Since the arrival in Montpellier in mid-November of Patrice Collazo, with whom he had fallen out in Toulon, the situation of Louis Carbonel has caused a lot of talk. On departure for some, happy at the MHR for others, the speeches vary from one interlocutor to another. What is certain is that several clubs have looked into his case to possibly recruit him this summer.
Clermont and his former club RCT are part of it, but it is with Stade Français, which will lose Joris Segonds at the end of the season (Bayonne), that mutual interest is most pronounced. According to our information, Carbonel was seen near the Jean-Bouin stadium this week on the sidelines of a photoshoot for the LNR. Contacted by us, Stade Français denied this. A strange maneuver as several sources at the MHR now assure that there is no question of “letting go” of Carbonel before the end of his contract.
Bernard Laporte is counting on him
“He is under contract until June 2025 and he will stay until June 2025,” we were firmly informed. However, this would not always have been the speech of the Hérault leaders with regard to the double world champion under 20 (2018 and 2019) but the new director of rugby of Montpellier, Bernard Laporte, would count on him at the future and would have made it known to the player’s entourage as well as to his counterpart at Stade Français Thomas Lombard, just like the manager Patrice Collazo, who has clearly made him his number 1 this winter, since Carbonel has just scored three starts in Top 14 in crucial matches for the future of the club (14th). Barring an unlikely turnaround, Carbonel should therefore stay in Montpellier for a third season, having joined Hérault in 2022.
The Parisian approach could also be seen as a first step towards recruiting the former Toulon player in the summer of 2025, once he will be free to commit wherever he wishes. Moreover, the market for ushers in the summer of 2025 promises to be lively since Matthieu Jalibert at UBB and Antoine Hastoy at La Rochelle will also be at the end of their contract in eighteen months. And according to some recent reports, Hastoy’s future is quite unclear at the moment. A departure is not excluded in June 2025.
Ditto for Anthony Belleau (Clermont), at the end of his contract in 2025, who will not be retained. One of the leaders of the market is less known but very popular, it is Antoine Aucagne (23 years old) who plays in Aurillac, currently ninth in Pro D2. Several clubs have also come forward for information in recent weeks, including LOU, Perpignan and MHR. The ten JIFFs are rare and they are popular.
