EUROPEAN champions Brive are debating whether to defy the Five Nations Committee and play banned centre Christophe Lamaison in a club game this weekend.
Grand Slam hero Lamaison yesterday started a 30-day suspension for his high, late tackle on Scotland fly-half Craig Chalmers during France's 47-20 Five Nations Championship victory at Parc des Princes earlier this month.
But Brive claim his punishment doesn't fit the crime, and should apply to international matches only.
"We will be talking to the French Federation and our lawyers," said Brive coach Laurent Seigne.
Lamaison (25), is France's player of the moment, contributing 18 points in their 23-20 win against England at Twickenham, and then booting a further 24 as the Scots were sunk.
He also starred during Brive's memorable European campaign, amassing a half-century of points from the quarter-finals onwards as Llanelli, Cardiff and Leicester were all comfortably despatched.
But the Chalmers tackle blotted his copybook, a mistimed lunge which left his opponent in hospital The French federation president Bernard Lapasset yesterday said the ban discredited international rugby. And Lapasset vowed to protest the decision at the next meeting of the International Board on
July 15th and 16th in Dublin.
