Rugby: Crossed wires over Mehrtens

FRENCH rugby club officials are probably wondering right now why former All Black Andrew Mehrtens hasn’t returned their calls.

The answer is simple they are telephoning a Northland builder.

The calls from someone claiming to be a managing director representing the Castres rugby club indicate an interest in getting Mehrtens to say "au revoir" to New Zealand.

Castres is 727km south of Paris and is considered one of France's most important wool-producing areas.

The town was formerly a Roman military installation and a Benedictine monastery was founded there in the ninth century.

Unwanted by the All Blacks during the unsuccessful World Cup campaign, Mehrtens remains a commercial proposition to overseas clubs and is in the 2004 Crusaders Super 12 squad.

The messages left on the Northland builder's cellphone refer to former All Black lock Gary Whetton, also known as Monsieur Whetton, having passed on Mehrtens' number.

The builder who has had the same phone number for two years and does not want to be named says he has fielded two messages so far, both requesting Mehrtens to contact them.

He said he made the connection to Mehrtens because a reporter had rung previously looking for him.

"I feel a bit guilty, Andrew could be missing out on a lucrative contract, I feel as if I should be giving him a call," he said.

There is a vague connection between the French club and Northland. The Castres 2003 playing strip bears a striking resemblance to the Northland NPC team's strip.

The similarity between the clubs ends there, Castres won a European club final in May this year, whereas Northland's only victory this season was a promotion-relegation win over second division champions Hawke's Bay.

Canterbury Rugby Union spokeswoman Kim Tregart said Mehrtens had no comment to make, other than that he had not been in contact with any French rugby clubs.