France finally ended?
for Gloucester two years ago the 2009 French champions had been relegated.
As for the rest, it’s downhill when you consider their French exploits.
Jonathan Davies had his moments at Clermont and was a losing finalist in the Champions Cup in 2015, but he had periods when he was out of favour as well.
Mike Phillips was axed from struggling Bayonne after accusations he was drunk at a team meeting. The Wales and Lions scrum-half vigorously denied the claims and moved onto Racing, but for the most part was second fiddle at the Paris club.
As for Dan Lydiate and Jamie Roberts, neither made any mark worth its salt at Racing with Lydiate released early from his contract to move back to Wales with the Ospreys and Roberts lasting two mediocre years stymied by injury.
Charteris fared better, making his class count on numerous occasions before leaving for Bath a year ago. IS THIS THE END OF THE SO-CALLED FRENCH EXODUS? IT would be naive to assume that French clubs with the financial means will not continue to court the best Welsh players, and that those players will not be tempted by the kind of salaries simply not on offer anywhere else.
If the raft of young players who have begun to knock on the Test door are given a chance by Warren Gatland and they come through on the big stage, fat contracts will be waved under their noses.
Some, too, may also be attracted by the life experience of playing in a different country.
And yet these are different times. If nothing else the experiences of those who have tried their hand in France tells us that the grass is not always greener in that part of the world and the whole exodus business has, if not expired completely, certainly diminished.
Player welfare is more of an issue than ever in rugby union. Top stars are more acutely aware than ever that combining an international career with the grind and relentless physicality of playing in the Top 14 is a supreme challenge. In fact, it’s something that somebody like Sam Warburton has always dismissed as unfeasible.
There is also the whole issue of release to play for Wales. It may not be governed by the sort of black and white edict that covers those in the Aviva Premiership, but playing in France does not come with the guarantees contained in a National Dual Contract (NDC).
You’re only ever one volatile club president away from having your life made extremely awkward - just ask Halfpenny.
The advent of NDCs have provided Welsh players with, if not the mindboggling deals on offer in some parts of France, still lucrative salaries in the £300,000 range and the security and peace of mind that comes with having your schedule managed in your best interests. CAN THE WELSH GAME GET EVEN MORE PLAYERS TO RETURN?
If the newly expanded Guinness PRO14 delivers on the optimistic noise being made by competition organisers, then it will certainly help.
So-called Gatland’s Law which restricts the selection of non-Welshbased players is something, but the caveats and special circumstance clauses written into the document mean it can only go so far.
The lure of England’s Aviva Premiership is similar to that of the Top 14 in terms of the quality of the squads and the intensity of the domestic action, but the drawbacks have obvious parallels too.
In Wales there are still choppy waters to negotiate, such as the present cutbacks at the Blues.
But the bottom line is that players will always fancy something different and the Welsh game and its powerbrokers should remain open to a situation like Dan Biggar’s, where an experienced player wants to try his hand at a place like Northampton.
The important element moving forward is that the gap in appeal between staying and going continues to narrow as it evidently has done in the last two years or so.
Come to think of, maybe the days of exodus really are over..