I keep reading articles and comments that show no knowledge of the changes in professional rugby in France this season or how this will impact the rest of the world.
There was another article recently in Equipe (Les Quotas sont la, 9/8/10) running through the details. Seeing as the French clubs have the biggest budgets and traditionally suck up most of the talented foreign players of the world who are looking for cash, I thought I’d post the details here with a small run down on the potential impact on other countries. The changes are the introduction of a salary cap and a quota of French players in clubs.
For years now the French have been worried about the influx of foreign players into their top 14 sides. More and more clubs with large budgets prefer to import a successful player than take a chance on young inexperienced Frenchmen with the result that the national side, year on year, has fewer choices of experienced players in a variety of positions.
They have finally taken steps to insure a limit on the number of foreign players playing at this level. From this season all French clubs must have a quota of 40 per cent of players on their squad who have come through the French system to increase to 60 per cent over the next two years. As it is illegal under EU law to discriminate for or against employees based solely on their nationality the French rugby federation have got around this by instigating the qualification. This 40 per cent of the squad of any professional club must have spent five years licenced to the FFR (French rugby federation) before the age of 21, or have spent three seasons at a “centre de formation” between the age of 16 and 21. In 2011 this quota will increase to 50 per cent and in 2012 to 60 per cent.
At the same time they have instigated a salary cap (boucler salaire) to try to limit the ballooning salaries in French rugby. From this season there is a limit of €8.1 million for each club for player salaries.
Only a few clubs have objected to the measures (no prizes for guessing who). The reason that so few have objected is because for the majority of the clubs in the Top 14 this current set of limits hardly effects them at all. There are only a few clubs whose budgets exceed the new cap and the majority of clubs also have 40 per cent of players who are French and qualify for the quota. However, in a few years time these changes should start having an impact in France and elsewhere.
The biggest impact that I see the salary having will be in leveling the standard over time in the French league. As the current wealthiest clubs become challenged by those whose funds are yet increasing the standard of the competition should even out, gradually becoming more competitive. As however this salary cap exceeds the present budget of the majority of French clubs, and all the other clubs in Europe it should not currently limit the power of these sides to pick the best players that money can buy. If over time the salary cap is not increased, as has happened in England then this may eventually reduce this buying power.
The quota however should have a serious impact when in two years 60 per cent of all squads must effectively be French. This is still much lower than the Irish limit of five foreign players per squad (except in emergency/injury scenarios) but it will force the French sides to cut back on imports and will probably see them follow the Irish model of hiring a few exceptional players rather than a whole range of levels of player as is currently the case.
Both these measures should improve the standard of rugby in France and the quality of their national team over the coming decade.
The countries outside of France that will be most directly effected by these changes will be those who export the most players there. That is, Britain and Ireland. (Yes really.) Apart from the marquee signings, which include more SH players (or maybe these players just get more headlines) there are more foreign players in France from these countries than any others. This is according to Equipe anyway. From an Irish point of view this is not good news. Typically with decent pay and the tax rebate, it’s the players in Ireland who aren’t getting a chance to play at their provinces who go to France, and typically improve their game there.
Timmy Ryan who went from Munster to Toulon is a good example of this. He came through the academy in Munster but rarely even saw the bench there but his time in Toulon has been great for him and lead him to being signed by Newcastle this year. Britain on the other hand has lost a mix of talent to France and will probably be relieved to see the quota and cap introduced there. However for the average young player from Britain or Ireland wanting to get a break in their career this is going to limit their opportunities.
As for the SH players am i right in thinking that only players who are already successful travel to France for the big wages? If so there is likely to be less of an impact on the player drain North. Correct me if i’m wrong about this.
England will now be unusual in Europe in having no limit on foreign players in its clubs so may take up some of the slack from the French.
So that’s the news from France guys. A new more powerful French era approaches.
Joh4Canberra
Roar Rookie
"... willl be struck down as blatantly in breach of EU regulations". That's some confidence you've got there MR. It may well be found to be in contravention of the EU rule on the free movement of persons. But then again, maybe not. There is such a thing as uncertainty in the law and this is a prime instance of it. In the Bosman case (a case from 1995 involving a Belgian soccer player who when off contract at his Belgian club wanted to move to a club in another EU country) the European Court of Justice held that rules on *nationality* which provide that a club may field only a limited number of professional players who are nationals of another EU member state are not allowed. But the question of whether rules that discriminate according to place of *residence* are in breach of this principle is still an open question. There are in fact other industries besides professional sport which *do* put in place restrictions on the basis of a certain amount of residency in the country and which have never been found to be in breach of the free movement of persons. For instance police forces in EU countries typically require prospective applicants to have lived in the country for a certain period of time before applying for a job with them. You can't get off straight off the plane from France and apply for a job with An Garda (the police) in Ireland -- and that rule applies to French and Irish citizens alike. The discrimination here is on the basis of *residence* not *nationality*. French citizens who meet the residence and other (eg language) requirements are perfectly free to apply for a job with the police in Ireland on the same basis as Irish citizens who meet the residence and other requirements. So it's quite clear that the LNR can't put in a place a rule that says 60% of squad members must be French citizens. Such a rule would clearly discriminate against citizens of the other 26 EU member states on the basis of their *nationality*. But whether a rule which says X% of squad members must have lived in France for a certain period of time does (or, as the quota actually puts it, attended a rugby academy in France for Y years or played rugby in France for Z years) is very much an open question. Maybe, maybe not. We'll have to wait and see if this gets challenged before the courts and if so what the courts have to say.
Intotouch
Roar Rookie
The rules can be bent by clever clubs. I read of an English club player who was also a part time bar man at the club. He was also the best paid bar man in history!
Colin N
Guest
"I thought I read somewhere that there was a loop hole in the plans, that you could figure as a French ‘academy’ player if you’;d been there for a period of time, hence Matt Henjak was brought back into the Toulon squad." That's what I heard as well. I'm pretty sure Toulon have spent more on wages this year than previous season, expeically when you consdered they've lured the likes of Wulf, Sackey and Hayman and haven't lost too many players either.
Ben S
Roar Guru
Stade put out a severely weakened side, RR and Jauzion played 10, so it was probably a bit unfortunate you caught that game. -- Incidentally, having perused the Top 14 squads there hasn't really been a discernible shift of players. Brive has been the only side to purposefully release or transfer foreign players en masse in favour of French players. I thought I read somewhere that there was a loop hole in the plans, that you could figure as a French 'academy' player if you';d been there for a period of time, hence Matt Henjak was brought back into the Toulon squad.
Ben S
Roar Guru
I recognise your point, Sam, but I think you're exagerrating somewhat. Rudi Wulf isn't considered an exceptional player in Europe given that he has hardly played here. Of course, the irony is that whilst players like Tipoki and Dermody have added so much to their respective squads, so many big name players have been mediocre to dismal: Jean de Villiers, De wet Barry and Jean Smit, for example. There really isn't a casual rule of thumb that can be placed around SH players in Europe.
Red Rooster
Guest
I watched Toulouse v Stade francais this arvo - Not sure it was great rugby, although Toulouse looked slick at times. 5 yellow cards across the game and some very average acts of silly ill discipline suggest there is a way to go to be interesting - there was 50 mins of 14 v 15 and only two scrums did not require two re sets or finish in penalty - other than that not bad
Derm
Roar Guru
"BUT, the UK nations are still the ones with the biggest buying power behind France. So their players will stay home instead to earn their money. It’ll be the 2nd Tier and SANZAR players who can make the most difference in earning by playing Top 14 rugby. In the future there MUST start to be issue in Scotland, Wales and Ireland given the small number of pro teams they have." England may have bigger budgets, but Wales, and particularly Scotland, do not. In Ireland, the central contracting list is being reduced with a number of internationals coming off central salaries at the end of this coming season. The revenues are simply not there. Ireland has four provincial professional teams. One of these - Connacht - is tightly hampered already and serves as a development squad really. One-year contracts are the max they are allowed. There is no chance that a fifth team would be developed under current structures. The clubs are still allowed hire foreign players from their own budgets within limits. However, the positions for these imports tends to be at the expense of doemstic players developing in the weakest International Test positions - in particular front row. If there's a choice between developing another team or better players for key positions, I'd put the money into developing the players.
Derm
Roar Guru
"However, even if they had the best players in the world France will never win anything significant as they have paper-weight psychology and lurch from one soaring victory to a crushing defeat like a yo-yo. If they can ever put two good victories together then they may have somewhere to start." Are you sure you're not talking about Australia?
Intotouch
Roar Rookie
Pothale, they mean 60% of each squad. I don't know if squad numbers vary wildly or not. If you say that Timmy Ryan is the exception then i believe you. One problem i find in reading French journalists is that they often don't distinguish between players from Britain or Ireland and i did not read any detailed analysis on foreign imports from Ireland, only generalizations. KingPlayer, Thanks. Although now i don't think that i should have offered so many opinions. I'm a fan not an expert by any means but i thought that these changes were important and should be known. Why do you think that there will be a reduction in high quality imports in France? 40% of each squad could still be from abroad. That's still a huge portion of potentially excellent players and the majority of them could still be in the first XV. Consider also that with a limit on imports the clubs are more likely to sign fewer numbers of high quality players the way that Wales and Ireland do. This quota will in time improve the quality of the French national team by improving depth. The cap should improve the quality of the club game by making the clubs more competitive with each other and limiting the dominance of a rich few. As for French rugby having enough depth, au contraire! In the outhalf/10 position there has been many complaints for years in France that too many experienced foreigners have been hired in this position leaving the national team with some dodgy choices. Remember Michilac's inconsistency and Screla's defensive weaknesses? A country with so many clubs should have a wide variety of skilled players in each position, but in some areas they don't. Hence this quota system. Talented young French players of course exist already but will they be given a chance at 10 ahead of an experienced import? In Leinster in Ireland Sexton only took over from Contepomi after Contepomi left for Toulon. Within 6 months he became the first choice outhalf ( against South Africa). This was a player who before Contepomi left most Irish rugby fans would struggle to name and few had guessed his quality. Young players can be as talented as the day is long but they will make more mistakes as they are still learning. Clubs prefer not to take risks if they can afford to buy an alternative and keep playing the experienced alternative, maybe for a decade. MR thanks. However i disagree with you. I don't see that the French won't get away with the quota. They discriminate ostensibly according to qualification not race. Also Wales and Ireland have had a limit on foreign players for years so the EU laws can't be that difficult to circumvent. Sam, These players are all experienced and play in the highest club levels. Do young NZ players also head off to France? Ian, that is great news for England. I hope that the incentive works. Before you question the accuracy of the demographics quoted from Equpe consider that this proportion of foreign players that Equipe talks about is not just in the Top 14. There are two levels of professional rugby below this in France (even three?)and i did not have the patience to trawl through details of 40 or so clubs myself to count for myself. The number of foreign imports to clubs there is a problem that goes much further down the ladder than it does in England or anywhere else. The young talented French players are competing with experienced foreigners at levels of the game that in other countries would be giving them their foundation in rugby. Within France itself the Northern clubs are also flooded with players from the South so that the locals feel driven out of their own clubs. The game is becoming more popular there and with the quota of French players hopefully this generation will be able to flourish. On your point on the French weak psychology many French people would agree with you. However I read an interview with Sebastian Chabal recently where he says that the problem is not psychological but all about the training opportunities that the team have together. He says that the French squad spend the least time together of any test team and that this short preparation time cannot allow them to practice sufficiently to be consistent. I presume he's talking about formulating a variety of tactics. One thing that i find interesting about all of this is that the French are gradually putting the national interests before the club interests. Although the salary cap is seriously high, and the quota is gradual, it shows a shift in influence and priorities. I wonder if the clubs will endure the limitations put on them for long. As for more clubs in the Celtic sides there are plans afoot. Wales want to have another professional team around North Wales and will likely dive into that once their debt from the millenium stadium is cleared. Scotland definitely wants a third club again and as the union is financially solvent again can plan for that, Ireland is deep in dept after the Lansdowne redevelopment so i think a decade will pass before there would be any change there.
CizzyRascal
Guest
"So you’ll see less cheap players from Romania, Georgia, Tunisia, Italy, Samoa, Fiji etc" Actually I think they'll stay on. The price for top French players will go up as they will become in demand, so they will still keep these guys as the squad fillers. Also, Australia have gotten themselves another Franchise as there is massive room to grow, in plaing numbers and different markets. Ireland are struggling to put together 4 competitive sides and Scotland even 2. If the game were to grow ten fold, then there's a problem, but I don't see that happening for at least a couple of decades.
Bay35Pablo
Roar Guru
The informed rugby media have reported on it. But's that a limited bunch. In Australia we are lucky to get any rugby coverage at all apart from Wallabies, so they will hardly be "wasting" time on French rugby ....
Matt
Guest
I think the biggest impact (outside of France) from these changes, will the a drop in the performance of 2nd Tier nations. Currently the salary cap doesn't affect any of the clubs drastically, but the Foreign quota does. So you'll see less cheap players from Romania, Georgia, Tunisia, Italy, Samoa, Fiji etc, and a continued level of more expensive players from NZ, RSA, Aus. I also SERIOUSLY question the Le Equipe numbers on where the most foreign players are coming from. All you have to do is take a look around on Wikipedia at each squad. BUT, the UK nations are still the ones with the biggest buying power behind France. So their players will stay home instead to earn their money. It'll be the 2nd Tier and SANZAR players who can make the most difference in earning by playing Top 14 rugby. In the future there MUST start to be issue in Scotland, Wales and Ireland given the small number of pro teams they have. Australia has battled tooth and nail to get up to 5 pro teams. And consensus is that there should be more expansion in the future too. So if England and France both start to go for locals then the Celtic Nations will start to need new teams to give their players enough game time.
Sam
Guest
"As for the SH players am i right in thinking that only players who are already successful travel to France for the big wages? If so there is likely to be less of an impact on the player drain North. Correct me if i’m wrong about this." SANZAR will continue to lose our "middle management" players who mostly serve to improve the standard of our game here but are considered exceptional players in europe eg. Rudi Wulf, Rua Tipoki, Clarke Dermody etc. This means, increasingly we are going to have only our best players at the top (carter's, Coopers etc) as well as young players forced to develop two early to fill the empty space, eg. Aaron Cruden would not even be in the picture if Nick Evans was here.
kingplaymaker
Roar Guru
Enjoyable article. 'Both these measures should improve the standard of rugby in France and the quality of their national team over the coming decade.' I'm not sure that those measures would improve the standard of rugby in France: with fewer high quality imports the standard will probably drop. Nor do I see how it will result in the standard of the natiional team increasing, as over 14 teams, the most of any league in a major country in the world, there are already plenty of places for young players to get exposure at this level from. Remember that at the moment Australia, the number 3 team in the world, only have 4 teams-worth of spaces for their players to gain such exposure. 14, even with many foreign players taking up places, is more than enough. Probably all the talented young French players are playing in the Top 14 already. More playing spaces will not create talent out of nowhere. The area in which I do see rugby developing in France is its quickly growing popularity. The more popular the sport, the higher the participation take-up in the regions around clubs and therefore in the end the more top players produced. However, even if they had the best players in the world France will never win anything significant as they have paper-weight psychology and lurch from one soaring victory to a crushing defeat like a yo-yo. If they can ever put two good victories together then they may have somewhere to start.
MR
Guest
Thanks for a useful well written article, the restriction on foreign players will be struck down as blatantly in breach of EU regulations e.g. How would new french immigrants qualify as french players players? but may slow flow for a couple of years
Ian Noble
Guest
"England will now be unusual in Europe in having no limit on foreign players in its clubs so may take up some of the slack from the French" Not entirely true, the RFU have introduced a financial incentive for clubs instead of a limit probably because EU employment law allows all EU citizens to be employed anywhere within the EU. The incentive kicks in if clubs have an average 14 out of 22/23 match day squads as English qualified players. If I recall only four clubs hit the target, but this season it should the majority of clubs as more players are coming through the academies..
CizzyRascal
Roar Guru
Pothale, That means the whole playing squad, so 60% of 35 players.
Derm
Roar Guru
Timmy Ryan is an exception in recent times, I would have thought. "The quota however should have a serious impact when in two years 60 per cent of all squads must effectively be French. This is still much lower than the Irish limit of five foreign players per squad (except in emergency/injury scenarios)..." Is this right? Or do you mean it's not as low as the Irish limit of 5 foreigners? When L'Equipe talks about 60% of a squad - what size squad are they talking about - 22 or 23? 60% = 13.2 or 13.8 players?