French rugby Updates : Le café du Rugby.

sydneybound · 23-06-2015 4:42pm

pickarooney wrote: »

Bad news for Lille - after winning promotion to Pro D2 they've been held back for financial reasons.

Gutted for Lille and rugby in the North of France, what a shame. I thought they would have a bit more money behind them to not be going under financial scrutiny like this. Again massive shame they were bringing big crowds for federal league games too.

thomond2006 · 23-06-2015 7:40pm

Biarritz have voted against the merger with Bayonne and as a result Serge Blanco has walked. Where does this leave Basque rugby?

nc6000 · 23-06-2015 7:42pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

Biarritz have voted against the merger with Bayonne and as a result Serge Blanco has walked. Where does this leave Basque rugby?

Where does it leave Eddie?

sydneybound · 23-06-2015 7:53pm

nc6000 wrote: »

Where does it leave Eddie?

Who cares. Deserves to lose his job for not getting them promoted, those are the fine margins.

total former · 23-06-2015 8:00pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

Biarritz have voted against the merger with Bayonne and as a result Serge Blanco has walked. Where does this leave Basque rugby?

It's f**ked. Both clubs are in serious financial trouble and getting back into the Top 14 is going to get harder year on year. Biarritz needed a bailout from the local council only last week and Bayonne won't be far behind.

Interesting that a majority voted for the merger but not the two-thirds required.

Once it was rejected, Blanco had to walk. He'll pop up somewhere else soon enough.

vienne86 · 24-06-2015 8:22am

total former wrote: »

It's f**ked. Both clubs are in serious financial trouble and getting back into the Top 14 is going to get harder year on year. Biarritz needed a bailout from the local council only last week and Bayonne won't be far behind.

Interesting that a majority voted for the merger but not the two-thirds required.

Once it was rejected, Blanco had to walk. He'll pop up somewhere else soon enough.

I'm wondering where EOS might pop up.

thomond2006 · 24-06-2015 1:00pm

Bayonne have five days to find at least 1m to compete in the ProD2. They only have about 20 players signed up for next season.

http://www.rugbyrama.fr/rugby/pro-d2/2014-2015/pro-d2-la-course-contre-la-montre-a-debute-pour-l-aviron-bayonnais_sto4794481/story.shtml

Even if they find the money, as you say TF it's not going to be easy to get out of the division. Perpignan and Lyon will be favourites.

Who cares. Deserves to lose his job for not getting them promoted, those are the fine margins.

Maybe but by the sounds of it the club was a mess behind the scenes. The talk of mergers can't have done much good for squad morale, particularly amongst the squad players. Certainly not reaching the playoffs was a very poor return.

total former · 24-06-2015 3:30pm

President of Bayonne has now announced he will also quit once the current financial crisis has passed.

total former · 25-06-2015 10:07am

A new twist in the Biarritz-Bayonne merger saga; the Biarritz vote will be re-run next Tuesday over "irregularities" with some of the proxy votes cast in the first one. Bayonne meet tonight to vote on it.

http://www.rugbyrama.fr/rugby/pro-d2/2014-2015/le-vote-de-biarritz-annule-pour-irregularites-la-fusion-basque-en-sursis_sto4795415/story.shtml

Wang King · 28-06-2015 11:10pm

No idea if this is true....but I really hope it is

http://www.rugbyworld.com/featured/meet-rugby-world-columnist-the-secret-player-46232

pickarooney · 29-06-2015 6:31am

If it's not a wind-up, how many English players joined a French club from Leicester before Toby Flood?

shuffol · 29-06-2015 6:45am

Hah that's gas, the star player dislocating his shoulder two years in a row should be a good clue for anybody with a decent knowledge of French rugby.

Buer · 29-06-2015 7:12am

Cockerill?

29-06-2015 9:02am

Wang King wrote: »

No idea if this is true....but I really hope it is

http://www.rugbyworld.com/featured/meet-rugby-world-columnist-the-secret-player-46232

That was a great read. Madness, but entertaining.

iroced · 30-06-2015 10:31am

thomond2006 wrote: »

It's just been confirmed: http://www.rugbyrama.fr/rugby/pro-d2/2014-2015/pro-d2-aix-en-provence-le-parc-devient-provence-rugby_sto4792671/story.shtml

I wonder if that means they will share home matches between Marseille and Aix. I suppose it makes business as the club's catchment area has just exploded in size! I remember a few years back there was a Marseille-Provence club but IIRC it went bust. Jonah Lomu played a few games for them at number eight and then sued for unpaid wages. Anyway it looks like this new 'Provence' club has got a lot of money to spend with some of their recent signings.

pickarooney wrote: »

Yeah, Marseille-Vitrolles was a venture doomed to failure. Nobody gave a damn, even with rugby's greatest ever star hobbling around every month for them.

Aix have signed 15 new players so far, half from Top14 clubs. Hayman is strongly rumoured to be forwards coach there next season and there was a somewhat optimistic attempt to sign Michalak on a 2-year contract that fell apart at the weekend. They're just about JIFF-compliant as it is, which is a bit of an indictment of French rugby. Second and even third division teams have so many foreign players it's hard to see where any local players are going to break through. They need some kind of ITM/Currie Cup equivalent.

I'm not sure rugby CAN develop in Marseille. If you ask me it's exactly the same than trying to make a big Barça rugby side. Not in the local tradition/culture/history. And football is a "religion" there.

iroced · 30-06-2015 12:51pm

Wang King wrote: »

No idea if this is true....but I really hope it is

http://www.rugbyworld.com/featured/meet-rugby-world-columnist-the-secret-player-46232

Why do you hope it is?

---

Sounds like a big pile of **** to me. His description of our social security system is either deliberately provocative or childishly ignorant :rolleyes:...

Then, the only bobsleigh track in France is in La Plagne. I never heard any professional team making their summer physical preparation there. In general they go to Tignes.

Finally, a rugby star injured for 2 full seasons in a row? Can't remember this and couldn't find any "serious" info regarding it. Depends what he calls a "star"... May also depends what he calls injured for the whole season...

Seems to be a mix of a lot of different things packed together in a popular (French) bashing.

pickarooney · 30-06-2015 1:22pm

Absolute joke of a situation in Federale 3, where the season is still going on. One of the semi-finals, between Annecy and Peyrehorade finished 17-15 to Peyrehorade but because one of the scrums was uncontested while there were fit replacements on the bench, the result was annulled and the match replayed.

Naturally enough, Annecy won 16-12 this time and the match ended in a mass brawl. Crowd violence, riot police, tear gas are all reported but not substantiated.

Peyrehorade now want the annulment annulled because it was not submitted on the correct form and so nobody really knows who's playing against Chartres in the final.

thomond2006 · 01-07-2015 2:52pm

Alberts to SF confirmed. Burban, Alberts and Parisse could be a brilliant backrow.

The Lost Sheep · 01-07-2015 2:57pm

pickarooney wrote: »

Absolute joke of a situation in Federale 3, where the season is still going on. One of the semi-finals, between Annecy and Peyrehorade finished 17-15 to Peyrehorade but because one of the scrums was uncontested while there were fit replacements on the bench, the result was annulled and the match replayed.

Naturally enough, Annecy won 16-12 this time and the match ended in a mass brawl. Crowd violence, riot police, tear gas are all reported but not substantiated.

Peyrehorade now want the annulment annulled because it was not submitted on the correct form and so nobody really knows who's playing against Chartres in the final.

What standard is Federale 3? I know after top14 and ProD2 you have Federale 1/2/3 so what equivalent in Ireland are the top Federale 3 sides?
Crazy situation but what would you do that would be better?

pickarooney · 01-07-2015 8:16pm

I don't really know the Irish equivalent but its mostly retirees, nearly men and the odd up and comer.

If the offence was deemed egregious enough it's a straight forfeit for me. Whoever wins will mostly likely be held back for financial irregularities in any case.

pickarooney · 14-07-2015 8:23pm

Lille now reckon they have the money they need in time for the hearing on Thursday so could be in Pro D2 yet. It doesn't leave them much time to finalise contracts nor Dax to rip up theirs if they end up going down.

pickarooney · 04-08-2015 9:27am

So Cooper may actually play for Toulon after all. Seems like he shat himself at the thought of coughing up a few hundred grand to get out of the contract. Toulon will let him play international sevens as a sop.

Unless that turns out to be nonsense as well, in which case Stephen Donald is being mooted as a WC joker!

sydneybound · 11-08-2015 7:48pm

Toulon made €12 million from ticket sales alone, over 2014/2015 season. Helped by larger capacities in Nice & Marseille.

vienne86 · 11-08-2015 10:20pm

Ye gods......first matches of the new Top 14 season are on Friday week!

sydneybound · 12-08-2015 7:38am

They play four rounds and then have five weeks off during the group stages of the World Cup by which point the French players will be back with their clubs after Ireland and Italy go through from the group.

As always should be a very interesting season. Reckon this years relegation battle will be tighter than ever.

Buer · 12-08-2015 8:34am

vienne86 wrote: »

Ye gods......first matches of the new Top 14 season are on Friday week!

And they started even earlier last season!

Big difference this season is that the regular season goes right into June. The entire thing won't be over until we're about to hit July!

vienne86 · 20-08-2015 6:54pm

Sky showing Toulon v Racing tomorrow night (red button), and La Rochelle v Clermont on Saturday. La Rochelle were very entertaining on the few occasions I saw them last season......brilliant fans......it'll be interesting to see how they go.

pickarooney · 20-08-2015 8:20pm

Lille have finally had to admit defeat today in their quest for admission to Pro D2. Dax are yet to be confirmed as their replacements but it's a formality.

sydneybound · 20-08-2015 9:53pm

Can't wait for LaRochelle V Clermont. I watched La Rochelle V Toulouse on the opening weekend last year and it turned out to be the game of the season. Not sure how much La Rochelle are affected by international call ups but one thing you can guarantee is that the stadium will be sold out. They probably have the best fans in the league.

Really disappointed for Lille, absolute shame they aren't allowed in ProD2, massive shame for rugby in the north of France.

thomond2006 · 20-08-2015 10:02pm

Toulon:
15 Delon Armitage, 14 Josua Tuisova, 13 Mitch Inman, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Sireli Bobo, 10 UJ Seuteni, 9 Jonathan Pélissié,
8 Charles Ollivon, 7 Steffon Armitage, 6 Juan Smith (c), 5 Romain Taofifénua, 4 Thibualt Lassalle, 3 Matt Stevens, 2 Jean-Charles Orioli, 1 Alexandre Menini

Replacements: 16 Bastien Soury, 17 Florian Fresia, 18 Jocelino Suta, 19 Gerhard Vosloo, 20 Théo Bélan, 21 Willie du Plessis, 22 Anthony Méric, 23 Salesi Ma’afu

Racing 92:
15 Sean Robinson, 14 Joe Rokocoko, 13 Casey Laulala, 12 Henry Chavancy, 11 Marc Andreu, 10 Johan Goosen, 9 Maxime Machenaud (c),
8 Antonie Claassen, 7 Chris Masoe, 6 Wenceslas Lauret, 5 Francois van der Merwe, 4 Ross Filipo, 3 Luc Ducalcon, 2 Camille Chat, 1 Davit Khinchagishvili

Replacements: 16 Virgile Lacombe, 17 Julien Brugnaut, 18 Juandre Kruger, 19 Luc Barba, 20 Xavier Chauveau, 21 Etienne Dussartre, 22 Benjamin Dambielle, 23 Cedate Gomes Sa

No Gorgodze, Fernandez Lobbe, Manoa and Vermeulen and Toulon can still start an absolutely sick starting backrow. Seuteni, who will barely get a game come November, is a highly rated talent. Tuisova, who is capped by Fiji but not in the RWC reckoning, could have a breakout year with the club happy to let David Smith and Rudi Wulf go.

vienne86 · 20-08-2015 10:36pm

sydneybound wrote: »

Can't wait for LaRochelle V Clermont. I watched La Rochelle V Toulouse on the opening weekend last year and it turned out to be the game of the season. Not sure how much La Rochelle are affected by international call ups but one thing you can guarantee is that the stadium will be sold out. They probably have the best fans in the league.

Really disappointed for Lille, absolute shame they aren't allowed in ProD2, massive shame for rugby in the north of France.

That was a great match in La Rochelle last season - I watched it on the laptop in France, but could actually have gone to the match, but had expected it to be no contest for La Rochelle and just got lazy.......will always regret my inertia!

sydneybound · 20-08-2015 10:50pm

I heard Tuisova isn't capped for Fiji and wants to get in the French squad after he serves his three years. He looks excellent from the bits and pieces I've seen of him last year.

thomond2006 · 20-08-2015 11:38pm

sydneybound wrote: »

I heard Tuisova isn't capped for Fiji and wants to get in the French squad after he serves his three years. He looks excellent from the bits and pieces I've seen of him last year.

My bad, he's not capped but he's played sevens so he's stuck with Fiji.

.ak · 20-08-2015 11:44pm

I heard Brock James has had heart surgery after he felt a bit funny in preseason. Out for two months. That must've been a proper scare!

shrapnel222 · 21-08-2015 12:50pm

new scrum rules should add a bit of entertainment/consternation for the first few weeks at least, and might even be the decisive event in a good few games also.

No more resetting. one scrum or penalty against the first prop to drop!!

vienne86 · 22-08-2015 8:16am

Saw the halft time score of Toulon v Racing and as Toulon were ahead, I didn't bother looking back. But it ended up 22-27. Nice season start for Racing.

sydneybound · 22-08-2015 2:53pm

La Rochelle getting a hammering at home. Something tells me they'll have a tough season.

They don't seem to have the same exciting back line that they had last year. I know Bobo is a medical joker for Toulon but I can't believe La Rochelle let him go, massive loss.

Shame as there my favourite French club.

thomond2006 · 22-08-2015 2:53pm

Serious statement from Clermont. They are crushing La Rochelle on their own patch 6-31 and there's still over half an hour to go.

thomond2006 · 22-08-2015 2:53pm

Now Abendanon in for try number 5. Wow.

This is a Clermont team without Kayser, Cudmore, Chouly, Parra, James, Fofana and Davies.

Edit: Try ruled out for a forward pass.

vienne86 · 23-08-2015 9:20am

Didn't get to see the match in La Rochelle, but the result looks ominous.

Delighted to see Bordeaux start the season with a win.

thomond2006 · 30-08-2015 7:37pm

So Toulon are 0-2 and have to go to Stade Francais next week. It looks like they are suffering with all the RWC absentees and the jokers they have signed (Stevens, du Plessis, Inman, Bobo, Turner) haven't been able to compensate.

vienne86 · 30-08-2015 8:41pm

And I see Clermont, Toulouse and Racing have all started with two wins, bonus point wins in the case of Clermont.

thomond2006 · 30-08-2015 8:43pm

In other news, Isabelle is no longer on Jour de Rugby.

irishbucsfan · 30-08-2015 11:32pm

thomond2006 wrote: »

In other news, Isabelle is no longer on Jour de Rugby.

WHAT

iroced · 31-08-2015 9:44am

shrapnel222 wrote: »

new scrum rules should add a bit of entertainment/consternation for the first few weeks at least, and might even be the decisive event in a good few games also.

No more resetting. one scrum or penalty against the first prop to drop!!

Hmm... Didn't follow that. Is it a Top14 rule?

Was certainly not the case during the France-England games :rolleyes:...

thomond2006 wrote: »

In other news, Isabelle is no longer on Jour de Rugby.

Think she has a World Cup special programme on the way.
In other news she's single

...

-

As for this new season, 1 home 5 pts win, 1 0 pt away defeat. A so-so start. Don't know how this year is gonna shape... with all our South-African transfers, with the new staff (what will be Benazzi impact?) and after a catastrophic season...
Trinh-Duc got a standing ovation from the Pau supporters: very nice gesture after his huge disappointement of not being selected for the WC... And Nagusa endured racial abuse from an idiot. Pau supporters association and Pau president reacted immediately in an official communiqué. Very good to see they didn't/don't let it go.

shrapnel222 · 31-08-2015 6:47pm

iroced wrote: »

Hmm... Didn't follow that. Is it a Top14 rule?

Was certainly not the case during the France-England games :rolleyes:...

purely top 14 rule. Haven't managed to see a game yet so not sure how it's affecting games.

pickarooney · 31-08-2015 6:48pm

It wasn't in effect in the ProD2 last week in any case.

Kiwi_knock · 06-09-2015 8:31pm

Why are parts of the pitch in the Stade and Toulon match in darkness? Must have some impact on the players.

matthew8 · 06-09-2015 8:32pm

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Why are parts of the pitch in the Stade and Toulon match in darkness? Must have some impact on the players.

Floodlights seem to not fully be working. It delayed the start but both teams were keen to play in the darkness.

vienne86 · 06-09-2015 8:52pm

Kiwi_knock wrote: »

Why are parts of the pitch in the Stade and Toulon match in darkness? Must have some impact on the players.

A strip down the middle of the pitch is not working apparently. Really hard to see some of the play!

French rugby Updates : Le café du Rugby.

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