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Dan Biggar responds to Toulon president's comments over imminent exit
By Josh Raisey
Toulon fly-half Dan Biggar has said that he “can’t imagine any other outcome” other than playing at the Stade Mayol next season after the club’s president Bernard Lemaitre recently hinted that he may not see out his contract.
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The Welsh centurion, 34, has another year left on his contract, but an ongoing back issue since November has hurt both his playing time and form. With that in mind, Lamaitre raised the notion during an interview in March of ending his contract a year early.
He said: “Since his back injury, Dan has struggled to come back. He is better, but has not returned to his best level. Not even last year’s. It’s difficult for a champion of this size. He still wants to play, to complete his contract. We will see in the coming months.”
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The former Wales captain responded to those comments recently when talking to French publication var-martin, downplaying any exit rumours and assuring that “everything is fine”.
“Lots of people said to me: ‘Did you see what the president said about you?'” he said.
“He’s in his role, it doesn’t matter. I’ve been playing at a high level for 16 years, I’m used to it. Pierre [Mignoni] called me to see how I was doing. But I’m fine! There is no problem.
“Here, everything is different so that speaks a lot. I will be there next year! I can’t imagine any other outcome. I want to win for this club and its supporters because I love living here, playing in Toulon and coming to the Campus every day.”
Unfortunately for Biggar, the clip of him collapsing to the floor in pain while taking a place kick went viral last year. The former Ospreys and Northampton Saints No10 explained that the injury was the byproduct of an intense 2023 schedule.
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“After the World Cup, it was difficult,” he said.
“There wasn’t a day I felt good.
“After Wales were eliminated in the quarter-finals, I took a week off and started again with the RCT. However, it was a little too early. If I could have taken a few more days to breathe more, it would have been better.
“In one year, I completed the start of the season with Northampton, my transfer to Toulon and the Top 14 season, the Six Nations Tournament, summer preparation then the World Cup.
“This is unusual for me. I paid the bill in Perpignan at the beginning of November.”
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Biggar looks to have put his injury issues to bed for the time being, and started in Toulon’s last outing- a 46-10 win over Bayonne in the Top 14. They have another weekend’s break before hosting giants Toulouse on April 20.
