Exeter hooker Luke Cowan-Dickie was thrown into a ‘drunk tank’ in France early last Wednesday morning following a boozy night out.
Cowan-Dickie was in Montpellier for medical check-ups ahead of his summer shift to the Top 14 outfit which could be in jeopardy because of a neck condition. The 29-year-old was not arrested and Rob Baxter, his boss at Chiefs, said the 4.30am incident outside a nightclub had not made Montpellier pull the plug on the move .
Fabrice Belargent, the state prosecutor in Montpellier, said: “I confirm that the person in question was the subject of a procedure for manifest and public drunkenness after being stopped in front of a nightclub by Montpellier municipal police at 4.30am on April 19. He was placed in the cellule de dégrisement (sobering up cell).”
Baxter insisted Cowan-Dickie did not miss any dates with doctors but admitted the front rower’s fitness is still an issue for England and Montpellier. The 29-year-old, who has not played since January because of an ankle injury, has nerve damage in his neck which the French Top 14 outfit are monitoring.
And with England training camps, ahead of France 2023, starting in June Baxter could not guarantee Cowan-Dickie would be fit to take part.
“The nerve issue is a time scale one,” Baxter said. “Historically they can take a long time or you can recover quickly. It is a bit ‘how long is a piece of string?’ I know England are investigating if there is anything they can do to speed up the process, as we are, but it is not a problem that has a definitive answer.
“I’ve had discussions with Luke and he said he hasn’t failed his medical. It’s something that has massively been blown out of proportion. I think he’s popping over again just to finish off a couple of bits the French would like to investigate in terms of his injuries. He hasn’t failed a medical and he hasn’t not turned up for a medical.
"I’m not saying it’s totally pie in the sky because everything has a little bit of truth in it. But as far as he’s not turned up and they’ve rolled up the contract and thrown it away, that’s not the case. If the element is did he have a drink in a bar at some stage then I’d say probably yes. Other than that, I think there has probably been a fair bit of journalistic licence in a few things that have happened.”
Cowan-Dickie is one of a cohort of Exeter stalwarts, including Sam and Joe Simmonds, Ian Whitten, Jack Nowell, Stuart Hogg and Harry Williams who are leaving the club at the end of the season. Salary cap constraints are biting in the Premiership but Baxter is ready to help Cowan-Dickie if his cross-Channel move is scuppered.
“If it all falls through, I would expect us to have a look into the possibilities of trying to at the very least looking after him during his injury rehab and go from there,” he added. “He’s been a very important player for us. He’s played in some significant games for us. We’d look to do something to look after him.”
Meanwhile, Bristol have appointed former Newcastle boss Dave Walder as backs’ coach for next season. Walder, 44, knows Pat Lam, the Bears director of rugby, from their playing days at Falcons before Lam moved to Northampton.
Walder left Newcastle in March after a dispute with the board about recruitment and player retention.
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