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Top 14 2020/21 club-by-club season preview: Pau

By James Harrington
(Photo by Gaizka Iroz/AFP via Getty Images)

Pau have never finished higher than eighth since they were promoted to the Top 14 in 2015. Survival is probably the best they can hope for this time around, too. Here’s why…

Key signing

Mike Harris: To lose one kicking fly-half option was unfortunate, to lose two – in Colin Slade and Tom Taylor – could have been a disaster. The experienced Harris has been brought to take some of the weight of expectation off the shoulders of talented 23-year-old Antoine Hastoy.

Key departure

Colin Slade: The All Black quickly became a firm favourite when he joined the club after the 2015 World Cup, with his gutsy, fearless style. It’s a shame injury and Covid meant that he couldn’t get the send off he deserved before his move to Japan.

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They say

“There is an element that we cannot estimate: we know how to prepare players, but we do not know how this long break will affect the organisation (of the club).”

– President Bernard Pontneau, France Bleu

We say

We could point to the fact that Pau have not finished higher than eighth since winning promotion to the Top 14 back in 2015. We could say that their twelfth place finish in the coronavirus-shortened 2019/20 season only came courtesy of a win over Montpellier in what turned out to be the final round of the campaign that saw them overtake Stade Francais and Agen. We could also highlight Pau’s start to the season. After five rounds, they were third. They had won at Clermont and given Toulouse a real fright at Ernest Wallon.

Technical difficulties

Then it all went very wrong. A big loss at home to Racing exposed a major technical fault. Pau gave up ten lineouts that day and it turned into a chronic, season-long problem, one that Matt Philip and medical joker signing Steve Cummins have been brought in to solve.

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In the end, the best we can say about Pau’s 2019/20 season is that they survived. The most accurate thing we can say is it was tough. Wins over Castres at home and Bayonne on the road just about kept their heads above water. But during a seven-match losing streak that came to define their season, they lost at home to Toulon, Bordeaux, La Rochelle and Clermont as the fortress at Hameau crumbled.

Coaching conundrum

It was always odd. The coaching staff – led by Nicolas Godignon and Frederic Manca and assisted by Conrad Smith, who is now the club’s development director, Thomas Domingo (scrum), and Paul Tito (lineout) – appeared to have all the attributes, but the team sputtered and died after a decent enough start.

Matt Philip, Harris and Hugo Bonneval are all decent signings, but there is no denying that losing Slade is a major blow despite his final season turning out to be a sparse and difficult one in which he only played five times due to injury. He scored 568 points in 84 outings in Pau colours.

It all leads to the near inevitable conclusion that Pau will again be struggling at the wrong end of the table at the business end of the 2020/21 season.

Arrivals

Matt Philip, Tamua Manu, Mike Harris, Hugo Bonneval, Aminiasi Tuimaba, Eliott Roudil, Steve Cummins (medical joker)

Departures

Dominiko Waqaniburotu, Colin Slade, Tom Taylor, Pierre Nueno, Ben Smith, Bastien Pourailly

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J
Jon 5 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 8 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

30 Go to comments
A
Adrian 10 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

30 Go to comments
T
Trevor 12 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

21 Go to comments
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