Stephen Larkham insists he shares Edinburgh's ambitions to become a Celtic League force and has vowed to "change the landscape" of Scottish rugby. The 32-year-old outhalf, who has represented Australia 95 times, will join Edinburgh in November. He was unveiled via video-link yesterday and has agreed a two-year contract which will see him move from the CA Brumbies after this autumn's IRB World Cup.
Larkham said: "I think it's very important to have ambitions . . . I can probably bring a few ideas over from my time with the Brumbies and with the Wallabies, and hopefully, I can bring a winning culture such as we have had at both those teams over the years."
It has often been suggested the big-name Southern Hemisphere stars who accept lucrative contracts in Europe are well past their sell-by date by the time they make the move.Larkham was keen to dismiss the notion he had joined for an easy ride and big money.
"Firstly, I don't see this as the end of my career," he said. "I'm looking to play for a considerable number of years yet. The other point is that Edinburgh weren't the highest bidders in terms of my services. We certainly shopped around and I believe that Edinburgh offers the best environment to play rugby in.
"In terms of all the nations in Europe, I think Scottish rugby probably has the most potential to grow, and can do with some experience from players around the world. So rather than going to France or England I would prefer to make an impact in Scotland."
Larkham insisted his body is ready to endure another couple of years of punishment, despite the fact his slight frame has already been put through the mincer countless times during nearly 11 years of playing international rugby.
He said: "I am very confident at the moment. I had a pretty good year last year in which I missed three games for the Brumbies but played the full international season. And this year I've missed three games again for the Brumbies, but I've bounced back from that injury . . . I'm still very mentally fresh and I'm quite physically fresh too."
Larkham is understood to have turned down offers from England and France.
Meanwhile, Peter Richards has set his sights on becoming England's World Cup scrumhalf after Harry Ellis was ruled out of the tournament. Ellis ruptured the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee during Leicester's English Premiership semi-final win over Bristol on May 5th. And all the immediate fears were confirmed yesterday when medics agreed knee surgery was the best option for Ellis' long-term recovery.
Ellis has already missed last weekend's Premiership final victory over Gloucester and will sit out Sunday's European Cup final against Wasps.
France have named a predictably under-strength 33-man squad for their tour of New Zealand next month, leaving out all the leading players involved in the latter stages of the French championship. The touring party will be reduced to 26 players on the eve of departure when the last round of the Top 14 on May 26th will decide if holders Biarritz or Perpignan, join Stade Français, Toulouse and Clermont in the last four.
The squad named yesterday for the June 2nd Test in Auckland and June 9th clash in Wellington contains a host of new faces, including 19-year-old centre Mathieu Bastareaud. A surprise was the selection of two seasoned players who might have considered their international career to be over, Olivier Magne and Christian Califano.
FRANCE: (Squad): Forwards: David Attoub, Christian Califano, Franck Montanella, Nicolas Mas or Benoit Lecouls, Raphael Ibanez (captain), Sebastien Bruno, Pascal Pape, Julien Pierre, Olivier Olibeau or Jerome Thion, Sebastien Chabal, Damien Chouly, Olivier Magne, Mathieu Lievremont, Imanol Harinordoquy or Gregory Lecorvec. Backs: Nicolas Durand or Dimitri Yachvili, Mathieu Barrau, Benjamin Boyet, Nicolas Laharrague or Maxime Petitjean, Mathieu Bastareaud, David Marty or Romain Cabannes, Ludovic Valbon, Jean-Philippe Grandclaude or Arnaud Mignardi, Pepito Elhorga, Julien Laharrague, Benjamin Thierry, Thomas Castaignede.
