Smith may link up with Williams

Former Edinburgh prop Craig Smith linked up with his new colleagues at Narbonne yesterday and learned that he may be set to work with a familiar face when the new season kicks off.

The 32-year-old, who made the move from Dax during the close season, had a tense wait to learn whether Narbonne would be allowed to play in Division Two of the French League after the club experienced financial difficulties.

However, backers were found to fill a hole in the club’s budget of more than ¤1 million and the players returned yesterday for pre-season training.

Now the Australian sports business FG Management has declared an interest in buying the club, which has had Scottish internationalists Bryan Redpath and Stuart Reid in its ranks over the years.

Should their bid to take control prove successful , FG Management plan to install former Scotland coach Matt Williams as coach. Smith won several of his 25 international caps during a disastrous period at the helm for Williams, who has been coaching in his native Australia since being sacked by Scotland.