This weekend sees the start of the French domestic rugby season, with the Top 14 swinging into action tonight. It’s greeat news for everyone who can’t wait for the season to start, but the length of the season is a concern.
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It has been a rather dramatic few days for French Top 14 club Montpellier. It all started when Phillipe Deffins resigned from his role as President after less than a month in office.
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As we enter 2009, it seems a good opportunity to look back at the French Top 14 season so far, analyse how the league table is taking shape and debate what might happen come May. Here we take a look at a hand picked selection of teams and discuss whether they are where they expected to be before the campaign got underway.
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Jack White has taken just six-days to complete his analysis of French Top 14 club Toulon. The former South Africa coach was brought in by big-spending president Mourad Boudjellal to assess the overall situation and use his expertise to highlight where things could be improved.
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It is proving to be a rather difficult time for Top 14 club Montauban. First of all, their start to the season has been extremely average – now, their financial situation has been blasted into the public eye with their president, Daniel Havis, resigning.
Havis has stepped down from his role at the French club after the administrative council refused to act on his request to investigate the state of their accounts under former president Patrick Bardot. This request from Havis came after it was revealed that the club were 1.3million euros short of balancing their financial books. Something that was a direct result of drastic over spending last season.
This whole situation has sparked fears that the future of the club could be in doubt. Even if they manage to find some much needed investment in the coming weeks, there is a chance they could be automatically demoted from the Top 14 – this happened to Albi last season, after all.
With the current state of the club off the pitch in some disarray, the way the team is performing right now could be considered equally as disappointing. They sit 10th in the Top 14 after suffering four defeats already this season – all but one of which have come away from home. Away form was a big problem for them last season as well and it shows no signs of improving this time around.
Things could have been so much different though after their opening Heineken Cup game against Munster. The French club took the lead three times in the match, but eventually lost 19-17 thanks to a 77th minute penalty from Ronan O’Gara. The rugby odds didn’t give them a chance to win this match and it would have been one of the biggest shocks in Heineken Cup history had they held on.
Had they gone on to win this game, the whole shape of their season could have changed. It would have given the players a massive lift for the rest of the Top 14 campaign. As it stands though, they have lost both of their games in Europe so far and find themselves in a major financial crisis. The only way is up I guess.
However, considering their away form of late, I won’t be placing a rugby bet on a positive result for them in this weekend’s trip to 4th placed Clermont. Therefore, things really could get worse for Montauban before they get any better.
Montpellier scrum-half Justin Marshall has provided a few words of warning for his former New Zealand team-mate, Dan Carter, who is to make the transition into French Rugby. Carter will join Perpignan in a very financially-benefiting move, but Marshall believes it will take the 26-year-old plenty of time to adjust to his new surroundings.
Marshall has pinpointed a number of factors that will slow down Carter’s adjusting period in France. He said that Carter will have to cope without knowing anybody and getting used to being around new faces, but then there is they style of team to take into account, the different training schedules and of course, the language barrier. Overall, Marshall believes that the New Zealand star will be dealt a harsh ‘reality check’ during the next few weeks.
So, does the Montpellier man have a point? Will it take Carter a number of weeks to produce his best form for Perpignan? He may not be at his extraordinary best early on, but he will be a fantastic player for the French side – he is too good not to be.
Fair enough, there will be some issues regarding settling in but that is the same with anything in life. When you move somewhere new, you won’t necessarily hit the ground running on your first day, but when you are as talented as Dan Carter, it is made a lot, lot easier. Marshall – who joined Montpellier at the start of this season – obviously had some issues when first joining them, but that doesn’t mean Carter will have those same problems or let them affect his performances.
As for Perpignan, well they have fared fairly well this season so far without their latest recruit. They sit in 3rd place in the Top 14 with five wins and two draws and despite being 10 points behind leaders Stade Francais, they will be happy with their start. The rugby odds at the beginning of the season suggested a top three finish for them and at this moment, they are on course for just that.
Nevertheless, they will be hoping that the arrival of Carter will give them that extra something to compete for the Top 14 title. They have splashed the cash to secure his services and will be concerned if his presence doesn’t have the desired impact. As much as things will depend on Carter dealing with the hard-hitting of this league, I think he will excel, regardless of the fact that being the ‘pin-up’ that he is, many loose forwards will target him.
Despite Justin Marshall’s warning though, I would be happy placing a rugby bet on Carter having a very positive effect on Perpignan’s season. They have a number of talented players, like Maxime Mermoz, as well as Carter so he should just add to what they have already got. It’s 9th placed Dax for them on the 25th October and it will interesting to see if Carter is involved.
As for this weekend, Carter’s new side take on Ospreys in the Heineken Cup looking to add to their victory in the first game of the tournament against Treviso. Ospreys on the other hand had a narrow defeat in their first game to Leicester. Overall, Perpignan will be favourites to make it two wins from two matches and this will be used as a platform to help improve on their quarter-final finish last time around.
By Thomas Rooney
It seems there is increasing uncertainty around the future of another Top 14 club’s coaching team. After speculation surrounding Tana Umaga’s position as Toulon coach last week, it now appears that Biarritz are preparing to make a change to their coaching setup as former Ireland coach Eddie O’Sullivan has been linked with a role at the club.
After he resigned from his position as Ireland coach because of a poor Six Nations campaign, it is thought he wants to get back into rugby as quick as possible. Some Irish newspapers are even reporting that O’Sullivan was spotted in Biarritz last week where he was set to have discussions with the club’s millionaire owner Marcel Martin.
So, what is the current situation at Biarritz? Well, considering they have won the Top 14 in 2002, 2005 and 2006 – last year was a disaster. They finished 6th and it was their worst campaign for many years. Unsurprisingly their coach at the time, Patrice Lagisquet, was shown the door and this season was seen as a great opportunity to start afresh. There were a lot of outgoings and although the rugby odds didn’t fancy them to challenge, there was a great deal of optimism within the club.
However, things haven’t gone to plan. Despite winning all three of their home games, there have been an equal amount of abysmal displays on the road. Most recently they collapsed to a dismal 32-6 defeat at Clermont to leave them in 9th. Considering they have one of the biggest budgets within French Rugby, the bosses at Biarritz certainly expected more.
I personally can’t blame them. The new coaching team of Jacques Delmas and Jack Isaac don’t have enough respect from the players in my opinion and it can’t be denied that their away form is extremely worrying. You won’t get anywhere in rugby if you can’t win away from home – perhaps a change is needed to steady the ship.
Whether Eddie O’Sullivan is the man to come in remains to be seen though as everything is far from confirmed. The current coaching team are thought to have been handed a three game ultimatum by the club and considering that two of these games are at home, they might fancy their chances of doing enough to keep themselves in a job.
However, should the unbeaten home record go against Montpellier this weekend and I think many rugby bets will be placed on someone like O’Sullivan coming in to salvage the season.
It seems that Tana Umaga’s position as coach of French Top 14 club Toulon is becoming increasingly unstable. According to reports, the former All Blacks captain is in line to be replaced by John Connolly, who used to be in charge of the Australian national team.
Connolly is understood to be heading to Europe this week to have a meeting with Toulon’s owner Mourad Boudjella. This has, inevitably, raised questions about Umaga’s future. Several rugby bets are already being placed on Connolly taking over the reigns at the club.
Should the speculation continue, it is likely that the build up to Toulon’s next game against Bayonne will be somewhat disrupted and this won’t do anyone at the club any favours.
Umaga will also be aware of reports that his fellow countryman Sonny Bill Williams – who he had a huge role in bringing to French club – is becoming increasingly homesick and is considering a return to New Zealand. Not exactly something you want to hear from someone who is being paid $1.85million per season is it?
Williams is currently on the sidelines suffering with a leg injury that he sustained in the second game of the season against Brive. After being limited to just two appearances for his new club, Williams is now unhappy by the way he is being treated by owner Boudjella.
Overall, it seems that things are very much up in the air with regards to Umaga and Williams’s future and that despite them being two of the most famous sportsmen in New Zealand, they are not immune from criticism from Toulon’s owner.
So, is the pressure and speculation about their future fair? Well, in terms of Williams I think it has a lot to do with the fact that the club are just frustrated that someone they are paying so much money for has only been able to play twice. The player himself can’t help that though – he has obtained a hairline leg fracture, after all.
As for Umaga, I think it is simply a case of the owner expecting too much too soon. Toulon were promoted from ProD2 as Champions last season and even though Boudjella has ploughed millions into their Top 14 campaign, they shouldn’t be expected to take to the new league immediately. It takes more than a big pay cheque to succeed in this league.
Before the season started, the rugby odds suggest that a top half finish should be achieved by Umaga’s team and in fairness to them; this is where they are at right now. They sit 7th in the league after two wins, two defeats and one draw. Not the worst start by any means, but perhaps Boudjella was expecting an unbeaten start to the new campaign – who knows. He was certainly extremely critical of their18-25 loss to Mont-de-Marsan recently, describing it as a ‘shameful performance’.
It is certainly a case of ‘watch this space’ as far as Toulon are concerned right now as it is far from guaranteed that Umaga or injured start Williams will still be at the club in a months time.
By Thomas Rooney
