“I’ve lost all respect for Cockerill,” says Martin Castrogiovanni

Martin Castrogiovanni, shaggy-haired prop who has just joined Toulon, has delivered a scathing verdict on the Leicester bosses he left behind.

He won a drawn-out battle to obtain his transfer after negotiations between both clubs had broken down over the compensation Leicester demanded for the final year of his contract.

Castrogiovanni, 31, said: “I am not ashamed to admit that I paid to join Toulon out of my own pocket. It was the only way I had to do it.

“ The only thing that really annoys me concerns the people at Leicester who handled the transfer, chief executive Simon Cohen and director of rugby Richard Cockerill.

“After all my years of service with Leicester, I did not expect them to behave in such an ungracious manner towards me. I must say they have disappointed me terribly.

“I have lost all respect for these two people, given the way they have spoken about me and the way they handled my departure.”

And, with a parting shot that will surely anger his former club, he claimed there were very few happy players in their squad.

Castrogiovanni left his native Argentina at 19 to play in Italy whom, thanks to a Sicilian grandfather, he has represented for many years with distinction.

His career really took off, though, with his move to Leicester in 2006. His trophy cabinet contains six medals for four Championship titles and two cups in their colours. In fact, unusually for a prop, he was voted the best player in the Premiership the following season.

More recently, though, he has rarely made the starting line-up and, according to him, Leicester’s intransigeance over cash was all the less understandable because they were happy to see him go.

He explained: “When your club tells your agent you can leave if you want, you know deep down that they really want no more of you.

“I can totally understand that my coaches at Leicester consider Dan Cole to be better than me.

“I would just like them to have said so straight to my face and show me what I had to improve to play more. I only started six matches last season, so, of course, playing more was one of the main reasons for my departure.

“ You cannot hope to keep everyone happy by changing the squad around systematically and I can assure you that there are very few happy players at Leicester today. That is hard to say, but the truth cannot remain hidden forever.

“It is not the fault of the club because there are wonderful people working there and the Leicester fans are the same. I have always been straight with the club and its directors.”

Toulon began their pursuit of the player last November and the issue was still controversial when Leicester played there in the quarter-final of the Heineken Cup this season.

Castrogiovanni went on: “I’d be lying if I told you I never doubted this move would happen, but I never completely lost hope.

“I had a long talk with Bernard Laporte and Olivier Azam at Toulon after the match. They told me they would not abandon me and that, sooner or later, I would become a Toulon player. They kept their word.

“I won’t hide the fact that Toulon made me a very interesting offer from a financial point of view, but money was not the main reasons for coming here. I want to win still more trophies.”

Castrogiovanni, of course, has left one formidable fight for a starting place with Cole for another with Carl Hayman, the Kiwi prop three years his elder.

He told the Midi Olympique: “Carl is still one of the best in the world. When he was at Newcastle, I played against him several times. His presence motivates me more than it frightens me.

“I am perfectly aware I cannot play every game, but nor do I want to find myself in the situation of playing one and being relegated to the bench for the next one. You need a sequence of matches for your confidence.

“This move is a great honour for me because the best players in the world are here. When you find yourself on the same pitch as Wilkinson, Sheridan, Botha, Masoe, Michalak and Giteau, it has to be a great thrill.

“I felt good at Leicester, but I could never have imagined a few months ago that a club with such an armada should want to recruit me.”

Castrogiovanni, who has signed for two years with the option of a third, will lodge with Steffon and Delon Armitage until he finds his own villa. He has a passion for cooking and talks about opening a restaurant in Toulon.

He already has two in Leicester, but you can be sure that certain people in particular are unlikely to be among the clientele.

DAVID BARNES

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Tagged Leicester Tigers, Martin Castrogiovanni, Richard Cockerill