A look at the Top 14 Rugby season
Roar Guru By James Mortimer, 12 Jul 2009 James Mortimer is a Roar Guru
First played in 1892, the French domestic championship begins in a little over a month, with the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (the French National Rugby League) making key changes to the competition that take effect from 2010/11 onwards.
Next season, 50% of the squad of every Top 14 or Pro D2 club will need to be made up of home grown players. The classifications of this are stringent.
It means that a player must hold a FFR license for at least 5 years after the age of 21, or have spent a minimum of 3 years in a French rugby club academy between the ages of 16 to 21.
Over the next two seasons, this percentage will rise to 70%. Soon the fields of France will no longer be as easy an option for overseas players.
No doubt French rugby will become far stronger for it.
Also, a salary cap of sorts will be introduced, essentially bringing the spending of all clubs to a reasonable medium, and applying principles that will not allow dramatic season to season increases; as well as tightening controls on budget irregularities.
As for the teams themselves, both US Dax and Mont-de-Marsan leave the top division of French rugby, relegated to the Pro D2 (the second tier of French rugby competition).
SCA Albi, who won the promotion match, will return to the Top 14, and will be joined by the Pro D2 champions, the famous Racing-Metro 92 club.
The two “new boys” will face off in the opening round of the championship.
As Toulon has before them, the 2008/09 Pro D2 champions have spent big for their campaign in the top flight, although their spending still pales in comparison with Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal’s club, that boasts another turnover of global superstars.
Toulon’s most prominent signing is arguably Phillipe Saint Andre, who moves to the club from the Sale Sharks and will work alongside former All Blacks captain Tana Umaga. There is also a certain fly half called Jonny Wilkinson who, by all reports, looks to be in the best physical condition of his recently injury plagued career.
Toulon, who may not be able to call on the services of the 2003 World Cup winning pivot early in the season due to England commitments, will face off against Stade Francais in the opening round.
But for Racing, boss Jacky Lorenzetti – head of real estate giant Foncia – has poured millions into recruitment this year, and he is citing a goal for the team to be playing Heineken Cup by 2011.
With all the changes due in the next couple of years, this could be the last year where the big spending and traditional giants of France have their way.
Perpignan last year became just the fourth club to win the title since 1994, as the league in the professional era has been dominated by the big three of Toulouse, Stade Francais and Biarritz.
Despite the massive amounts of media attention surrounding the signing of Dan Carter, the club won their seventh Bouclier de Brennus title without their glamour player.
However, despite glimpse of excellence from the usual club heavyweights such as Stade and Toulouse, there was little doubt that the 2003 Heineken Cup runners up and regular season top qualifiers were the form team throughout the season, proving to their more illustrious counterparts the importance of executing clean and clinical rugby.
Statistically, they were more disciplined and made fewer errors than any other Top 14 side last year.
However, Stade Toulousain will again be the team to beat, disappointed with what would be termed by their standards, failures at both French domestic and European Cup level.
The 17 time French champions and three time champions of Europe have had a few changes in personal, but still have their French test backline and a squad that boasts no less than 18 players who have played test rugby.
The will play against Montauban away to kick off their season.
As always, there will be the dark horses, with Brive having no less than five English internationals now on their books, as well as fast rising centre Riki Flutey, one of only a handful of such players in France selected for Martin Johnson’s new elite squad.
The season kicks off in the middle of August, and will run till May 2010, provisionally the longest running domestic championship in world rugby.
The Top 14 championship
Winner receives the Bouclier de Brennus (or Brennus Shield)
Championship began in 1892
Last three champions
2009: USA Perpignan 22 – 13 ASM Clermont Auvergne
2008: Stade Toulousain 26 – 20 ASM Clermont Auvergne
2007: Stade Francais 23 – 18 ASM Clermont Auvergne
Championship roll of honour
Stade Toulousain – 17
Stade Francais – 13
AS Béziers – 11
SU Agen – 8
FC Lourdes – 8
Stade Bordelais – 7
USA Perpignan – 7
Recommend this story.
July 13th 2009 @ 4:06am
Knives Out said | July 13th 2009 @ 4:06am | Report comment
James,
Any opinions on the pre-season transfers? That quite a lot of journeyman English players have been signed by various clubs: Palmer, Phillips, El Abd, Chesney, May et al represents an interesting trend, IMO. France seems to be embracing the durable English yeoman, which says a lot about the robustness of the Guinness Premiership. It is interesting to note that the teams who have signed the largest amount of English players are those seeking mid-table consolidation: CA Brive, Toulon and Racing-Metro 92.
Significantly there has been a lot of internal movement. Toulouse have sought out younger acquisitions with the signings of French golden boys Yann David and Louis Picamoles, which is positive because a big club is attempting to galvanise recent under-achievement through the signing domestic players. However, conversely Montpellier and Bourgoin maintain their position as minnow feeder clubs which means that the gulf between the haves and have-nots increases. Further, to accomodate this trend where French talent has begun to accumulate amongst the wealthier clubs: Boyoud to Bayonne, Lionel Faure & Parra to Clermont, Diarra to Castres, Nallet & Chabal to Racing-Metro, Kayser & Dupuy to Stade and Bruno & Mignoni to Toulon, for example, the less wealthy clubs have continued to use journeymen SH players to fill their squads: Alberto Di Bernardo, John Senio, Piet van Zyl, Albert Vuli Vuli etc.
July 13th 2009 @ 4:15am
Knives Out said | July 13th 2009 @ 4:15am | Report comment
…
The top Top 14 clubs now possess a French spine that should, in theory, play together regularly, which should, in theory, prove beneficial to Marc Lievremont. For example:
Perpignan: Mas, Chouly, Durand, Mermoz, Marty, Porical.
Toulouse: Servat, Lecouls, Millo-Chluski, Dusautoir, Picamoles, Elissalde, Michalak, Skrela, Jauzion, Fritz, David, Clerc, Heymans, Medard & Poitrenaud.
Clermont: Faure. L, Domingo, Jacquet, Privat, Bonnaire, Vermeulen, Parra, Baby, Malzieu, Rougerie, Floch.
Stade: Szarzewski, Kayser, Marconnet, Pape, Dupuy, Beauxis, Bastareud.
Biarritz: Barcella, Thion, Harinordoquy, Yachvili, Traille.
July 13th 2009 @ 5:48am
pothale said | July 13th 2009 @ 5:48am | Report comment
KO
Do you have a life outside rugby? Where do get the time for one, if you have to know all this?
July 13th 2009 @ 7:01am
Knives Out said | July 13th 2009 @ 7:01am | Report comment
I have an intricate system of mental filing, Pothale. Money in the bank.
July 13th 2009 @ 11:30am
James Mortimer said | July 13th 2009 @ 11:30am | Report comment
KO,
In my full article
http://www.rugbycountry.net/2009/07/2009-top-14-season-preview.html
I actually briefly cover the clubs. You are on the nail re: Brive, Toulon and Racing. All three have broken the bank and I would not be surprised if a few more players were poached before seasons end (poached might be the wrong word….)
As for internal movement as you state, that is a new trend that will pick up over time. As their quotas for foreign players shrink, they will look at signing the glamour French players from other clubs.
The biggest point for me is what happens regarding Bok players. They are already trying to snap up Habana, although Toulon have officially said they can’t afford him?????
But I wonder if a few more high profile signings will join Steyn in the ranks of French clubs.
July 13th 2009 @ 9:31pm
Knives Out said | July 13th 2009 @ 9:31pm | Report comment
James,
Are not most of the ‘top’ Springboks under contract? I have heard the rumour that Fourie is off to Clermont and JdV off to Munster but I’ve also seen these rumours quickly rejected by the SA media. I also recall how quick John Botha was to try and run off to Toulon a few seasons ago, so maybe the issue of a contract is not actually that clear cut. Habana is an intriguing target simply because PSA seemingly looks to toughen the club with carthorses like Chesney and El Abd. In that context Habana must be considered a luxury. However, it is remiss to ignore the talents of Mignoni, Wilkinson, Contepomi and Umaga, so perhaps Habana would not be that much of a luxury after all.
I’m in no doubt that with the incoming quotas – that you refer to – the clubs are looking to gradually reduce their foreign players but it appears that the trend of SH players being favoured is now being replaced with a new Anglo-Saxon favouritism. I’m sure there are various reasons for this but it is a worrying trend, nonetheless. I noted last season that Brive were hosting regular English lessons for the club as opposed to regular French lessons for their English contingent, and whilst the French clubs that I referred to in an above post boast a French spine, a club like Brive will now have a backline of Perry, Goode, Flutey and Noon. That may or may not be a short-term option for a club demanding quick success, but it is still worrying.
July 14th 2009 @ 3:29pm
Greg Russell said | July 14th 2009 @ 3:29pm | Report comment
Must be time for Clermont finally to crack a win, not least of all because they have a good Kiwi (Vern Cotter) in charge … no-one deserves the cruelty of losing 3 finals in a row!
July 14th 2009 @ 10:52pm
Knives Out said | July 14th 2009 @ 10:52pm | Report comment
It’s quite bizarre for such a club to be perennial losers. They have a broad squad with a talented French core, money in the bank and an astute coach. Significantly, the team can play tight and slow or fast and loose: Brock James is an excellent kicker and winger Napolioni Nalaga scored 20 tries in 19 appearences last season. It really is bizarre. That said, Perpignan were never the favourites to win the Brennus, so the old truisms of sport are always applicable to such situations.