Contepomi contemplates change

PLANET RUGBY:NOW in his sixth season at Leinster, and the last of his current deal, it's doubtful there's been a bigger hit or more enduringly popular overseas signing in Irish rugby than Felipe Contepomi. The 31-year-old, 64-times capped Puma is in negotiations with Leinster with a view to extending his time here, but he is also believed to have held talks with Toulon and Montpellier.

Contepomi's seven-from-seven, 21-point haul in Leinster's 21-20 win over Cardiff last Saturday took his seasonal tally to 145 points in a dozen outings, and in all he has scored a phenomenal 1,145 in his 107 games for Leinster. Now a qualified doctor, he is well settled in Ireland with his wife (Paula) and daughter (Catalina) and would presumably prefer to stay in Ireland, rather than move to France. Presumably, Leinster would prefer he stays too.

Furthermore, the Toulon experiment appears to have backfired spectacularly, and their 11th defeat of the season, by 19-9 at Brive on Saturday, saw them slip to joint last in the Top 14 alongside Mont-de-Marsan. Montpellier, following their crushing defeat at Toulouse the week before, were beaten 30-3 at home by Clermont.

It would be a shame to see Contepomi end up anywhere else.

European Cup focus on Anglo-Irish head-to heads

ALL FOUR Irish sides take on Guinness Premiership opposition next weekend in a quartet of Anglo-Irish head-to-heads in the penultimate round of Heineken Cup pool games.

Sale, Munster's opponents in the critical Pool One summit meeting at Thomond Park next Friday evening, moved back into the Premiership top four when beating the leaders London Irish (Connacht's Challenge Cup opponents next Saturday) 14-8 in a dour encounter at Edgeley Park on Friday.

An angry exchange between Sebastian Chabal and members of the London Irish replacements and coaching staff was typical of the night.

Wasps, Leinster's opponents at Twickenham on Saturday, go into that match on the back of five wins from their last six games and are rested after their game at Bath was called off less than an hour and a half before kick-off due to a frozen pitch.

Ground staff at The Rec had worked throughout the night to get hot air onto the pitch, but all to no avail.

Both head coaches and the referee, Romain Poite, agreed that the pitch was not suitable to play rugby on, and the Wasps coach, Shaun Edwards, was also deeply reluctant for his players to take to the pitch.

Harlequins, Ulster's opponents at Ravenhill on Saturday, saw their game at home at Stoop Stadium to Worcester also fall victim to the cold snap.

Leinster expect to break the record of 7,000 for a travelling blue army, set in the Toulouse Heineken Cup quarter-final success three seasons ago, when Wasps play hosts to them at Twickenham on Saturday at 5.35pm.

But one question - why did ERC and television not make it possible for supporters to also attend the London Irish-Connacht game, which kicks off in Reading at 3pm?

Oh, of course, the paying customers don't matter.

Pitch problems at Thomond Park

REDEVELOPED or new stadia have been a striking feature of the Magners League over the last season or two, what with Thomond Park, Parc y Scarlets and the Liberty Stadium, which the Ospreys share with Swansea. Despite the tighter cropped grass of the shared stadium, the Liberty's surface for last Friday's table topper between the Ospreys and Munster was again wonderful, as was the case when Munster played in Parc y Scarlets.

Both pitches are manicured beautifully, which is an impressive achievement, given a new stadium usually suffers teething problems with surfaces. Following Munster's win there in November, it was striking to see 10 ground staff on the pitch with lawnmowers.

The Thomond Park surface, alas, has never been a strong point and the pitch has again suffered this season as well as attracting criticism for its uneven nature. It is also striking to note how often players lose their footing at Thomond, and this despite the pitch being reseeded in close-season.

Collins worry

FORMER All Blacks' signing Jerry Collins was forced from the field after 10 minutes in Toulon's 19-9 loss in Brive with what looked like a serious knee injury.

It is feared he could be out for several months.

Perpignan stay third, five points behind the leaders Toulouse, who set a Top 14 record of 11 successive wins with a 29-9 win away to Dax. Level 6-6 at the break, "we were ridiculous" Guy Novès said of his team's first-half performance.

Carter injury scare for Perpignan

DAN CARTER could be a doubt for Perpignan's make-or-break Heineken Cup match against the Ospreys next weekend after injuring his Achilles in the first half of the Catalans' 40-14 win over Bourgoin on Saturday and was replaced at half-time. He will undergo tests today to determine the extent of the injury

"From the half-hour mark, I felt the pain getting sharper and I thought it wise to go off at half-time," said the All Black pivot. "I will take some tests on Monday and we will decide with the staff if it is better that I take some days' rest without training."

Carter had cited the prospect of playing Heineken Cup matches as a primary factor in his six-month stint in France, reputedly for a salary in the region of €700,000, but having missed Perpignan's round three game shortly after his arrival away to Leicester due to commitments to his sponsors Adidas, his experience of the Cup could be fairly limited. Perpignan need to beat the Ospreys to retain their outside hopes of qualification for the last eight.