Saracens and France star Thomas Castaignede will have to pay £1,500 the next time he pulls on the shirt for les bleus.

That is the price that the mercurial Frenchman will have to pay to play England at Twickenham on February 15 due to the fact he plays his club rugby outside France and is not covered by the French Federation's insurance policy.

The Evening Standard explains that money covers the cost of his own insurance policy due to the long-running compensation saga after he was injured on international duty in 2000.

Castaignede needed a succession of operations to repair an Achilles tendon injury suffered while on duty with France in November 2000. However, the French Federation refused to pick up the bill for his lost wages with Saracens as he did not come under the French social security system at the time and the relevant insurance was not in place.

After Castaignede's long and painful fight for fitness, Saracens were left more than £300,000 out of pocket.

After returning to full fitness he reclaimed his place in Bernard Laporte's plans for the clashes against South Africa, New Zealand and Canada, but he was left with no option but to take out his own insurance against injury.

That costs £1,500 per match, and if Castaignede does face England it will take his total bill for representing France this season to £6,000.

Sarries owner Nigel Wray has however been reassured by Castaignede that Bernard Lapasset, the French Federation president, has agreed a compensation deal and details could be given to Sarries this week.

Wray told the newspaper, "We are about to have a settlement in this claim. I hope that is the case, because it has now become a matter of honour. The French have told Thomas that I will be contacted very shortly and that a 'gesture' is going to be made over compensation.

"The situation is quite daft because Thomas was on Test duty with France when he was injured. But they refused to accept the financial implications because he wasn't working as a rugby player in France. It was Thomas's bad luck he got injured and, while I never said I expected them to pay 100 per cent, I am adamant they should not get away with paying nothing. This has gone on for two years, which is remarkable."