JAMES HARRINGTON FRENCH COLUMN

FRANCE’S Top 14 kicks off on Friday evening, with Bayonne entertaining Toulouse in the season opener. Which means the time has come for the annual pre-season round-up of clubs in the French top flight. Bayonne It’s tempting to delve right into the ‘difficult second season’ cliche for Bayonne, after a return to the Top 14 that exceeded expectations. But, with a first-ever Champions Cup berth secured at the first time of asking, they have loftier ambitions as they enter the second year of a longer-term plan to establish the...