- Joined
- Oct 11, 2007
- Messages
- 902
- Club or Nation
The 2011-12 Season will be quite interesting for all European teams due to the Rugby World Cup schedule in New Zealand. Some will be missing key players from their lines, which could ultimately change the makeup of the final standings. In France, there seems to be a line drawn based on how competitive so many teams have become.
In terms of talent, Toulouse is the only five-star team in the country, but that gap is closing fast. Last season in the Top 14 we seen Racing Métro close in on the powerhouse from the southwest and Castres surprised a lot of critics with their resiliency.
Toulon has been splashing the cash in the transfer market for some time now under Mourad Boudjellal. With new additions over the summer they will look to challenge for a fourth Brennus Shield (Bouclier de Brennus) after a disappointing season which cost them a Heineken Cup spot.
There have been plenty of interesting stories to follow leading up to the start of the new season, but none more so than that of Stade Français. The Parisian club faced a financial crises and possible relegation to Fédérale 1 (top amateur division of France) when an affiliated advertising company failed.
Club president Max Guazzini announced in the coming weeks that an investor had been in place through a foundation based in Canada, but the deal collapsed in scandal. Still facing relegation in the face on the deadline set by the LNR (Ligue Nationale de Rugby); Guazzini was forced to sell a majority stake in the club to Jean-Pierre Savare, chairman of French security systems company Oberthur Technologies.
In the following days Guazzini stepped down as president in favor of Savare's son, but still remains with the club as honorary president.
With scandals behind us now we look forward to the future with new faces arriving to shake up the league, the return of a former powerhouse to the professional ranks, and plenty of clubs looking for a fresh start.
After lifting the Heineken Cup in 1997, Brive has had their struggles. Despite winning what is arguably the biggest prize in European rugby, the Limousin-based club has never won the Brennus Shield, and with financial problems due to poor decisions in the transfer market and bloated contracts, it doesn't look attainable any time soon. One positive sign is that Brive has noticed their problems and management is already looking into resolving them by unloading overpaid players where they can. Whether or not it is too late remains to be seen as the club nearly faced bankruptcy had they been relegated before.
To limit their losses further this season the club has lowered their spending budget. They also lost winger Alexis Palisson to big-spenders Toulon, which could be a big loss for the club, and utility back Fabrice Estebanez to Racing Métro. Both players have been called up to the French national team for the upcoming world cup. These two losses could make or break the season for Brive as they may not have the tools to replace them.
Incoming transfers this offseason are looking more attractive for the club. Bringing in players with potential that are looking for fresh starts could pay off immediately or turn into busts. If things don't go well, at least Brive did not spend much. Prop Alexandre Barozzi will try to force his way into the squad, but will have to contend with Georgian Vasil Kakovin, another youngster at the same position that has shown promise in their youth system. New centres Arnaud Mignardi and Yann Fior will be given more playing time at Brive, the latter originally tagged as a future star for the French national team during his time with La Rochelle. All three signings have arrived from Biarritz.
Shane Geraghty also signed for Brive from Aviva Premiership side Northampton Saints. The English fly-half arrives similarly to that of Mignardi and Fior as he will be looking for more playing time. He was first choice at his position with the Saints two seasons ago, but after a loss of form following a few substitute appearances for England, he was relegated to mainly being utilized as an impact substitute.
Looking forward Brive has their problems and things aren't looking good on paper. Although they've made some interesting moves over the summer, their new players could end up being busts. Without suitable replacements for key losses, they may finally feel the sting and face relegation. Looking back at the past couple of seasons it almost seems inevitable as they sat close to the bottom of the table on several occasions. I suppose at this point the club is hoping for the best as they concentrate on developing the talent that they have and look to the future.
If things do go well, and their new players can make an impact, then Brive should be able to avoid the drop and start carving a new path from there. They will have to get things going early this season, but if they can only manage a low mid table position at best following the world cup, then it could spell the end of their time in the top flight when it's all said and done.
Projected finish 11th
Frustrating is probably the best word used to describe the history of Clermont. Although the club has won the European Challenge Cup twice during the professional era, the top domestic prize had always eluded them. Clermont contested for the Brennus Shield and lost 10 times over the span of 73 years before they finally won their first in 2010.
Clermont would have to defend their ***le without star Napolioni Nalaga after the Fijian winger did not return to his club for the second half of last season. His contract with Clermont was eventually terminated as he was unable to guarantee his return to France. Due to his loss, the club would go into the playoffs with a hole in the back. This led to a crushing defeat at the hands of eventual champions Toulouse in the semis.
Looking to the summer to retool, Clermont has made some interesting moves. Likely one of the biggest moves was bringing in winger Sitiveni Sivivatu as an obvious replacement for Nalaga. The experienced All Black has earned over 40 caps and should be a reliable scoring threat. Fly-half David Skrela gives the club experience and depth arriving from Toulouse, but it is unknown if when he returns from the world cup whether he will replace stalwart Brock James at his position. Benjamin Kayser arrives from Castres and will likely be looked at as first choice hooker now that Mario Ledesma has retired. Other notable incoming transfers include fullback Lee Byrne from Ospreys, lock Nathan Hines from Leinster and centre Regan King from Scarlets.
The Auvergne club has also been busy showing players the door this summer, though most of their losses can be contributed to a surplus of talent. Benoît Baby has joined Biarritz in hopes of a fresh start. The centre suffered injury setbacks through the years which likely prevented advanced progression of his talent. Flanker Sione Lauaki has moved on to Bayonne and will be looking to help the club progress further this season among a slew of new signings. The club has also let go of aging forwards Thibaut Privat and MartÃn Scelzo to Montpellier and Agen respectively.
Looking forward Clermont may have signed a few young players here and there, but the club has mainly focused on experience. With that, it may not be as difficult for their new signings to fit in and play well from the start. They will be hoping that it works out in their favor as without a doubt they have been one of the most dominant teams in France over the past five seasons. Last season the club nearly made their fifth consecutive trip to the Top 14 finale, but likely lost early due to the loss of Nalaga.
The future is always looking bright for Clermont. With financial strength, a long list of some of the best players in world rugby, and one of the best home stadiums in the sport, they will always be at or near the top of the table. No matter where they finish, so long as they're in a playoff position they will always remain a serious threat. This season they will be looking to avoid that possible eleventh finale heartbreak.
Projected finish 3rd
One of France's oldest rugby teams has finally made it back to the top flight. Lyon Olympique Universitaire found success in the early 1930s where they won two consecutive Brennus Shields after losing in the previous season finale in 1931. Following their second ***le, the club eventually disappeared into the amateur ranks. Winning the Jean-Prat trophy in 2002 gave the club entry to Pro D2 and by 2005 LOU had one of the biggest budgets among second division clubs.
It was originally intended by the chairman for LOU to earn promotion to Top 14 within two years, but a few mediocre seasons and some close calls kept them from attaining their goal. Last season the club was finally crowned champions of Pro D2 after dominating throughout most of the campaign. Down the stretch LOU would run into some difficulties and were nearly caught by rivals Grenoble in the final week, but managed to keep their top spot.
Promotion to Top 14 means that you have to be willing to spend and LOU willingly opened their pockets this summer. Laurent Tranier was signed from Biarritz after the centre failed to make an impact at his former club. The young Frenchman left the Basque Country in hopes for more playing time to better his career. The club brought in Enrico Januarie from the Stormers in hopes of finding a consistent scrum-half. Juan Manuel Leguizamón also joins from Stade Français after three seasons with the club. The Argentine number 8 will pair up in the back row with Fijian club hopper Sisa Koyamaibole, who joins from Sale Sharks.
Versatile back Alipate Fatafehi joins from CASE Rugby and experienced prop Anthony Roux joins after spending the majority of his career with Colomiers. Both players will be looking to establish themselves with their first taste of top flight rugby in France. Rounding out notable transfers, LOU also signed fullback Mark van Gisbergen from the London Wasps and fly-half Régis Lespinas from Brive.
Looking forward It will be difficult for LOU, or any newly promoted club to Top 14 for that matter, to avoid relegation. The league has become incredibly competitive and as such, new clubs will find it difficult to keep themselves afloat under the pressure. The club's financial strength should ease some of the pressure on their players. No matter the outcome, this should be a bright season looking forward. LOU has a new stadium in nearby Vénissieux and exciting big matches at nearby Stade de Gerland should bring a larger flock of supporters.
It will be difficult to predict who will be relegated at the end of this season as Brive and Agen are also highly vulnerable. LOU will hope that their new players gel and that the team can get off to a decent start. If the club remains at the bottom of the table for much of the season it will probably spell the end of their return. If LOU can manage to stay clear of the drop zone throughout the season, then they should be able to lift themselves to a decent position.
Projected finish 13th
Montpellier does not have a rich history in rugby. In fact, the club is not even 20 years old and has never won a Brennus Shield. In 1986 a merger between two small amateur sides formed Montpellier Hérault Rugby Club and they accelerated into the top flight by 1991 during a period where it was made up of 40 clubs split into 4 groups. They managed to survive up until the league turned professional in 1995 and from there continued to move up and down through the top two divisions.
In 2003, Montpellier were crowned champions of Pro D2 and earned promotion to the top flight. The club found stability from there despite nearly being relegated on several occasions. Montpellier surprised everyone with a superb start to their campaign last season where throughout they were positioned around the top of the table. As time wore on they shown some cracks and eventually fell to sixth, but managed an exciting run through the playoffs where they lost in the finale by only 5 points. Considering their history over the past decade, this was not a big disappointment.
Retaining their best players for the upcoming season, Montpellier has looked to add depth instead of making any major changes. AgustÃn Creevy may be looked as a first choice hooker over time as he returns to France following a season back in Argentina. The club has also brought in some experienced French players in the likes of forwards Rémy Martin from Bayonne and Thibaut Privat from Clermont. Both players give the club better options during world cup and will likely continue to be utilized following the cup as well.
Jean-Baptiste Peyras-Loustalet and Lucas González Amorosino will add more firepower to an already impressive list of wings. Peyras-Loustalet is Montpellier's second signing from Bayonne this summer and will look to establish himself right away. The former U19 player of the year played an important role for Bayonne for several seasons. Amorosino arrives from Leicester and will be out to prove himself for his new club.
Looking forward Montpellier has not lost any significant players other than some second stringers and bench warmers. By adding depth to an already strong team after their run to the finale last season they look to not simply remain competitive, but to make another run at the ***le. The only problem that the club faces is the loss of key players during the Rugby World Cup. In fact, Montpellier is one of the top clubs with the most players called up to play in New Zealand.
The success of the club can also significantly be contributed to current head coach and legendary French scrum-half Fabien Galthié. In just the second year of his three-year contract, Montpellier has shown dramatically better results. A Brennus Shield could be added to their trophy cabinet within the next two or three years if they continue to develop their young core and keep it intact. As most of the club's best players are under the age of 30, it is also possible that we may see them add more than just one.
Projected finish 5th
As the first ever champions of France and one of the country's oldest rugby clubs, Racing Métro 92 Paris has been in and out of the spotlight for decades. After winning their first Brennus Shield in 1892 against Parisian rivals Stade Français, the club would win two more over the next decade. As the league developed, RM92 would find it difficult to claim another going through two long separate droughts with their last ***le over 20 years ago.
After spending years in the second professional division of France, the club finally earned promotion back to Top 14 in 2009. At the end of their first season in the top flight they managed to not only stray clear of relegation, but also finished sixth in the table to earn a playoff position. Last season they went even further by finishing second to eventual league champions Stade Toulousain, eventually blowing their chances in the playoffs against Montpellier by a single point.
The only notable loss this summer was versatile back Andrea Masi who opted to go back to Italy to play for ailing Pro 12 side Aironi. RM92 hasn't spent much as they opted to focus on adding depth where needed and stocking on youth in the process. In need of a better back up scrum-half the club has brought in Sébastien Descons from Section Paloise. Two young former Bourgoin players were also added this summer. Centre Alexandre Dumoulin and winger Gaëtan Germain should give RM92 solid options for the future.
RM92 has been looking to reinforce one of their weakest positions this summer by picking up two veteran centres. An important move by signing Fabrice Estebanez to replace Masi was the only major move of the summer. The 30-year-old joins from Brive after a frustrating season, but will not be able to play for his new club until the Rugby World Cup has ended as he has been called up to the national team. Guillaume Boussès made the jump from one Parisian club to another and brings depth to the centre position.
Looking forward Although RM92 will be missing a few players during the first few months of the season due to the world cup, they still have enough weapons in place to launch themselves to the top of the table. Sireli Bobo may be getting old, but the winger is still good enough to put a few tries on the board. The club also has one of the most underrated players in the game today in Jonathan Wisniewski. The French fly-half's kicking has been invaluable since his move from Colomiers in 2007 and will be available right from the start.
A solid mix of youth and experience will make Racing Métro 92 Paris a top contender for the Brennus Shield this season. The club has leadership under Lionel Nallet and consistent kicking from Jonathan Wisniewski. Although for some veteran players this may be their last chance at a ***le, the club should be able to find adequate replacements in the future to build around their talented young core.
Projected finish 1st
Following what was arguably the worst season in the club's professional history, new ownership will be looking to take Stade Français in the right direction. Max Guazzini purchased the Parisian club nearly two decades ago, bringing it up through the amateur divisions and quickly turning it into a powerhouse. After claiming the Brennus Shield five times over the span of a decade, the club started to falter little by little leading up to a near epic disaster.
Last season the club was swimming in debt and looked to be another victim of league financial supervisor DNACG (la Direction Nationale d'Aide et de Controle de Gestion). When Guazzini found an investor it was later revealed that the deal collapsed in scandal. This led to three arrests and it gave the club more time to find a new solution. A last minute move to sell to Jean-Pierre Savare went through to save the club, which meant that Guazzini would step down as president of the club.
Under new ownership, Stade Français has been able to retool over the summer after finishing eleventh. Deciding that major changes needed to be made, they wasted no time letting players go and bringing in even more with newfound financial strength. English international flanker James Haskell was one of the first to go after being released by the club. Young centre Mathieu Bastareaud was to be retained, but demanded a move to Toulon due to personal reasons. Also departing are winger Ollie Phillips, who was their top try scorer last season, fly-half Lionel Beauxis, fullback Hugo Southwell, centre Guillaume Boussès, and flankers Juan Manuel Leguizamón and Mauro Bergamasco.
Incoming transfers include many veterans to help the club establish a higher position in the table and some younger players for the future. Felipe Contepomi and Byron Kelleher add depth to the fly-half and scrum-half positions respectively, but may find it difficult to secure a top spot with the likes of Julien Dupuy and another newcomer in Paul Warwick arriving from Munster. Former Bourgoin stalwart Olivier Milloud adds depth to the front row. The club added hooker Aled de Malmanche as a backup for Dimitri Szarzewski while he's away for the world cup. Gerhard Mostert has also been brought in for help during the world cup, but could impress enough to start a rotation in the second row. Arthur Chollon, Nahuel Tetaz Chaparro and versatile forward Scott LaValla will all have to bide their time, but they are young and could develop into special players.
Looking forward The list of signings for Stade Français is long. While some are questionable it's likely that they wanted to bring in as many players as they could at different positions to have a stronger probability of hits than misses and not just to fill positions for missing world cup players. About half of these newcomers are over the age of 30, while some others are close to 30. With so many established players arriving, the younger group will have to be patient and make the most of their likely limited opportunities this season.
The time needed for this team to develop together could hurt their chances at finishing in the top half of the table this season. Over the coming years Stade Français will have to work extremely hard to get back to where they once were as the league has developed stronger teams in larger numbers. It will take some time, but with the right direction and better signings along the way it could work out.
Projected finish 10th
With 18 Brennus Shields and 4 Heineken Cup ***les, Stade Toulousain is quite arguably the most successful team in club rugby union. Despite being the most successful club in France today, before their formation in 1907 the sport was only played in schools and universities within the city. It actually only took Toulouse five seasons to win their first ***le and the club tasted their first long stretch of domination during in the 1920s.
The club wouldn't become what it is today until the 1990s where they scooped up 9 ***les in total over the span of a few years. Their domination continued into the new millennium where even though they suffered a brief drought of domestic ***les, they did pick up their second and third Heineken Cup trophies. Since 2008, Toulouse has won the Brennus Shield twice and managed two Heineken Cup final appearances, winning one of them to claim their fourth.
Toulouse has looked to continue stacking their club this summer with some of the world's best rugby talents. As they possess so many talented players already, they've also been looking for replacements during the Rugby World Cup. Fly-half Lionel Beauxis has been brought in from Stade Français as a replacement for three departing players. Beauxis will obviously be the club's first choice at his position, but will still share some of that time with 20-year-old youth prodigy Jean-Marc Doussain. The most overlooked and quite possibly best signing this summer has to be winger Timoci Matanavou from Stade Montois. Last season the Fijian star scored 19 tries in just 28 appearances for his previous club.
Toulouse has signed centre Luke McAlister from the Blues and the Kiwi is no stranger to European rugby as he spent two seasons in the Premiership. The club also picked up scrum-half Luke Burgess from the Waratahs and Gurthrö Steenkamp from the Bulls. However, neither player will officially move to Toulouse until the world cup has ended. One other notable transfer is Gary Botha who joins from the Bulls. The hooker will be a replacement for William Servat during the world cup. Outgoing transfers include some noteworthy backs such as Cédric Heymans to Bayonne, David Skrela to Clermont, Frédéric Michalak to the Sharks, Byron Kelleher to Stade Français, and Pierre-Gilles Lakafia and Rémi Lamerat to Castres.
Looking forward Despite so many incoming transfers the team is well balanced, giving just about every player adequate playing time which will also allow their youngsters to develop well. Players like Yoann Maestri and Nicholas Bezy will be looking to make the most of their first team opportunities with the world cup around the corner as plenty of the club's top players will be missing. This may possibly hurt the club's chances at finishing first in the table again as it remains to be seen whether the newcomers and second stringers can gel with the rest.
Although most of their players returning from the world cup will be tired, one look at how deep the Toulouse bench is should wipe away any fears. This club is built to win and not just some years down the road, but to win now and dominate while doing so. Focus on the Heineken Cup will be a must, but they also need to look closely at their Top 14 rivals if they want a double this campaign.
Projected finish 2nd
Part One can be found here
Last edited:
