MUNSTER SHOULD be afraid. Very afraid. On Saturday evening in the semi-final of the Heineken Cup they will encounter a Clermont side at the top of their game. So what…
Top 14
RFU Championship: The battle for promotion
THE RHETORIC of battles is always used in professional rugby, as if the weeks of weights and hours of Xbox were shared experiences with servicemen and women garrisoned around the…
Top 14: Minnows preparing to join the sharks
THERE'LL BE a new face in the Top 14 next season, captained by an old face , and an English one at that. Former Bristol flanker Joe El-Abd joined Oyonnax…
Lions 2013: The French foreign legion
CAUGHT BETWEEN the Devil and a deep red rage, Nathan Hines angered the people of Perpignan in 2009 by skipping the Top 14 final in order to travel to South…
Sexton set to replace Wilko as top France earner
SO NOW we all know. You, me and every rugby player in France. As Midi Olympique revealed in Monday’s edition Jonathan Sexton will be pocketing €55,000 [£47,000] a month next…
Statistics: Who will be rugby’s Golden Shoe winner?
AS A nimble Tom Varndell danced up the touchline against Northampton Saints at the weekend – an act of human dressage so well timed that both teams must have choreographed…
Former Lion Tom Smith on Lyon’s bid back to Top 14
TOM SMITH was always a canny player and he’s proving pretty canny as a coach. Judging by recent events at Edinburgh that have seen the departure of the coaching staff,…
RBS 6 Nations: Can Antonie bring some Claassen to France?
IN THE letters page of the latest issue of Midi Olympique one irate reader has addressed the editor in no uncertain terms on why the Top 14 isn't helping the…
RBS 6 Nations: France face a culture clash with Top 14
THE FRENCH love a good debate and last weekend’s debacle deserves special attention. Losing in Rome to an adventurous Italian side was one thing, going down in their own back…
Wilkinson odds on for Top14 award
RESTAURANTS IN France have Michelin Stars, rugby players have Midi Olympique stars. They are awarded in each Monday’s edition of the newspaper to the players who have caught the eye…