Bath may not have picked up a trophy since recording their famous backs-against-the-wall Heineken Cup victory over Brive in early 1998, but they secured a prize of sorts yesterday when their American No 8, Dan Lyle, agreed a new three-year deal that will effectively keep him at the Recreation Ground until retirement. Lyle turned down a raft of approaches from other Premiership teams and an offer to play in his homeland to stick with the West Country club. "At this stage of my career, I want to win trophies," said the former US Eagles captain, who will be 31 in September "I know that I can facilitate that here at Bath. In signing a new contract, I am hoping to convince my club-mates that we can achieve great things if we stick together. A lot of Bath guys are going to receive big-money offers from elsewhere, and they will have to decide on their course. I've decided on mine."Lyle is a unique figure in world rugby: he set new standards of athleticism when he first pitched up at Bath in 1996 - had he not opted for a union career, he might have made it in American Football with the Washington Redskins - and his ball-handling skills have made him one of the most influential forwards in the Premiership. "He's a phenomenal talent," said the Bath coach, Jon Callard. "It's good to know that we'll have him here for the foreseeable future."There was bad news for another enigmatic forward yesterday when Abdel Benazzi was forced to pull out of France's Six Nations clash against Wales on Saturday with a back injury.

Benazzi is replaced in the squad by Bourgoin's Lionel Nallet, who earned his first cap against Romania last year. Benazzi needs to rest for at least a week, but hopes to be fit for the match against England at Twickenham on 7 April.Glasgow Caledonians have a scrum-half crisis on their hands ahead of today's trip to Cardiff. The Scotland captain, Andy Nicol, will be missing with a dead leg suffered at Twickenham last week and Graeme Beveridge is recovering from an ankle injury. The Reds, who are looking to record a double over the Welsh club, have called up Kenny Sinclair from Glasgow Hawks as back-up for Fraser Stott.In the Super 12, a superb try from Jonah Lomu was not enough to save Wellington Hurricanes from a 27-15 home defeat to the Western Stormers. The home side let themselves down 15 minutes later when poor tackling let in Bobby Skinstad. Breyton Paulse also replied for the visitors and Robbie Kempson scored a late try to seal victory.. It is seven months since Sale Rugby Football Club informed Andy Keast that the job they had formally offered him four days previously had been given to someone else - barely long enough for an enthusiastic and highly capable young coach to get his head around the slings and arrows of oval-ball fortune.

No one would have died of shock if "Old Square Eyes", as Keast came to be known during the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa, had flicked a two-fingered salute in the general direction of the English game and headed off back to Springbok country, where his track record of tangible success would have earned him a king's ransom. It is seven months since Sale Rugby Football Club informed Andy Keast that the job they had formally offered him four days previously had been given to someone else - barely long enough for an enthusiastic and highly capable young coach to get his head around the slings and arrows of oval-ball fortune. No one would have died of shock if "Old Square Eyes", as Keast came to be known during the 1997 Lions tour of South Africa, had flicked a two-fingered salute in the general direction of the English game and headed off back to Springbok country, where his track record of tangible success would have earned him a king's ransom. Instead, he has resurfaced at Castle Grim - otherwise known as Kingsholm - where the goings-on of the last few weeks make Sale's approach to recruitment and man-management look positively enlightened. As Gloucester's new assistant coach, working under Philippe Saint-André and alongside John Brain, the 38-year-old Devonian must address a number of rather pressing issues. In no particular order, they include: a five-match losing streak in the Premiership, the burning need to qualify for the end-of-season play-offs and the financial consequences of failure, a growing band of disaffected supporters, a growing band of disaffected senior players, an unstable - some say divided - dressingroom, and, by no means least, the small matter of a Heineken Cup semi-final with Leicester six weeks from now.Quite a challenge, one way or another; but then, Keast enjoys a challenge. He had just turned 30 when he guided Natal to Currie Cup glory in 1995 - definitely one for the CV, given the intensity of South African provincial rugby in the pre-Super 12 era - and was not very much older when he became head honcho at Harlequins.