Clan-Members » I hate to tell them to go down to the legs all

Out-of-work yet in-demand Fabien Galthie offered an interesting aside in a recent conversation. The rugby is better in the Aviva Premiership than the Top 14, he proffered.A bold statement that, particularly from a man you might expect to extol the virtues of French rugby at every opportunity. Yet its a view that appears to have traction elsewhere in France.Last Fridays Midi Olympique, the French rugby newspaper, carried an advertisement filling the bottom third of its front page urging readers to make a date this weekend with SFR SPORT2 and Un Dimanche de Rugby. It wasnt punting Clermont Auvergne against Toulouse but rather Le Choc Anglais ...Saracens vs. Wasps.Suffice to say club rugby on this side of La Manche is commanding greater respect in France these days. For the first time in almost a decade the Premiership can boast to be the home of the European champions while Louis Picamoles move this season to Northampton and Christopher Tolofuas impending switch to the Champions Cup winners Saracens shows signs another trend is being reversed.But lets not get carried away and believe the broad and heavy footprint of the Top 14 and its guardian the Ligue Nationale de Rugby are under threat in their own land. The point is, though, that not everyone in France is happy with its own domestic product.Those having a moan include Mourad Boudjellal who stood but failed to topple the incumbent Paul Goze in last weeks elections for the LNR presidency. Not for the first time, the comic book millionaire is threatening to sell the club and walk away from the sport.In truth, the Toulon owner was resigned to defeat even before his failure to secure a place on the leagues steering committee left Goze to be re-elected unopposed. Yet despite having unanimous support within the coterie of club presidents, not everyone who holds influence in French rugby is comfortable with what even Goze confessed to have been his Soviet-style acclamation.Gozes first term in office has seen the French league grow in just about every way. His strategic plan released during the summer drew on statistics from the last decade. Television revenue? Up; Sponsorship? Up? Public awareness of rugby? Up. Match attendances? Up? TV viewing figures? Up. Performances of French clubs in Europe? Up.Yet no sooner had the season got into its stride than more contemporary and, therefore, pertinent numbers were revealing themselves. The most alarming of these involve the decline in crowd attendances.The most striking feature of televised matches hosted by either Montpellier or Toulouse has been of the stands and the swathes of unoccupied tip-up seats. Le Clasico, as the clashes involving Toulouse and Stade Francais are dubbed, attracted just 12,900 fans last month while Jake Whites Montpellier may well have won a European title in May but in recent weeks have twice failed to get 10,000 through the turnstiles for home games.Attendances for both Parisian teams have been a sore point for some time but things are getting worse at the new Stade Jean Bouin where average gates have dropped from 13,000 two seasons ago to 9,500. Saturdays Paris derby between the two most recent holders of the Bouclier de Brennus enticed just 11,465 to Colombes.There are, of course, exceptions with Bordeaux-Begles continuing to be the best supported club in both France and Europe. Clubs like Toulon (Marseilles Velodrome) and the London clubs (Twickenham / Wembley) have their average gates massaged by big stadium relocations but Bordeauxs numbers are consistent with an average home gate of 25,000.There is also rarely a vacant seat to be seen on matchdays at Clermont Auvergnes Stade Marcel Michelin or at the home of the leagues rising stars La Rochelle where the a guichet fermes (sold out) signs have been outside their 15,000-capacity Stade Marcel Deflandre all season.La Rochelle are second in the Top 14 having been passed on Sunday by Clermont who despite having just 13 players on the pitch at one point and with a set piece sent shockingly and frequently into a fast back-peddling reverse by a powerful Toulouse front five beat their Rouge et Noir rivals 29-25.The difference between the sides was the place-kicking of Morgan Parra who was on target with all seven attempts on Sunday and has missed just two of 35 kicks at goal all season. He should be Guy Novess first name on the team sheet for Frances next Test on November 12 against Samoa.France have seven representatives in this seasons Champions Cup though it would be wise to write off the prospects of two of them now. Castres will throw everything at whoever rocks up to the Stade Pierre Antoine but all too frequently field weakened sides on their travels. Even with the inspirational Christophe Urios now in charge you can expect them to be targeting the Top 14 as the priority. That said, Northampton are disadvantaged by a fixture rota which sees them travelling to Castres in round two.Like last year, Bordeaux-Begles have been drawn in the same pool as Clermont and Exeter. Raphael Ibanezs team have the capacity to spring a surprise and will be very difficult to beat at home. But dont expect them to progress. Clermont surely will.Toulon face defending champions Saracens but with Sale and Scarlets making up the pool the three-time former winners are expected to make it into the quarter-finals.Toulouse travel to Connacht this weekend with Wasps heading to the Ville Rose in round two. Ugo Mola will have been encouraged by his packs performance against Clermont. At the heart of it was Census Johnston who is no longer the only capable tight head in the squad and with him now getting sufficient rest has rediscovered his zest. If Toulouse can get a win in Galway then I reckon theyll make the final eight.That leaves Racing 92 and Montpellier. Racing are believed to be placing special emphasis on Europe this season. But theyll have to sharpen their act after some insipid performances this season. They were outplayed by Brive a fortnight ago and could, and perhaps should have, lost the Paris derby on Saturday. On the request of coach Laurent Travers, owner Jacky Lorenzetti has drafted in Patricio Noriega at short notice to knock a misfiring scrum into shape. If there is to be shock elimination in the pools I fancy it will Racing.Montpellier is a club in some disarray off the pitch with Jake White having been told he wont be welcome back next season. Even with an English speaker Vern Cotter lurking in the wings it does make you wonder how the foot soldiers in the 2007 World Cup winners Languedoc Boks feel about the club and their futures at it.My predictions? Clermont Auvergne and Montpellier (pool winners) and Toulon and Toulouse (runners-up) to go through to the quarter-finals. Clark Gillies Islanders Jersey . After Mondays hard-fought loss, the wait seemed longer than usual. Getting set to go their separate ways for a short Christmas break, the Raptors coach credited his team for their effort on a seemingly impossible three-game road trip, urging them to build on that success when they get back to work at the end of the week. Andrew Ladd Jersey . Mitch Holmberg added a goal and three assists. Connor Chartier also scored for the Chiefs (3-0-0). Luke Harrison spoiled Garrett Hughsons shutout bid with a power-play goal at 13:17 of the third period. The Spokane goaltender finished with 28 saves, including a Brandon Fushimi penalty shot in the second period that would have tied the game 1-1. http://www.islanderssale.com/authentic-josh-bailey-islanders-jersey/ .com) - The Edmonton Oilers and Vancouver Canucks both take aim at their first wins of the season on Saturday, as the Canucks open their home slate at Rogers Arena. Anders Lee Islanders Jersey . -- Jakob Silfverberg is making himself right at home with the Anaheim Ducks, scoring four goals in his first four games. Nick Leddy Islanders Jersey . Capitals head coach Adam Oates said Ovechkin was injured in the first period against the Vancouver Canucks on Monday and clarified it was not a head injury. CHAMPAIGN, Ill. -- On a windy Illinois afternoon that made passing an adventure, Minnesota knew it would need to run the ball if it wanted to pocket a win.But the Golden Gophers figured they might have to run a little farther than they did to beat the Illinois.A pair of early Illinois turnovers and a short punt gave Minnesota the ball at the Illinois 49-, 20- and 9-yard lines, and the Gophers turned each into a touchdown on the way to a 40-17 win.Rodney Smith did the bulk of the damage, rushing for 100 yards and two touchdowns on 20 carries. Shannon Brooks added 59 yards and a score on a dozen carries.Smiths first touchdown was a 20-yard burst up the middle with 2:16 left in the first quarter, giving Minnesota (6-2, 3-2 Big Ten) the lead for good at 14-7. It followed a fumbled punt by Illinois Darius Mosely, recovered by Antione Winfield Jr. at the 20.We love to see that because were pretty good in the red zone, said Brooks, who added that those turnovers built momentum for Minnesota and robbed Illinois of energy. Yeah, definitely. Thats a stab, a stab in the back. That hurts.The turnovers, Illinois coach Lovie Smith said, swung the game hard and early for Minnesota.Its hard to win the football game when you start like that, Smith said. Those turnovers put us in a hole.Jeff George Jr., Illinois (2-6, 1-4) third-string quarterback and the son of Illini legend and longtime NFL quarterback Jeff George, started his second straight game and went 16-34 for 156 yards and a touchdown.Illinois starter Wes Lunt suited up but sat out his third straight game with a back injury. Second-string quarterback Chayce Crouch, who injured a shoulder in a win over Rutgers two weeks ago, is out for the season after having surgery Monday, Smith confirmed.Illinois receiver Malik Turner left the field on a stretcher in the first half after a hit by Minnesota safety Duke McGhee. Turner was taken to a local hospital but was back in the locker room before the end of the game, Smith said, though further information about his injury was not available.It was terrifying. It was emotional, especially with a kid like that who works so hard, to see a tragic injury like that, Smith said.McGhee was flagged for targeting and ejected from the game.THE TAKEAWAYMinnesota: The Gophers get what in the end turned into a blowout win, a little payback for a loss at Illinois two years ago and guarantee themselves bowl eligibility.dddddddddddd But they struggled for three quarters to put away a limited Illini team. While some players acknowledged celebrating a bit, Minnesota coach Tracy Claeys downplayed the significance of being bowl eligible. He said his team still hopes to find a way to the Big Ten title game. And he said he never worried that Illinois was hanging around longer than hed like.I never really felt uncomfortable as long as we had a lead, Claeys said.Illinois: Even if Lunt had played theres no guarantee Illinois would be better off with him than George. Turner has been Illinois only real receiving threat this season. Illinois needs its defense, which Smith has called the strength of the team, to create the kind of turnovers that gave the Gophers short fields Saturday.INTO THE WINDMinnesota quarterback Mitch Leidner and his receivers struggled with the wind. The senior was 10-19 for 112 yards, and the 20 mph gusts didnt help, Claeys said.It was big. It hurt the passes toward the sidelines, the coach said,McGHEES HITClaeys said after the game that hits like the one that led to McGhees ejection are difficult to avoid.When those guys are going down that low, its hard, he said. I hate to tell them to go down to the legs all the time. Weve got to stay below the shoulders.THANKFULLikely no one was happier to be spending Saturday in Champaign than Minnesota linebackers coach Mike Sherels. He tweeted Friday, his 32nd birthday, that this one is special because I almost didnt make it. Sherels spent much of August being treated for what has only been described as a serious digestive problem that required multiple surgeries. He rejoined the team in early October.UP NEXTMinnesota: Minnesota has a good shot at win No. 7 next Saturday when it faces Purdue at home.Illinois: The Illini get a second straight home game, hosting a Michigan State team thats down but still considerably stronger that Illinois.---Follow David Mercer on Twitter: (at)davidmercerAPAssociated Press college football coverage: http://collegefootball.ap.org/ ' ' '