Boudjellal reveals leaving date as Toulon soap saga takes fresh twist
The rugby soap opera that is Toulon is set to take more major twists, with overarching storylines that will affect everything for years to come.
First, a disclaimer: For those old enough to remember these things, this is not – quite – Dallas’s Who shot JR? level, or Bobby Ewing’s miraculous shower resurrection. Nor have we reached UFO stage from notorious soapy serial killer hotspot Hollyoaks; or the first death of Eastenders’ Dirty Den – and we’ve definitely not hit St Elsewhere’s everything-was-all-a-dream finale.
But there can be no doubt that the daily lives and loves of everyday highly paid sporting folk on the south coast of France will never be the same again. And not just because Toulon are currently 11th in the Top 14, 26 points behind leaders Clermont and 14 off the play-off places.
Let’s start with the big one: Owner Mourad Boudjellal has revealed he will leave the club … in just over four years.
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Everything follows from this. The heart-on-his-sleeve boss revealed recently in an interview with L’Equipe that his final sure-to-be-a-tearjerker episode will come in June 2023.
“I have four years left and then, for sure, I’ll move on – if I don’t go, you have to shoot me down,” he said.
It probably won’t come to actual shooting, but he admitted owning Toulon taken its toll since he arrived as a fresh-faced comicbook baddie in 2006, when the club was in the second-tier ProD2. “If I don’t leave, it means I’m going to die. The life of a president is very stressful. But there is an addictive side: we know it’s not good, but we continue.”
But, like all good soap opera kingpins, he’s promised a few fireworks before he goes.
And they begin – in honest-to-goodness daytime soap-style – with a mass character cull. The 2018/19 has been, in Boudjellal’s own words, ‘a saison de merde’ – and he warned fans to expect to wade through more merde to come as the club realigns itself.
He has promised major changes in personnel coming soon to a screen near you, with between 12 and 15 arrivals and numerous departures in the pipeline ahead of next season – with some major announcements in the weeks to come.
“A big change is coming,” Boudjellal said. “I decided that after the defeat in Edinburgh, when I posted the video of Snow White cleaning on Twitter.
— Mourad Boudjellal (@mouradrct) October 20, 2018
“It’s time to bid farewell to guys who may not have been European champions. That way, we can stop talking about the past, stop comparing. I’m going on a new project. In the coming weeks, there will be many announcements in both directions.”
Eight of those 12 to 15 arrivals have already been confirmed, headlined by Eben Etzebeth, Nehe Milner-Skudder and Baptiste Serin. Importantly, for French player-quota regulations as much as Boudjellal’s ‘new project’, five are French. Six are under 25 and none are over 30.
Meanwhile, so far, seven players’ contracts have been renewed. None of this batch of players, which includes Anthony Belleau and Louis Carbonel, are over 25. Five are French.
Montpellier-bound 32-year-old Guilhem Guirado is the big departure after five years at the club, while Malakai Fekitoa is on his way to Wasps. To date, five players are known to be leaving at the end of the season. Apart from Georgian academy hooker Badri Alkhazashvili, all are over 25.
And, looking to Boudjellal’s ‘new project’: Juandre Kruger, Mamuka Gorgodze, Francois Trinh-Duc, and JP Pietersen are among seven players at the end of their contracts. Some may get new deals but the trend appears to be for younger players.
Boudjellal’s comments also suggest the club is willing to do a Stade Francais, and agree terms to cut loose other players who are not yet in the final year of their current deals.
Wales fans may hope, despite his recent tweets to the contrary, this means Rhys Webb could head home sooner than expected. But one favourite for the exit door is Josua Tuisova. Rumours have been swirling over his future at the club for more than a year – with Lyon, in particular, repeatedly said to be keen on his services.
The youth factor was lost in the headlines when Etzebeth and Milner-Skudder were revealed as future Toulon players in December. A new centre will be developed to replace the prefabs sprouting all over the training ground at Berg. It will be operational by 2020.
The idea is to build what the club and Boudjellal have billed as a “factory of champions”.
“Not a single talent from the region should escape us,” the president said at a special meeting to unveil the plans in December.
“We want a reference system and standards for all youth teams with the RCT label. With the desire to put players at the centre of the system but also to promote in-house training for educators,” added Laurent Emmanuelli, head of sports policy at the club.
“I signed up for a club project,” Patrice Collazo said at the time “The main axis is to put the institution back at the centre of everything. To know what it means to play for this club, to embody its values.
“The RCT must regain a strong identity that encompasses everyone from mini rugby to pros, but also alumni. The sports project will be based on a team built with players from the training centre and the region, but also with the possibility of seeking skills with a margin of progress in the Top 14 or Pro D2.
“And finally, foreigners who bring real added value”.
Boudjellal has spoken of his ‘Made in France’ vision of Toulon’s future previously. But this was the first concrete development towards that future. In it, big-name overseas stars have been reduced to third in the list of priorities, behind local, then French players.
The President’s 2023 ‘retirement’ was the culmination of a series of events that had a certain inevitability about them.
His big-spending quickly catapulted Toulon out of the ProD2 and into the upper echelons of the Top 14. A ProD2 championship in 2008, a Top 14 crown in 2014 and three European titles (2013, 2014, 2015) is a pretty decent return in 13 years. Remember, too, that the club were domestic finalists in 2012, 2013, 2016 and 2017, and Challenge Cup runners up in 2010 and 2012.
But the trophy cabinet has been bare since 2015. And, though Toulon had famously been self-financing for several years, Boudjellal was forced to dig deep in 2017, when a legal dispute with former kit suppliers attracted the interest of French rugby’s financial police. He took a greater stake in the club for his €2million bailout.
It was then he first announced his new homegrown ‘model’ for the club. The logic is undeniable. Toulon were struggling to keep pace with the billionaire-owned likes of Racing 92 and Montpellier. Lyon, too, have increasingly had money to burn, so Boudjellal started casting about for other investors to share the load.
He found that support last year, in the shape of ex-biopharma company boss Bernard Lemaître, who bought a 25% stake in the club – and who looks almost certain to be the next president, when Boudjellal finally exits, stage left.
Since then changes have come thick and fast, as Lemaître began to stamp his own mark on the club. “We are on a five-year development plan; the goal is to get Toulon back the level it once had, but with different structures and organisation that, beyond Mourad Boudjellal and Bernard Lemaître, will allow it to continue,” he told L’Equipe in December.
Five years. Well, actually less. Boudjellal told fans at the meeting at which the new training complex, Etzebeth and Milner-Skudder were unveiled that season-ticket holders who kept the faith for four years would get their fifth season ticket free if the club had won no silverware in that time.
We’ll just have to wait and see on that one.
Comments on RugbyPass
“But with an exceptional pass accuracy rating “ Which apart from Roigard is not a feature of any of the other 9s in NZ. Kind of basic for a Black 9 dont.you. think? Yet we keep seeing FC and TJ being rated ahead of him? Weird if it’s seen as vital to get our backline beating in your face defences.
1 Go to commentsThanks BeeMc! Looks like many teams need extra time to settle from the quadrennial northern migration. I think generally the quality of the Rugby has held up. Fiji has been fantastic and fun to watch
13 Go to commentsLets compare apples with apples. Lyon sent weak team the week before, but nobody raised an eyebrow. Give the South African teams a few years to build their depth, then you will be moaning that the teams are too strong.
41 Go to commentsDid footballs agents also perform the scout role at some time? I’m surprised more high profile players haven’t taken up the occupation, great way to remain in the game and use all that experience without really requiring a lot of specific expertise?
1 Go to commentsSuper rugby is struggling but that has little to do with sabbaticals. 1. Too many teams from Aust and NZ - should be 3 and 4 respectively, add in 2 from Japan, 1 possibly 2 from Argentina. 2. Inconsistent and poor refereeing, admittedly not restricted to Super rugby. Only one team was reffed at the breakdown in Reds v H’Landers match. Scrum penalty awarded in Canes v Drua when No 8 had the ball in the open with little defence nearby - ideal opportunity to play advantage. Coming back to Reds match - same scrum situation but ref played advantage - Landers made 10 yards and were penalised at the breakdown when the ref should have returned to scrum penalty. 3. Marketing is weak and losing ground to AFL and NRL. Playing 2 days compared with 4. 4. Scheduling is unattractive to family attendance. Have any franchises heard of Sundays 2pm?
11 Go to commentsAbsolutely..all they need is a chance in yhe playoffs and I bet all the other teams will be nervous…THEY KNOW HOW TO WIN IM THE PLAYOFFS..
2 Go to commentsI really hope he comes back and helps out with some coaching.
1 Go to commentsI think we are all just hoping that the Olympic 7s doesn’t suffer the same sad fate as the last RWC with the officials ruining the spectacle.
1 Go to commentsPersonally, I’ve lost the will to even be bothered about the RFU, the structure, the participants. It’s all a sham. I now simply enjoy getting a group of friends together to go and watch a few games a year in different locations (including Europe, the championship, etc). I feel extremely sorry for the real fans of these clubs who are constantly ignored by the RFU and other administrators. I feel especially sorry for the fans of clubs in the Championship who have had considerable central funding stripped away and are then expected to just take whatever the RFU put to them. Its all a sham, especially if the failed clubs are allowed to return.
9 Go to commentsI’m guessing Carl Hayman would have preferred to have stayed in NZ with benefit of hindsight. Up north there is the expectation to play twice as many games with far less ‘player management’ protocols that Paul is now criticising. Less playing through concussions means longer, healthier, careers. Carter used as the eg here by Paul, his sabbatical allowed him to play until age 37. OK its not an exact science but there is far more expectations on players who sign for Top 14 or Engl Prem clubs to get value for the huge salaries. NZR get alot wrong but keeping their best players in NZ rugby is not one of them. SA clubs are virtually devoid of their top players now, no thanks. They cant threaten the big teams in the Champions Cup, the squads have little depth. Cant see Canes/Chiefs struggling. Super has been great this year, fantastic high skill matches. Drua a fantastic addition and Jaguares will add another quality team eventually. Aus teams performing strongly and no doubt will benefit with the incentive of a Lions tour and a home RWC. Let Jordie enjoy his time with Leinster, it will allow the opportunity for another player to emerge at Canes in his absence.
11 Go to commentsLove that man, his way to despise angry little men is so funny ! 😂
4 Go to comments“South African franchises would be powerhouses if we had all our overseas based players back in situ. We would have the same unbeatable aura the Toulouses, Leinsters or Saracens of this world have had over the last decade or so.” Proof that Jake white does not understand the economics of the game in SA. Players earning abroad are not going to simply come back and represent the bulls. But they might if they have a springbok contract.
22 Go to commentsA lot of fans just joined in for the fun of it! We all admire O'Gara and what he has done for La Rochelle
4 Go to commentsThe RFU will find a way to mess this up as usual. My bet is there will be no promotion into the the Premiership, only relegation into National League One. Hopefully they won’t parachute failed clubs into the league at the expense of clubs who have battled for promotion.
9 Go to commentsWell that’s the contracts for RG and Jordie bought and paid for. Now, what are the chances we can persuade Antoine to hop over with all the extra dosh we’ll have from living at the Aviva & Croke next season…??? 🤑🤑🤑
35 Go to commentsWow, that’s incredible. Great for rugby.
35 Go to commentsYou probably read that parling is going to coach the wallaby lineout but if not before now you have.
17 Go to commentsIf someone like Leo Cullen was in O’Gara’s place I don’t hear Boo-ing. It’s not just that La Rochelle has hurt Leinster and O’Gara is their Irish boss. It’s the needle that he brings and the pantomime activity before the game around pretending that Munster were supporting LaRochelle just because O’Gara is from Cork. That’s dividing Irish provinces just to get an advantage for his French Team. He can F*ck right off with that. BOOOOO! (but not while someone is lying injured)
4 Go to commentsDid the highlanders party too hard before the game? They were the pits.
1 Go to commentsWhat a player! Not long until he’s in the England side, surely?
5 Go to comments