French rugby president Bernard Laporte has chosen his former national assistant Jacques Brunel as the new national coach despite his dismal record with Italy, and a fascinating article in Monday’s Australian entitled: ‘France appoints new coach and takes a stance on foreign occupation of top 14 clubs‘, shed some light on why.
It’s interesting that France has had fewer coaches this century (four) than Australia, South Africa, England, Scotland and Wales, which have each had six apiece.
The reason behind the sacking of former coach Guy Noves is the win-loss record of the French national side being in freefall. Under Noves Les Blues have won just seven of their last 21 tests.
It wasn’t much better under legendary former national winger and captain Philippe Saint-André, who coached the team to just a 44 per cent win record. At the turn of the century Les Blues were winning more than six of every 10 tests.
The penny, or the franc, has finally dropped for the French, who at last seem to understand that the overwhelming influx of overseas players is now critically affecting the performance of the national team.
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The flip side is the loss that the Springboks especially and the Wallabies to a lesser extent have suffered in their national teams, with so many players who are capable of either playing in the top 23 or competing to keep others honest going overseas and leaving a massive void in their home countries.
Not only are South Africa and Australia deprived of quality players competing for the national team, but this loss directly affects their national competitions as well.
I’ve been following rugby for 50 years, and while I grew up loving the expansive style of French backline play, which seemed to produce tricky, elusive backs at will, it was also apparent that they produced plenty of technically proficient, huge, brooding, snarling props and massive, raw-boned second rowers.
Today so many of the top 14 clubs are apparently awash with Argentine and Georgian props, leaving only a small and diminishing pool in quality to compete for national Les Bleus selection.
But this problem exists more or less in every position.
Four clubs in the top 14 have lists of 42 to 43 players comprising more than 50 per cent foreigners, and there are apparently 257 foreign players amongst the 596 top 14 club players. That’s very close to almost half. Indeed one club, Oyonnax, could field an entire match day squad of foreigners, as could probably a few other clubs.
Laporte intends to reduce the number of foreigners from match day squads down to just five. The billionaire club owners are feverishly haggling for seven.
Laporte has apparently cleverly changed the rules. Now not only are clubs fined for not toeing the line regarding the import rule but they also lose competition points as well, which affects their bottom line much more deeply.
It will be interesting to see if England bothers to follow suit. At present the England national team is riding the crest of the wave, so the motivation is not as strong at present for them to change. But in the not so distant past the influx of foreigners into Premiership Rugby has also hurt the development of the Red Roses.
In an ideal world the movement of players from one country to another would be controlled for the benefit of everyone’s long-term interests. Those clamouring about ‘restraint of trade’ can go to the naughty corner.
Unlike football, rugby has a finite pool of talent worldwide. If it’s not managed, a few countries will become very strong while the rest will become weak, lose interest and pursue other sports. Perhaps it’s better to be a smallish fish in a large pond than end up as a big fish in a small pond.
If the ostentatiously named World Rugby can find the gumption to protect everyone’s interests rather than pander to the few, then a country like Australia could get back anywhere from upwards of 50 overseas players, which would help enormously in developing an eight-team national competition.
With more quality players in each of these teams, it would then be more attractive to TV and other media interests to become involved.
We can only dream and hope.
taylorman
Guest
Sapoaga, Cruden, Faumuina all had spots, in the AB side and the SR squads. We now need to replace them, and to do that we need to develop them earlier than we would have needed to. They chose to forsake that because playing club rugby is worth more money, even though they'll rarely play in the great stadiums of the world ever again, unless Twicker's gives them a curtain raiser spot for one of those lowly finals perhaps. They're simply selling out because the dollars too strong in the NH, making the AB jersey up for compromise. There are no easy options here, and as I said, will lead to a downturn in International rugby. I mean we'll stop wanting your guys here because theyll probably half our guys. Whats the point?
taylorman
Guest
Saracens are still going on Crusades Sheek, to pick up rugby players from the far away lands
Derm
Roar Guru
Well they are getting on with developing more players. But they can’t stop players selling their wares. Besides they can’t all stay in New Zealand anyway - there aren’t enough attractive spots for them. Build a sixth team and put them all into that on development wages. Or send them to Australia for 3 years instead. Do something rather than just wailing about it.
taylorman
Guest
Geez, cut one of its teams? How about we cut Saracens, Wasps, Bath and several other nothing clubs until they can actually fill their own teams instead of plundering ours all the time?. There's no vision here and sooner or later World rugby is going to step in and sling the clubs up for their greed. Geez its frustrating that after more than a hundred years the NH hasn't developed they're rugby enough to fill its own teams. Useless.
taylorman
Guest
So a combined top rep side could have no NHers in it... :-)
taylorman
Guest
Yep its a joke and these northern clowns commenting here refuse to acknowledge the damage club rugby is doing to international rugby. We NEED our players, and fine for them to seek higher payment, but clearly these clubs have no interest in the good of the game, just fattening their own wallets. Understandable, but don't ask us to start praising NH rugby when its needing to be propped up so HEAVILY. We will want their sides to lose, everywhere, every time. They deserve nothing less from SH fans. The same money could have gone into development of the local youth, but they're not interested in the slower option. As a fan I dont give a toss if Sapoaga wants 'more' money. Thats his choice. But as they go, they become part of the problem.
taylorman
Guest
Yes, amazing how their value rapidly decreases when one realises theyre kiwis.
AM_Bokke
Roar Rookie
Yep. Your best point is about how much it costs NZRU to develop players. Everyone wants RU to invest in the grassroots and SARU to bring rugby to the townships. But they don't have the incentives. The players just leave to get paid by a fat cat that isn't even trying to make money. It's a total joke. When the NZ and SA player tap starts to run dry good night rugby.
taylorman
Guest
oooh...scared...
taylorman
Roar Guru
Great lot of mother England names there alright.
Mmmmm..k
Guest
And the French have 14 teams and the Irish have 4. So France has 10 more teams. I would like to know which positions French players don't get regular playing time compared to the Irish. The article mentions props. I'm guessing more French props play each week than Irish. I'm guessing more French 10s play each week. I'm guessing, on Ave that more French players play in every position than Scottish do.
Derm
Roar Guru
So all unions should do this as a WR agreement? Charge transfer fees every time a player moves? Given the NZRU is so good at developing players maybe it should provide this as a commercial service to other unions? Put them into an Exiles team or two and involve them in comps. It could make them a fortune. Then the other unions wouldn’t need so many NZ players and they could stay in NZ. And/or it could cut one of its SR teams and be able to pay other players more to keep them in NZ.
Mmmmm..k
Guest
No. The Pro 14 has how many Irish, 150? How many players does the Pro 14 have, 550-600? So what % of the Pro 14 are Irish? A lower % of the Pro 14 are Irish than French in the Top 14 by miles. But people blame the lack of French players exposed to the top level despite MORE French being in the Top 14 than Irish in the Pro 14.
Derm
Roar Guru
Agree with what?
Jacko
Guest
Its time the NZRU signed players to them for life at a very young age but only from a contract transfer fee POV....In other words they can decide everything about their playing careers but any OS team wanting them has to negotiate a release from NZRU...meaning the better players world at least earn NZ a decent transfer fee
Taylorman
Guest
Agree with that, theyre rubbish.
Jacko
Guest
Netflix does not have rugby...Rugby is the only content worth having...Other options are becoming available tho so it wont be long before we buy what we want and stream it....
PeterK
Roar Guru
looks like the lure of the ab jersey has a price even if its higher than other jerseys
Taylorman
Guest
The players are playing, theyre just not getting paid enough. Shelving AB ambitions so easily is whats annoying me. Yes its changing and I dont like it, and will say so. Im all for them personally, but my comments are ss a fan who has to watch player after player look promising, only to take of and not be seen by the fans that supported hom to date. Its easy for northern fans to say thats how it is. Sure, because as fans you dont get to see players take off half way around the world to play. Its not just countries, its the 10k plus thousand miles they go to play. A recent article says of all the ABs since 2008, more are playing rugby in the NH than here. Ridiculous.
Derm
Roar Guru
The PRO14 Championship as a whole has 5 unions and 5 national teams linked to them (less so for SA). The Top 14 has the same number of teams and only one national team. There are approx 220 Irish-qualified players in the 4 teams playing in the PRO14 - senior and academy - from a total of 660 approx (excl SA teams) - about 33%. The number of foreign players plus no strategy around positional quotas (as Ireland has) impacts on the development and depth of the French team.