Boudjellal Vs The International Window: Toulon's Owner Taking World Rugby To Court
Every November scores of expensive rugby players abandon their Top 14 posts to join various international squads. Toulon owner Mourad Boudjellal has finally had enough, writes James Harrington.
Time and Top 14 rugby wait for no international window except the Six Nations. It may have been the first official round of the November internationals at the weekend, but that small matter did not stop the rugby powers that be in France from scheduling a full programme of top-flight domestic matches.
One look at the Toulon and Stade Francais teams that took to the pitch at Stade Felix Mayol on Sunday will tell you how badly this clash of competitions has hit some clubs. The two sides were recognisable only by the kit they were wearing.
Injuries and international call-ups meant that 40 players were unavailable for the two clubs on the day. To make matters worse for Toulon, summer arrival François Trinh-Duc requires an operation after breaking his arm playing for France against Samoa and will be out for three months.
When France take on Australia in Paris at the weekend, Toulon will lose Xavier Chiocci and Maxime Mermoz to Les Bleus for their difficult trip to Castres – in addition to French captain Guilhem Guirado and in-form flanker Charles Ollivon.
For their match against Lyon, table-toppers Clermont – already shorn by France coach Guy Novès of Wesley Fofana, Arthur Iturria, Rémi Lamerat, Noa Nakaitaci, Clement Ric, Scott Spedding and Sebastien Vahaamahina – will also give up Camille Lopez and Damien Chouly to the French cause.
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Meanwhile, for those of you on Montpellier French-player watch, the endangered lesser-known homegrown player count at the club has been cut by one with the international call-up of Kélian Galletier.
The issue of releasing players during the international window has prompted Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal to take World Rugby to court, demanding €2million in compensation for having to give up a large portion of his expensively assembled squad whenever a national coach comes calling.
He has been threatening to do this for some time. He has threatened not to pay players while they are on international duty. It was reported that Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell gave up a combined AU$400,000 in club salaries to join Australia for last year’s World Cup.
In early June, he again railed against the offending regulation, Article 9, which briefly threatened to deny him fit-again Welsh fullback Leigh Halfpenny for the semifinal and final of the Top 14, after the player had spent the entire season on the injury list following Warren Gatland’s bizarre decision to unnecessarily play him in a World Cup warm-up match.
Last week, Boudjellal stepped up his challenge, heading to court in Marseille with his legal team, to face what he later described as ‘a battalion’ of World Rugby lawyers.
He is demanding a legal ruling on the troublesome Article 9 which forces the club to release players during an international window. His issue is with releasing overseas players, as the club receives compensation from French rugby’s governing body the FFR for the release of French players.
It is going to be a slow process. Legal wheels grind slowly, and the hearing last week was to decide whether the court in Marseille was able to handle the case. Boudjellal and Toulon want the challenge to be heard in France. World Rugby want to move the case to London.
Still, Boudjellal is happy just that things are moving. He said: “It will take time, but… it is already a victory to have challenged this. I hope that the other clubs will thank us because everyone will feel the jurisprudence that Toulon will have created.
It corresponds to the Toulonese spirit: we are rebels, we will not let ourselves be done.”
Comments on RugbyPass
Farcical, to what end would someone want to pay to keep this thing going.
1 Go to commentsHavili, our best 12 by a mile, will be in the squad, if he stays fit. JB is the most overrated AB in the last 50 years.
61 Go to commentsWe had during the week twilight footy, twilight cricket, tw golf plus there was the athletics club. Then the weekend was rugby 15s plus the net ball, really busy club scene back then but so much has changed and rugby has suffered. And it was all about changing lifestyles.
6 Go to commentsIn the 70s and 80s my club ran 5 Senior sides plus a Vets. Now it is 2 sides with an occasional 3rd team. Players have difficulty getting to training now, not sure why and the commitment is not there. It seems to me more a problem of people applying themselves and not expecting to turn up and play whenever they want to.
6 Go to commentsROG’s contract is until 2027. The conversation about a successor to Galthie after RWC 2027 may be starting now. We can infer that Galthie’s reign stops then. He is throwing the Irish Coaching Job angle in because he is Irish. The next Irish coach MUST be Leo Cullen. As well as being the best coach available, coaching the vast majority of Irish Internationals week in week out, he has shown incredible skill at recruiting the best coaching staff for the job in hand. That was a failing in France. Cullen is a shrewd guy and if there is a need for foreign coaches underneath him he won’t hesitate. Rightly so. Ireland does need to start to bring Irish coaches through. Not just at the professional level but we need to train coaches to man new pathways for developing kids from schools/clubs up through the divisions.
7 Go to commentsNo Islam says it must rule where it stands Thus it is to be deleted from this planet Earth
18 Go to commentsThis team probably does not beat the ABs sadly Not sure if BPA will be available given his signing for Force but has to enter consideration. Very strong possibility of getting schooled by the AB props. Advantage AB. Rodda/Skelton would be a tasty locking combination - would love to see how they get on. Advantage Wallabies. Backrow a risk of getting out hustled and outmuscled by ABs. Will be interesting to see if the Blues feast on the Reds this weekend the way they did the Brumbies we are in big trouble at the breakdown. Great energy, running and defence but goalkicking/general kicking/passing quality in the halves bothers me enormously. SA may have won the World Cup for a lot of the tournament without a recognised goalkicker but Pollard in the final made a difference IMO. Injuries and retirements leave AB stocks a bit lighter but still stronger. 12 and 13 ABs shade it (Barret > Paisami, Ione = Ikitau, arguably) Interesting clash of styles on the wings - Corey Toole running around Caleb Clark and Caleb running over the top of Toole. Reece vs Koro probably the reverse. Pretty even IMO. 15s Kelleway = Love See advantage to ABs man for man, but we are not obviously getting slaughtered anywhere which makes a nice change. Think talent wise we are pretty even and if our cohesion and teamwork is better than the ABs then its just about doable.
11 Go to commentsCompletely agree. More friday night games would be a hit. RFU to make sure every club has a floodlit pitch. Club opens again Saturday to welcome touch / tag. Minis and youths on Sunday
6 Go to comments1.97m and 105Kg? Proportionately, probably skinnier than me at 1.82 and 82kilos. He won’t survive against the big guys at that weight.
55 Go to commentsThe value he brought to the crusaders as an assistant was equal to what he got out of being there. He reflected not only on the team culture but also the credit he attributed to the rugby community. Such experience shouldn’t be overlooked.
7 Go to commentsGood luck Aussie
11 Go to commentssmith at 9 / mounga 10 / laumape 12 / fainganuku 14
61 Go to commentsBar the injuries, it’s pretty much their top team …
2 Go to commentsDon’t disagree with much of this but it appears you forgot Rodda and Beale, who started at the Force on the weekend.
11 Go to commentsExcept for the injured Zach Gallagher this would be Saders best forward pack for the season. Blackadder needs to stay at 7, for all of Christies tackling he is not dominant and offers very little else. McNicholfullback is maybe a good option, Fihaki not really upto it, there was a reason Burke played there last year. Maybe Havilli to 2nd five McLeod to wing. Need a strong winger on 1 side to compliment Reece
1 Go to commentsTo me TJ is clearly the best 9 in the competition right now but he's also a proven player off the bench, there's few playmaking players who can come off the bench as calm and settled as he is, Beauden can, TJ can and I doubt any of the scrumhalves in contention can, if they want to experiment with new 9s I want him on the bench ready to step in if they crumble under the pressure. The Boks put their best front row on the bench, I'd like to see us take a similar approach, the Hurricanes have been doing similar things with players like Kirifi.
61 Go to commentsROG has better chance to win a WC if he starts training and make himself eligible as a player. He won’t make the Ireland squad but I reckon he may get close with Namibia (needs to improve his Afrikaans) or Portugal. Both sides had 1000:1 odds to win the RWC in 2023 which is an improvement on ROG’s odds of winning a RWC as a coach. Unlike Top 14 teams, national teams can’t go shopping and buy the best players - you work with the available talent pool and turn them into world beaters.
7 Go to commentsthat backline nope that backline is terrible why would you have sevu Reece when he’s not even top 5 wingers in the comp why have Blackadder when there’s better players no Scott barret isn’t an automatic the guy is more of a liability than anything why have him there when you have samipeni who’s far far better
61 Go to commentsAh, good to find you Nick. Agree with everything about Cale. So much to like about his game
55 Go to commentsNot too bad. Questions at 6, lock and HB for me. The ABs will be a lot stronger once Jordan and Roigard return. Also, work needs to be made to secure Frizzell back for next season and maybe also Mo’unga; they’re just wasting time playing in japan
61 Go to comments