News

ARU not letting Giteau go to Bayonne

Saturday 29th November 2008

Breaking rank: Giteau will not be allowed to take a sabbatical

The Australian Rugby Union has warned Matt Giteau that he will not be afforded a sabbatical if he requests one.

Giteau is the focus of a monumental �4.25m ($6.5m) offer from French Top 14 side Bayonne, who would like to sign him for four years.

Further to that Giteau has been quoted in the French media as to being interested in a short-term contract in France, much like that Dan Carter is on at Perpignan.

However a statement released by the ARU made it clear this was an unlikely option.

"Our position is we don't entertain sabbaticals," an ARU spokesman said.

26-year-old Giteau's current ARU contract runs until the end of the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand, although his Western Force deal is up at the end of the coming Super 14 season.

He is believed to want to leave Perth over non-payments from a third party to his contract, and has previously been linked to a return to the Brumbies.

The closest the ARU has come to granting a sabbatical was the early release of Wallabies flanker Rocky Elsom from his contract to link with Irish provincial side Leinster.

But Elsom's contract was due to expire just three months after his release and the ARU is adamant that has not set a precedent.