 season.

Cardona told French media: “Christophe (Urios) wants me to bring him precision in the rulings. Bordeaux-Begles is a very high-level club which has ambitions. From July 1, I'll be UBB all the way!"