Chabal ready to end English sojourn

Sébastien Chabal admits personal reasons could force him to quit Sale and return to his native France at the end of the current season.

Sébastien Chabal admits personal reasons could force him to quit Sale and return to his native France at the end of the current season.

The back-row forward, famous for his hirsute looks and his rampaging style of play, has established himself as a cult hero at Edgeley Park since moving to the Sharks from Bourgoin in 2004, and even more so at home in France during last year's World Cup.

But the 30-year-old may take family considerations into account and end his stint at Sale this summer, after speaking at length with Sale director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre about the matter last week.

“As it stands, I am under contract with Sale until 2011, with that last season an option,” he told L'Equipe.

“Personally, I want to stay at Sale where I am playing at the heart of a very good team. I feel good there, but there are personal reasons which mean I could return to France.

“My wife and my kids live in England. They haven't moved away. But my eldest is studying in France and it is true that my wife, who has also stayed in France with the little one, hasn't come back since the end of the (summer) holidays.

“At the moment, I am coming and going and it is weighing on me. If I have a family, it is to live with them. So that is bothering me.

“I wouldn't have wanted to speak about it so early in the season but it was Philippe who brought up the subject. He said: 'You can't continue like this. You could return to France next season.'

“It was just an idea thrown out there by Philippe.”

Chabal rejected a head-spinning offer from big-spending French side Toulon during the summer, as well as others from New Zealand and Japanese clubs.

A move to France is the likeliest option but his agent Miguel Fernandez said there were no current offers from French clubs.

Saint-Andre reignited Chabal's career by turning him from a flanker to a number eight as soon as he arrived at the Sharks. The former France captain believes the welfare of his player is paramount and is under no illusions that Chabal will remain at the Stockport-based club after this season.

“I had an honest and frank discussion with Seb some days ago,” said Saint-Andre.

“There is no problem with him on a sporting level. It's a question of problems outside the game, an estrangement from his family which is weighing too heavily on him.

“He will finish the season with us and he will leave. We can't keep a player against his wish and stop him from being happy.”

Chabal is one of the most famous sportsmen in France, owing to his looks more than his success on the pitch.

His popularity reached new heights during last year's World Cup and he is mobbed by fans whenever he returns to France on Sale duty.

He signed a new contract at the Sharks last summer because he was eager to avoid fan intrusion that he believes would have happened had he returned to France.

“What is sure is that he is a monument and that he is more famous in France than in England,” Saint-Andre added.

“When you have Chabal in your team in the Top 14, if you are good at marketing and you are selling number four or number eight shirts with his name on the back, it would surprise me if you won't sell at least 10,000.”

Chabal won the Premiership title with Sale in 2006 and has played 30 times for France, scoring five tries.

His last appearance for Les Bleus came in the summer tour to Australia and he is an outside bet to make it into France coach Marc Lievremont's squad for the November Tests.