LONG READ Bordeaux’s thrilling pretenders and salary cap changes threaten Toulouse supremacy

Bordeaux had beaten Toulouse twice in the Top 14 this season when the two sides faced one another at the Matmut Atlantique in the Champions Cup semi-final earlier this month.

But both the manner and scale of their impressive 35-18 demolition of the fullest-bore 23 the defending champions could put out were something to behold. Two tries – the second a length-of-the-pitch favourite for try-of-the-season – confirmed Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s status as French rugby’s poster boy of not just du jour but de la saison, too.

Today, the Garonne Derby – as it’s sometimes called because of the river that runs between the two cities – is the box office match on the Top 14 calendar. Greater, certainly, than the long-standing ‘Clasico’ between Toulouse and Stade Français, a now-faded appointment TV spectacle because of the painful struggles of the Paris side.

It’s no secret Bordeaux are building their title-challenging house on the footprint of the Toulouse model.  President Laurent Marti and manager Yannick Bru are both products of Toulouse. The former played age-grade rugby there before realising his future lay elsewhere – his textile business is based in the northern suburbs of the Pink City. The latter is a two-time Brennus Shield (Top 14) winner and two-time Champions Cup winner with les rouge et noir.

But three wins in three games between the two this season doesn’t change the fact that Bordeaux are pretenders to Toulouse’s crown as the best team in France. Hugely thrilling, insanely talented pretenders with pace to burn, undeniably, but pretenders nevertheless.

Both clubs can field 23s packed with internationals. A full-chat Toulouse boasts 11 first-choice France internationals. Bordeaux weigh in with a Bleus-laden back line, and more than one prospect in the pack.

History will look at the cold, hard numbers and declare Toulouse the best French side of this generation.

It’s the next level down where Toulouse are streets ahead of, well, any other French club. Their ‘B’ – even their ‘C’ side – win matches, claim league points. Only once this season in the Top 14 – ironically against Bordeaux, and with a youthful squad – have they failed to pick up a league point. This is why they’re 15 points clear of the pretenders after 23 rounds of the season. It’s a season-long performance that puts Bordeaux’s early challenge in its place.

It’s entirely possible France’s new biggest rugby rivalry will be renewed for a fourth time this season, as the Top 14 careers to the play-offs. And there’s a non-zero possibility that, in a one-off knockout, Bordeaux could make it four from four. They may even rip the Bouclier de Brennus out of Toulousain hands for the first time since 2022 – and gain some measure of revenge for last season’s final in Marseille.

Even so, the Marti-Bru project has a long way to go. History will look at the cold, hard numbers and declare Toulouse the best French side of this generation. Bordeaux will remain this era’s attractive pretenders to their crown, having picked up the mantle briefly worn by La Rochelle.

But there’s financial talk in the corridors of French rugby power that could change the entire dynamic. There’s a new sheriff in French professional men’s rugby. Yann Roubert became president of the LNR, the organisation that runs the Top 14 and ProD2, in mid-March, after incumbent Rene Bouscatel – formerly in charge at Toulouse – withdrew from the race following a behind-closed-doors vote.

Roubert – who, until his elevation, was president of Lyon – has made no secret of his desire to cut the salary cap from its current €10.7million per season to €10million, and increase sanctions for any club found to have broken the rules.  “I have always advocated for a moderate and gradual reduction as long as the Top 14 can boast of being the world’s leading championship,” Roubert said shortly after his election.

And last month, in an open response to a letter from Castres president Pierre-Yves Revol, he indicated that rules to strengthen sanctions, including mediation limits and possible points deductions rather than fines, would be in place for the 2025/26 domestic season.

Club presidents are again talking about reducing the cap because of rising costs and despite improved revenues.

Roubert’s proposals would effectively reintroduce an earlier phased salary cap reduction plan that was frozen in 2023 for four years because, at the time, presidents believed French rugby’s economic health was faring ‘better than expected’ in the post-Covid environment.

That confidence seems, now, to have been premature. Club presidents are again talking about reducing the cap because of rising costs and despite improved revenues.

A couple of high-profile names also want to cap credits for French internationals. Under current rules, clubs are permitted to spend an additional €180,000 per player over the cap limit per season to cover absences of those called up to Fabien Galthié’s squads in November and during the Six Nations. It’s sometimes referred to as a credit, and there are restrictions to it, based on the number of times players are unavailable for club selection.

It means, however, that Toulouse, who supply as many as a dozen players to France, can spend an additional €2million or more on salaries. This, it’s argued, gives them an unfair advantage, and defeats one of the main purposes of a salary cap, which is to maintain the competitiveness of the league by preventing richer clubs from spending their way to success.

There is the possibility of reducing the level of the allowance, but a number of presidents have suggested setting a maximum credit limit of six per club (or €1.08million). This wouldn’t prevent Galthié from selecting more players from Toulouse, but would halve their permitted additional salary spend.

A reduction in the salary cap seems inevitable – though watch out for pushback from the players’ union Provale. A cut in the international credit, one way or another, seems plausible.

Unsurprisingly, Toulouse president Didier Lacroix has concerns. In a letter to his peers before a crucial meeting a few months ago, he wrote: “These credits mitigate the impact of duplicates [club matches played in international periods]. If they are capped, the number of internationals per club should also be limited.”

Despite Lacroix’s best efforts, however, it appears the winds of change aren’t in his favour. A reduction in the salary cap seems inevitable – though watch out for pushback from the players’ union Provale. A cut in the international credit, one way or another, seems plausible.

And that is certain to have knock-on effects, whether players leave of their own volition to bolster their international chances, or if Toulouse have to offload some of their squad to remain compliant with tighter and more stringently monitored salary cap restraints.

The questions then become: who stays? Who goes? What impact might there be on playing time and player welfare if clubs – not just Toulouse – operate with smaller squads? And what impact on the senior and under-20s men’s national sides?