Doubts cast over Racing 92-Stade Francais merger

Could player power be about to scupper Paris clubs’ planned union?

All is not well in the pro-Racing 92-Stade Francais merger camp. The ‘grand fusion’ of two of France’s most historic rugby club may not go ahead after all, it has been reported.

Speculation that the union may be in trouble came following what was described as a ‘heated’ and ‘tense’ meeting between officials and player representatives two days after the plans were announced.

According to reports, the head of the players’ union in France, Montpellier second row Robins Tchale-Watchou, told the presidents of the two clubs that players had been ‘betrayed’ and said an indefinite strike by Stade Francais players would only be called off if the merger was scrapped.

Collared by reporters outside the meeting, Stade Francais president Thomas Savare was asked whether he remained confident the union will go ahead. He said only: “We’ll see.”

The two Top 14 clubs shocked the rugby world on Monday when they announced they would unite to form a single Paris-based super club. At a press conference that took place hours after the announcement, Savare said: “We are aware that we have dropped a bombshell.”

But the decision prompted anger from fans and players, in particular members of the Stade Francais squad, who – along with their Racing counterparts – were only informed of the plans in a meeting shortly before the merger proposal was made public. Within hours, a protest was staged at Stade Jean-Bouin, the home of Stade Francais, and the club’s entire playing staff had voted for indefinite strike action.

France squad members Jonathan Danty and Djibril Camara joined the protests. L’Equipe reports that they were allowed to leave the training camp ahead of France’s final Six Nations match against Wales by FFR vice-president Serge Simon – which hints that the players may have the unofficial and silent support of the national union.

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Read more: We weren’t allowed to live near each other – Phillips shocked by Racing-Stade merger

Certainly, FFR president Bernard Laporte, a former Stade coach, has spoken of his disappointment on hearing the news, and his anger over not being forewarned of the news.

Now, a decision on whether to go ahead with the merger will be made following an emergency meeting of competition organisers the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) on Friday, at which club officials, player representatives and other interested parties will be present.

LNR president Paul Goze, who previously welcomed the proposals, added he was confident ‘a solution can be found’ at Friday’s meeting.

Read more: Comparing Stade-Racing merger to Barcelona-Real Madrid joining pretentious – Lorenzetti

Even then, there are still official hoops to jump through. Or, at least, side-step. The plans must be approved by the clubs’ amateur sections (the youth and ‘espoirs’ body), which are separate from the professional entity. Similar plans last season to merge Basque sides Biarritz and Bayonne fell down on a ‘no’ vote from the amateur section.

It must then be ratified by the FFR, following the creation of a third-party body – with a new affiliation code – effectively representing the new club. However, Lorenzetti said that if the amateur sections vote against the merger, the new club would register under Racing’s affiliation number, turning the merger into an absorption of Stade by its Ile-de-France rival. That, effectively, circumvents any FFR veto.

The first casualty of any Stade player strike will be this weekend’s match at Castres Olympique. If Stade does not fulfil that fixture, they will be docked two points and Castres awarded five points. The process will repeat for their next two fixtures, against Toulon and Bayonne. After the third forfeited fixture, LNR rules state that Stade will be relegated to the ProD2 and their remaining fixtures this season will be cancelled, with clubs still due to play them awarded five points.

As a result, and assuming league positions at the bottom of the table do not change between now and the end of the season, Grenoble would escape relegation altogether, while Bayonne would face a survival-or-bust play-off against the second-placed team from the ProD2.

Meanwhile, Toulon has announced that players and staff will wear pink armbands during their next Top 14 outing against Grenoble, as a show of support for Stade’s players.