IAN MADIGAN SAYS that the demands of the French rugby season are going to mean that he will be rotated throughout a gruelling campaign which could run to well over 30 games for the club.
Madigan came off the bench for Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday night in Toulouse but a couple of penalties and setting up their opening try of the season was not enough to prevent a 22-17 loss.
Bordeaux-Begles, who will host Ulster in the opening game of the Champions Cup in October, made wholesale changes to the side which defeated champions Racing 92, but Madigan was drafted before the break when former French international Lionel Beauxis was injured.
“Lionel is a really good player, a proven French international. The first game of the season was tough so they rotated quite a lot of guys, nine changes in all,” said Madigan.
“Lionel went well in preseason and deserved his start but unfortunately I think he has now picked up a bang on his quad so that will have to be assessed and see how he is. It is a very long season and you have got to rely on your squad.
“You have 26 regular season then, hopefully, another three knockout games and then throw in Europe on top of that and you are getting into the 30s so you need to be able to rotate your squad and rely on the 40 guys you have got there.”
Madigan has settled in well after his summer move from Leinster and with successive home games to come against Montpellier and Bayonne, he is hoping to make a mark.
“I feel really good, I’ve no injuries, it’s a fast track and good weather, a good dry ball, so I was delighted to get out there.
“We were happy to come away with a point from a position where we were 10 points down with 10 minutes to go away from home, to score a late try and get a losing bonus point was a positive for us.”
It was a poor weekend for the Irish in France, although Ronan O’Gara’s Racing 92 got off the mark with a 29-16 home win over promoted Lyon.
But Bernard Jackman’s Grenoble fell to a second defeat, this time going down 22-19 at home to La Rochelle, with Brock James impressing for the visitors after his move from Clermont Auvergne.
Former Ulster centre Chris Farrell and Connacht lock Aly Muldowney started for Grenoble, who led 13-12 at the break.
Pau, coached by former Munster assistant Simon Mannix, also fell to a second defeat when they lost 22-18 at home to Toulon. Former Munster players Paddy Butler and James Coughlan started in a back row which was completed by England exile Steffon Armitage, playing against his former club after a summer move.
