Stade players back strike action over merger plans
STADE Francais players have voted for unlimited strike action over the club’s merger with Racing 92.
And that could have major implications for their forthcoming Euro showdown with the Ospreys at the Principality Stadium.
The Stade squad has voted 99 per cent in favour of strike action in the wake of the merger announcement which has shocked world rugby.
As a result, there will be no training and it seems unlikely that their scheduled Top14 clash away to Castres will go ahead this weekend.
The players were left stunned by the clubs’ amalgamation which came out of the blue and may leave some out of a job.
Stade’s French international lock Pascal Pape said 99 per cent of his squad has agreed with the decision to take action.
“We have decided to go on strike. We find this decision intolerable,” he said. “It will be a difficult fight, an irritating one for our players.
“But as the club’s most senior player I am standing by this (decision).”
Stade centre Jonathan Danty said he was upset because the players were not made aware of the club’s plans.
“I’m still trying to come to terms with what’s been done behind our backs,” he said. “We’ve always been told we’re the future of the club.
“We’ve often heard that if we leave, the club’s finished, and now we realise that everything’s been done behind our backs.
“It’s pretty hard to swallow.”
Asked for his opinion on the situation, Castres boss Chris Urios says: “I understand the players’ position. For them, it’s chaos.”
Next week, Stade are due to host Leigh Halfpenny’s Toulon outfit in the Top 14.
And then on Sunday, April 2, they are set to take on the Ospreys in the quarter-final of the European Challenge Cup in Cardiff.
It was announced on Monday that Stade and Racing 92 would be joining forces next season to form one Parisian powerhouse club.
Racing coaches Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit would remain in charge and select a 45-man squad from the 63 players presently contracted to the two clubs.
The sides are due to meet in a Parisian derby on the last weekend in April – a match which could effectively serve as a trial for squad selection.
The proposed merger will be discussed at an emergency meeting of France’s Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) tomorrow.