France needs to fall in love with rugby again
In time, the history books will show that a few weeks ago, France reached a World Cup final where they beaten by a point by the All Blacks. But French rugby remains at a low ebb since the tournament finished in New Zealand, and is badly in need of some kind of a thirst-quenching pick-me-up.
Like all sports, the difference between winning and losing can be a fine line and all of France is continuing to come to terms with the disappointment of their narrow loss in the World Cup final. That day, it wasn’t so much a fine line; rather referee Craig Joubert’s interpretation of the offside line that invoked French ire. Allied to what had gone before — the humiliating defeats in the pool stages by Tonga and New Zealand, the dubious win over Wales and the very public breakdown between players and coach — it has left France in a state of shock that will take some time to get over.
“France needs to fall in love with rugby again,” admits Midi Olympique writer Jérome Frédon. “The fallout from the Lièvremont era has been large and while the club season will allow some of those feelings to subside, the World Cup has had a huge effect on not just the players that were there but their clubs too.”
The players, thanks to their performance in the final, returned home with their reputations intact, but many of them will have been shocked to find the impact the World Cup has had on their clubs. Montpellier, last season’s Top 14 runners up, are languishing near the relegation zone after a tough start to the season without their stars whilst Biarritz, for so long standard-bearers of the Top 14, sit rooted to the bottom of the league. In total, 94 of the Top 14’s finest players were unavailable to their club coaches during the opening eight or nine rounds, with the net result that it could have a profound effect on this year’s Heineken Cup.
Be that as it may, it comes as no surprise to find the likes of Toulouse and Clermont Auvergne still sitting proudly at the summit of the Top 14. The two are France’s most powerful clubs financially and they have weathered the storm better than they could have envisaged back in August. With 25 players missing between them, they also had more reason to complain than anyone else, but results have left both in a strong position ahead of the European break. That they have survived, and blossomed, in the absence of so many top players is testament to the size and quality of their respective squads.
“So far it has not been too bad,” admits Toulouse forwards coach Yannick Bru. “We lacked a bit of polish (at the start of the season) but the young lads and the not so young, the experienced and the not so experienced have given us a good mix at times. It will be interesting to see what happens next.”
The French champions, with a turnover (€33m) that continues to creep ever closer to the total turnover of the Scottish Rugby Union, made some expensive gambles in the inter-season that saw an immediate payoff. Former All Blacks midfielder Luke McAlister was top of the list, settling in immediately and guiding Toulouse through games they could have, and should have lost. With their internationals returned, and new signings like Lionel Beauxis, Wallaby Luke Burgess and Springboks duo Gary Botha and Guthro Steenkamp, Les Toulousains once again look best placed of the French sides — something Connacht coach Eric Elwood is keenly aware of.
Clermont, like Toulouse, have recruited well this season, with new recruits in the form of former Scarlets and Ospreys pair Regan King and Lee Byrne, whilst the capture of Nathan Hines from the European champions and Gerhard Vosloo from Brive have given their pack a grizzled look as they head to Ravenhill today. Last season was a huge disappointment for the 2010 French champions and they’ve made the Heineken Cup a priority this year — something that will undoubtedly raise eyebrows in Ulster and Leicester.
For Munster and Leinster, the signs appear less ominous. Montpellier and Castres may inhabit two different ends of the French Championship table but their priorities remain the same: a cherished spot in the Top 14 playoffs before any fun and games in the Heineken.
The European champions have a difficult afternoon ahead at the Stade Yves du Manoir but while Montpellier — like all French clubs — will defend their home record at all costs, their perilous position in their domestic league could see their interest in Europe disappear quickly. That their giant lock forward Aliki Fakate, earmarked by many to make a mark at international level, is due to miss the opening rounds through injury is a huge loss.
Bad luck has played its part too. An outbreak of mumps in the Lyon team a few weeks ago forced the postponement of three Top 14 matches and has meant Montpellier’s match against Leinster today will be the first time they will have been able to play French World Cup stars Francois Trinh-Duc and Fulgence Ouedraogo. But the Fabien Galthie-coached side added a bit of wiliness and guile to their undoubted potential last season with a magical end-of-season run of games that saw them in their first French Championship final, and if they can find that form again, they’ll be a handful for anyone at home.
It’s a different kettle of fish at Castres. Under the guidance of former Montauban coaches Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit, they have been one of the more consistent, if limited, sides in the Top 14 in the last few seasons. Sitting pretty in third place in the standings, they’ve profited from having only four players away at the World Cup although Munster coach Tony McGahan will have noticed their over-reliance on the metronomic boots of Romain Teulet and Rory Kockott, and a lack of cutting edge out wide.
However, domestic honours remain the be-all and end-all for the little Tarn club, and while the attraction of having drawn Munster in the Heineken Cup was enough to move the game an hour away to the larger Stade Ernest Wallon in Toulouse, their limited squad size and budget will once again test their interest in the competition. They’ll be no pushovers at home however, and players of the calibre of ex-All Black Chris Masoe, Mathias Rolland and Ibrahim Diarra will trouble any pack. Most tellingly for Munster fans perhaps, it is the presence of Travers and Labit in the dugout that they should be most wary of. The two coaches were minutes away from masterminding a famous victory at Thomond Park three years ago with their unfancied Montauban side — a memory which must still be fresh in the mind of McGahan as Munster prepare for a trip to France next weekend.
One upshot of the internationals being away is that it has given the next generation of youngsters a chance to get their foot in the door. In halfback Ludovic Radoslavjevic and full-back Jean-Marcel Buttin, Clermont Auvergne have found two of the most exciting youngsters in the Top 14 while at Toulouse, No 8 Gillian Galan has been a revelation in the absence of Louis Picamoles. Then there’s the question of Jean-Marc Doussain.
The young Toulousain was brought to New Zealand as injury cover and made his debut for France in the final minutes of the final against the hosts — crucially knocking on as France desperately tried to manufacture a score. His situation will serve as an indictment of Marc Lièvremont for years to come but don’t expect this hugely talented young scrum-half to dwell on it too much.
As ever with French rugby, the Heineken Cup blows hot and cold depending on the club. The sheer number of games in the Top 14, a lopsided calendar and the impact of the World Cup could see traditionally strong European teams such as Biarritz and newcomers Montpellier instead focus their resources on domestic survival instead of Heineken glory. That’s a shame but it serves to show the insane path that professional rugby has chosen to follow.
For clubs like Clermont Auvergne and Toulouse, the story is rather different. The French Champions’ legendary coach Guy Noves has claimed for years that the idea of winning the double — a Top 14 and Heineken double — was impossible and could never be achieved but it remains the last thing Noves has never won at club level. Having turned down the opportunity to finish his career as coach to the national team, perhaps Noves believes this could really be their year?
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