LONG READ Money not everything in Toulouse ‘paradise’ as rivals try to rein in champions

Toulouse travelled to La Rochelle last Saturday with what can be best described as an academy side. No Dupont, Ramos, Willis, Cros, Flament, Mauvaka or Ntamack.

Their only seasoned pro in the starting XV was prop Cyril Baille, making his first start this season after six months out with an ankle injury. Otherwise, the average age of the Toulouse side was 21 and several were making their first Top 14 appearance of the season.

They faced the best La Rochelle had to offer; a XV full of experienced internationals such as Grégory Alldritt, Brice Dulin, Uini Atonio, Paul Boudehent and Jack Nowell, who have played over 200 Tests between them.

Many expected a massacre but what they got was a nail-biter, a game won with the last penalty kick of the match as La Rochelle edged to a 22-19 victory.

There was scant satisfaction for the winners. Head coach Ronan O’Gara described the outcome as “bittersweet”, admitting it felt “like a defeat”.

If O’Gara was dismayed with the result then in all likelihood so were the rest of Toulouse’s rivals, in France, the rest of Europe and South Africa. Toulouse coach Ugo Mola fielded his junior side because the next day the squad flew to Durban to prepare for Saturday’s Champions Cup clash with the Sharks.

Mola wants to build on the momentum Toulouse have generated in the opening two rounds of the competition, in which they put 60 points past both Ulster and Exeter. It will be a surprise if the Sharks derail the Toulouse juggernaut; it will be a surprise if any team can prevent the French club repeating last season’s domestic and European double.

So dominant have Toulouse become in the Top 14 that it is causing consternation among their rivals.

Just before Christmas, Midi Olympique’s front cover was headlined ‘The Chiefs’ Fight’, referring to a lengthy article inside the newspaper that described how Toulouse’s rivals were “determined to counter their hegemony”.

We know before every Toulouse match who’s going to win, and somewhere along the line, the true meaning of sport disappears

The presidents of France’s 30 professional clubs (the Top 14 and the 16 teams in the ProD2) convened in Lyon on 17 December to discuss, ostensibly, the salary cap of €10.7m. But they were also keen to come up with ways to rein in Toulouse. Specifically, they want something done about the €180,000 ‘credit’ given by the FFR to clubs for each one of their French internationals; in effect, compensation for the Top 14 matches (up to 10) they miss in a season because of international duty.

Toulouse benefit most from this bonus and some of their rivals aren’t happy. As Jacky Lorenzetti, president of Racing 92, put it: “Toulouse’s wage bill amounts to almost 13 million euros thanks to credits for internationals, i.e. 30% more than the majority of clubs.”

In an interview with Midi Olympique earlier in December, another wealthy Top14 owner, Montpellier’s Mohed Altrad, had expressed his frustration with Toulouse’s dominance.

“We know before every Toulouse match who’s going to win, and somewhere along the line, the true meaning of sport disappears,” he said. “For me, sport is about indecision, suspense, the underdog upsetting the favourite.”

Altrad believes Toulouse are draining the suspense from European rugby, although he overlooked the fact that prior to his declaration, they had lost three times in the Top 14. Indeed, following Saturday’s defeat by La Rochelle, Toulouse were overtaken by Bordeaux at the top of the table, and they are only four points ahead of third-placed Toulon.

Toulouse, however, always produce their best for the big matches, for the knockout games in the Champions Cup and the Top 14. That’s why they have won four of the last five French titles and two of the last four European finals.

“What club can rival this team today?” asked Altrad. “Leinster in Europe and, perhaps, a New Zealand province in Super Rugby. That’s about it.”

Is that Toulouse’s fault? They have the biggest budget of the Top 14 clubs – €50m, €5m more than Stade Français – thanks in the main to their major investor, Fiducial.

Money is not everything in a rugby player’s life. Perhaps Altrad has had no luck signing players from Toulouse because they value a stable environment. They enjoy going to work each day.

According to Altrad, as a consequence of the club’s wealth, “Toulouse players live in paradise and want to stay there, because they earn so much…even with offers higher than what they earn there, it’s almost impossible to get them out.”

I’ve interviewed many Toulouse players in recent years, including Jack Willis, Julien Marchand, Antoine Dupont, Thomas Ramos and Josh Brennan, and they all say the same thing: Toulouse is a club that looks after its own, not just financially but holistically. It’s a happy club, and a settled one, as seen by the fact that in the 30 years of professional rugby they have had just two head coaches.

Montpellier, in contrast, have gone through eight coaches in 14 seasons. A series of star players have come and gone without leaving much of a mark, as they have at other high-profile clubs such as Racing 92, Stade Français and Toulon.

The majority of the Toulouse squad have come through the academy system, like Brennan, the son of the former Leinster and Ireland forward Trevor. When I interviewed Josh in 2021, he told me of the ‘Toulouse DNA’, explaining: “What’s good at Toulouse is the way they play. They want all the youngsters to play the way they do in the first team. So as you come up through the ages in Toulouse you have the same calls…it creates the Toulouse DNA from a young age. That is a very important factor. It’s kind of like a big family at Toulouse.”

That DNA explains why a team of young tyros almost pulled off a mighty upset at La Rochelle last week.

Money is not everything in a rugby player’s life. Perhaps Altrad has had no luck signing players from Toulouse because they value a stable environment. They enjoy going to work each day.

Has that always been true of Montpellier, where there have been rumours of dressing room rifts in the past between the French contingent and the players shipped in from overseas? The same at Racing and at Stade Français.

Altrad and other Top 14 owners are mistaken if they think money is the overriding reason for Toulouse’s dominance in recent years.

Mola and his coaching staff have done a superb job in nurturing this young generation of players that performed so well against La Rochelle; they’ve also been brilliant at identifying a small number of overseas stars who have a touch of Toulouse DNA in their blood, the likes of Pita Ahki, Jerome Kaino, Blair Kinghorn and Cheslin Kolbe. In his 10 years at Toulouse, Mola has rarely made a duff overseas signing, and arguably none has been as successful as Jack Willis.

It was recently confirmed that the 28-year-old English flanker – who has captained Toulouse a few times this season – has extended his contract until 2029. He’s put club over country, not because of money but because he enjoys life in Toulouse. “I couldn’t be happier where I have ended up,” he told me in 2023. “Toulouse have reaffirmed my faith in rugby.”