Munster centre Antoine Frisch has had many Munster fans worried over the past couple of weeks. The centre's future in Ireland has been questioned and there's reported big money interest from Top 14 giants that will try tempt him away this summer.
Frisch is French-born but qualifies for Ireland through his grandmother who was born in Dublin. Frisch though is yet to be capped by Ireland and his only experience in the green jersey came in the Emerging Ireland tour of South Africa in 2022.
Frisch's future was put into question recently after he was called up to France's Six Nations squad ahead of their final match against England before being released before the squad was named. If Frisch was to be capped it would instantly make him and NIQ (Non-Irish Qualified) player and his days at Munster could be numbered.
France travel to Argentina this summer for two Tests and there has been speculation that Frisch could be called into the squad for that tour.
Antoine Frisch Linked With A Number Of Top 14 Clubs
In a report by Neil Fissler of RugbyPass, Toulon and Montpellier are interested in signing Antoine Frisch this summer. The French Federation are keen to bring Frisch back to his country of birth and Toulon are looking for a new centre, with Fiji captain Waisea Nayacalevu leaving the three-times European champions for Sale Sharks this summer.
Montpellier too are on the market for a centre after they lost Paolo Garbisi during the Six Nations campaign to Toulon and although normally an out-half, the Italian international had played in the centres and his departure leaves a gap that Frisch could potentially fill. Both clubs will reportedly have to pay a six-figure sum to get their hands on Frisch this summer as his contract doesn't come to an end until 2025.
French head coach Fabien Galthié made his interest in Frisch clear by selecting him for the squad, even if it was for less than a week.
One criticism of Andy Farrell's time as Ireland coach is that he doesn't experiment with the team very often and doesn't always reward players on form at provincial level. Losing out on Frisch could come back to bite Farrell there isn't a lot of cover if any of Aki, Henshaw or Ringrose are unavailable. Stuart McCloskey has deputised on occasions but at 31 he isn't of the right age profile Ireland should be relying on.
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