Tide has turned on overseas galacticos
IT is a truth long universally accepted that the Top 14 is a pension-liner for big-name overseas players. The roll-call of international stars to grace French top-flight rugby is long and illustrious. It includes names like Wilkinson, Carter, Pollard, Mitchell, Sivivatu, Sexton, Russell, Hayman, Charteris, Smith, Giteau, Nonu, Goosen, Sheridan, Rossouw, Botha, Steyn... You get the picture, and apologies for all those stars inevitably missed.
But while that long-held and understood truth was very true 10 years ago there’s no denying that, these days, it’s losing its ... veracity.
JIFF, Japan and financial reality are all making their mark, and Springboks or All Blacks are luxuries some clubs are willing to do without.
In July, Midi Olympique published its – admittedly subjective – list of the top 10 rugby transfers of the summer. That list featured Cameron Woki (Bordeaux-Racing 92), Melvyn Jaminet (Perpignan-Toulouse), Teddy Thomas (Racing 92-La Rochelle), Morgan Parra (Clermont-Stade Francais), Louis Carbonel (Toulon-Montpellier), Leo Coly (Mont-de-Marsan-Montpellier), Waisea Nayacalevu (Stade Francais-Toulon), Antoine Hastoy (Pau-La Rochelle), Ange Capuozzo (Grenoble-Toulouse), and Warrick Gelant (Stormers-Racing 92).
Eight of Midol’s 10 this year are France-born and JIFF-qualified – Capuozzo hails from just outside Grenoble and qualifies for the Azzurri via his Italian father.
Nine of the transfers are between French clubs, and Springbok Warrick Gelant is the only overseas import to make Midol’s top 10.
Three clubs this year have signed only JIFF-qualified players: Pau, Toulouse and Stade Francais.
Gelant, a World Champion in 2019, is undoubtedly the biggest name of the 22 overseas imports into the Top 14 this summer. Only 12 of those – including Bordeaux’s new try-scoring hope Madosh Tambwe – came to France directly from southern hemisphere rugby. Ten years ago, 60 players flew into France for the 2012/13 campaign.
Annual fluctuations are normal, and 2012 was an exceptional year for clubs importing talent in search of success, but the overall Top 14 trend for signing readymade stars from overseas is, notably, down.
In part, it is because of tightening JIFF rules. Established clubs in the Top 14 and Pro D2 are allowed no more than 13 non-JIFF players in their overall senior squads when the new season kicks off, and must, in general, maintain an average of 16 JIFF-qualified players in their matchday squads. There’s a funding carrot for hitting a 17 average and a points-deduction stick for missing 16.
The rules 10 years ago – when JIFF was new – required clubs to have 40
“Springboks or All Blacks are luxuries some of the Top 14 clubs are willing to do without”
percent JIFF players on their books, and no matchday requirements were imposed.
Being JIFF now has a market value in a competition with a declining salary cap and clubs feeling the squeeze even before Covid-19 forced a recalibration.
Let’s be honest, however. There’s still plenty of interest in overseas players. There are 13 professional clubs in France’s top two divisions. All of them can have 13 senior nonJIFF players on their books - newly promoted sides in both divisions are allowed two more for a maximum of two seasons. Even allowing for the fact numbers are declining, that’s still over 390 non-JIFF players earning a living in France.
It’s just that French clubs are being a little more selective about their needs.
The declining pull of the French euro is not to be ignored, either. It’s still a temptation, make no mistake, but Japan for example is, undestandably, a lure for Australian and New Zealand internationals on sabbatical – it’s much, much closer to home for a start and the salaries offered are easily comparable.
South African players, meanwhile, are heading back to South African clubs now playing in the expanded URC league, who now have access to the Champions and Challenge Cups.
Then there’s the current success of the national team. It means players like Woki, Jaminet, Carbonel are box office draws. Clubs are prepared to spend a decent portion of their available recruitment budget signing them.
That runs off into the competitive second tier in France, which also benefits from having all games broadcast live on TV.
Capuozzo and Coly are this season’s big ‘promoted’ signings – but expect to see fellow ProD2 alumni Adrien Seguret, Clement Doumenc, Boris Goutard, or Jannick Tarrit mentioned in dispatches this season and the next.
What that all means is there’s less money available to bring in a galactico players from overseas. Eben Etzebeth and Pollard – both now exTop 14 stars – are among the last of them in this current cycle.