O’Sullivan taken by French fancy as Top 14 mission looms

FORMER Connacht and Munster back row forward, John O’Sullivan, is very likely to become a fixture in France’s acclaimed Top 14 next season when his club Agen host to Lyon on Sunday.

Owing to a clash of fixtures tomorrow, Tralee-born O’Sullivan is unable to make the journey across the Pyrenees to watch his former team-mates tackle Biarritz in the Heineken Cup semi-final.

Agen, Top 14 finalists as recently as 2002 when beaten by Biarritz, were relegated to the second tier of French club rugby (Pro D2) at the end of the 2007/08 season, while last year a quick return to the lucrative top tier was halted in the play-offs.

Agen can put the champagne on ice, however, after their eight-try demolition of RC Narbonne a fortnight ago took them within a whisker of automatic promotion to Top 14.

Only the most freakish set of results can now deny them after long-time chasers Oyonnax slipped up again – going down 36-20 at FC Auch Gers – meaning Agen have a whopping 13-point lead over second-placed La Rochelle.

With just two games to go that is sufficient to ensure La Rochelle cannot catch them, but third-placed Lyon OU are just a point further back and have a game in hand – meaning they have a theoretical chance of finishing top if they win all three games with bonus points and Agen lose both of theirs without gaining a single defensive point.

O’Sullivan, meanwhile, is set to make his comeback this weekend after a three-and-half-month lay-off, though he has enjoyed his first season in French club rugby.

“It’s a different level and what they do can be a bit frustrating. I spent eight years playing professional rugby in Ireland and the systems they use for defence, for example, are probably too ingrained into me. I have to restyle myself totally to the way they want to play here.

“Things are a bit different here: we don’t pick the team until the last minute! You have to keep your mind open about it, I suppose. It can be frustrating in terms of their rotation policies that they use. Training is also different. You could be doing weights for an hour and half, then an hour of scrummaging after.

He adds: “The second division of the league is a bit of a hatchet league. However, in terms of lifestyle and the quality of life, it is fantastic. Hopefully we’ll be in the Top 14 next season where we will need to be more defensively cuter. That’s where I hope to be able to put my hand up and make a name here. It’s a good place to come for your first year and get a hold of the language. The team is on the rise. The whole town is in good form, and you couldn’t but be happy here.”

He admits that the language barrier was something he needed to overcome quickly, though there were plenty of English speakers in the squad to help out. One Rupeni Caucaunibuca was helpful, the famous Fijian winger who re-signed in mid-season. “There are plenty fellas here who help out. You pick up the ‘rugby-French’ really quickly. You know when you’re being given out to. The captain is South African and they love their Tongan and Fijian influence here. We have Rupeni also and he still has it.”

O’Sullivan signed a two-year deal at the beginning of the season, but the prospect of playing against the likes of Toulouse, Biarritz and Stade Francais is making his sojourn in France an exciting one. “The injury this year was a set-back alright, but I hope to make the comeback this weekend from it.

“It was a bulging disc in the neck which I picked up around Christmas. I went to one of the best surgeons in Europe. It’s something I could have done without, but that’s rugby.”