full complement of players to Bermuda for next week's tournament.

John Kane, president of the Classic, said yesterday that former French international Denis Charvet broke his promise to deliver a star-studded team that he claimed would seriously challenge the dominance of defending champions New Zealand.

Not only will the French likely not challenge, they will need to be fortified by the inclusion of perhaps 12 members of the Bermuda national team which returned home Tuesday after winning the Caribbean Championships in Barbados.

"Having promised a team of exceptional quality, the French have moved backwards at such an alarming rate that it is most likely that a French/Bermuda team will take the field against the Celtic Barbarians on Monday,'' said Kane in a prepared statement, in which he did not refer to Charvet by name.

"He obviously failed to do his job properly and relied on too many verbal assurances from players, many of whom failed to consider other playing commitments during the Classic,'' Kane continued. "It was a particularly shoddy effort which has brought little credit to those involved.

As it stands about 12 French internationals will arrive on Saturday, including Charvet, a centre possessing 23 French caps, as well as former captain Franck Mesnel, the holder of 56 caps.

Bermudian players will be brought in according to position.

Claude Dourthe, who played in earlier Classics and now sits on the French Rugby Federation, has been informed of the matter while Philipe Sella, the world's most capped player and whose company is involved in promoting matches for ex-internationals, will be sending a representative to Bermuda in an effort to redeem the situation for next year.

It was only the middle of last month when Charvet was reported to have secured the services of players drawn from the 1980s and '90s who have made nearly 800 appearances for France, a number far outstripping the collective 300 appearances for members of the All Blacks.

In addition many were noted to have been aboard the 1987 Grand Slam team which contained some of the European country's -- and indeed the continent's -- finest players.

Now there would appear but a sprinkling of these.

Still, Kane said that spectators at National Sports club can expect to be greatly entertained as in previous years. The tournament opens Sunday with two matches: New Zealand against Argentina and the United States against South Africa. Canada meets England in the other game on Monday.

Meanwhile, six representatives from Japan, including the vice-president of the Japanese Rugby Union are scheduled to be in attendance at this year's event to discuss a Far East Classic that would have the winner qualifying for the World Rugby Classic.