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The writing is on the wall for French rugby, and it’s highlighted no better than by the abysmal performance of the national side in Brisbane on Saturday night.
The decline of this great rugby nation since losing the 2011 Rugby World Cup final to the All Blacks by only a single point can be directly attributed to three separate factors.
A domestic competition minus domestic talent
This year the Top 14 Championship was won by a Toulon side that boasted international players the calibre of Jonny Wilkinson, Delon and Steffon Armitage (England), Australia’s Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell, and Bryan Habana, Bakkies Botha, Danie Rossouw, Craig Burden and Juan Smith from South Africa.
New Zealander Carl Hayman and Argentina’s Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe were the remaining starting internationals, while the bench saw Italian great Martin Castrogiovanni partnered with All Black legend Ali Williams as impact players.
In fact, there are only three Frenchman starting for the French and European Champions: outside centre Mathieu Bastareaud, halfback Sebastien Tillous-Borde, and tighthead prop Xavier Chiocci. Bastareaud is the only player involved in his country’s national set-up with the exception of Frederic Michalak, who couldn’t crack the 23 for the Heineken Cup or Top 14 Finals.
This speaks volumes about the real issues inherent in French rugby. With a salary cap mere pocket change short of AUD$18 million, wealthy owners lure the world’s greatest rugby athletes to France while the development of their own national players is left in a state of decay.
Players in France are classified as ‘entertainers’ and are the beneficiaries of a 10% tax rate. The incredible monetary gains made by high profile international imports incentivise their stay in France for as long as their playing careers will allow, which comes at the detriment of the development of domestic French talent.
In 2013, a staggering 40 per cent of all athletes in the Top 14 were foreigners. The equivalent in Australian franchises is 14 overseas players in each squad, a 700 per cent increase on what already exists.
The situation is ridiculous because France has over 360,000 registered players, while Australia has 298,000. The market for rugby in France is there – one only needs to review the talent and athleticism displayed by the top French football leagues to learn that they do produce capable athletes.
You couldn’t blame the competition against football for the lack of performance in the national set-up, as Australia has three competing contact sports as well as football and basketball competing against it as a winter sport.
As the Top 14 is ruled by a series of wealthy businessmen in the model of European football teams, one can only wonder how much authority the French rugby union holds regarding player movement and development internally.
If the salary caps were halved, with the money redirected instead to player development, you would find French rugby would very quickly find itself supported from the grassroots up as opposed to the reserve bench of teams of international mercenaries and foreigners snubbed by their own countries.
There’s no place like home
Super Rugby teams have found it tough away from home in 2014, winning only 19 per cent of all away games as of Round 16. The Australian teams are a little under the average, with 29 per cent of opposition teams leaving the respective stadiums with wins.
Needless to say, away wins a rare commodity in the modern game.
This truth is even worse in the Top 14, where the percentage of away wins comes down to 13 per cent without the influence of travelling across time zones. This statistic has been attributed to hostile crowds and preferential refereeing, but ultimately comes down to the attitude of players.
French rugby teams and players simply do not compete at opposition grounds, often relegating away matches to trial game standards as reserves are used as fodder for home side stars to toy with at their pleasure.
With this attitude in place, how did the French come so close to beating New Zealand on home soil in 2011?
La grande fromage absent
The answer to the previous question and the final piece of the puzzle of poor performance comes down to the availability of the the French pièce de résistance.
2011 IRB Player of the Year Thierry Dusautoir was unavailable for selection at openside flanker in Brisbane after not quite recovering in time from a bicep injury. First and second choice hookers Dimitri Swarzewski and Benjamin Kayser are both still injured, while lock and 2014 Four Nations captain Pascal Pape has been rested.
Form fly-half Remi Tales, fullback Brice Dulin, wing Maxime Merdad, No. 8 Louis Picamoles and halfback Morgan Parra were kept out of the starting team in Brisbane for a variety of reasons, but will likely be reinserted to their positions come the Melbourne Test.
With the vast array of quality left out of the French side, I would be reluctant to put any money on another big Wallabies win next week.
Join The Roar rugby editor Christy Doran, former Wallaby Matt Toomua and a cast of regular and special guests as they look at the biggest issues in the game on The Roar Rugby Podcast. If you’re looking for great odds on the next game check out Aussie bookmaker PlayUp. Chances are you’re about to lose. Set a deposit limit.