Owen Slot in The Times :
No one on this side of the Atlantic seems to understand how a nation could possibly vote in a second term for a power-hungry, autocratic president who has been caught in the investigative crosshairs of his own country’s lawmen. And thus we turn to French rugby to see how it can be done.
They say in French rugby that Bernard Laporte is the kind of presidential candidate to whom his supporters would never admit that they had given their vote. Laporte may have just emerged the previous week from police custody having faced questions about certain financial arrangements, but never mind, in these Covid times when income has ceased and mere survival is a vote-winner, it helps to pledge to share the profits of the next World Cup with the amateur clubs, who hold the vote, and who saw to it that he edged it by a split of 51-49.
In this French federation (FFR) presidential election, the French professional clubs did not get a vote at all. They were hoping, at the very least, that Laporte’s acceptance speech would come with a peace-among-Frenchmen message. In fact they got almost the opposite.
Though the investigation into Laporte is still continuing, if Laporte does indeed go to court, it is now more likely to be in his old/new position as president of the FFR which is in a legal scrap with the clubs over who gets the players on October 24. The international calendar suggests that France will play Wales on that date. No they won’t, say the clubs, because the players are playing for us.
And therein lies one of the many fissures opening around the world game.
Three and a half months ago, Bill Sweeney, the RFU chief executive, declared that Covid-19 had presented world rugby with another “1995 moment”, suggesting that by being forced to work together, the rugby world would take bright strides forward. We desperately need for glass-half-full Sweeney to be right — too often the game’s fight for survival remains a civil war.
In South Africa, the Cheetahs are threatening legal action against SA Rugby for being dismissed from the Guinness Pro14. Yet SA Rugby only removed the Cheetahs to replace them with the Stormers, Bulls, Lions and Sharks, because its “partners” in the southern hemisphere had made it clear that they were no longer welcome in Super Rugby.
In Super Rugby, meanwhile, the shots are being called by New Zealand Rugby (NZR). It wants the competition to be tighter, but it has taken that priority so far that they have again squeezed out the Pacific Islands. This decision went down so well in New Zealand that even the NZR’s own players have turned on them.
At the same time, the word from Hamish McLennan, the chairman of Rugby Australia, is that trans-Tasman relations are at their “lowest ebb”. Did it ever feel more that everyone was out for themselves rather than embracing the spirit of 1995 and working together?
Every decision, of course, has consequences. Argentina are no longer invited to the Super Rugby party but, unlike the South African franchises, the Jaguares, have nowhere else to turn. Are we all looking away while Argentine professional rugby just dies?
South Africa’s is a curious solution. They are now in a northern hemisphere club competition and a southern hemisphere international one. This means that the players have been signed up to non-stop 12-month seasons. Thanks for that.
Having their clubs in a new Pro16 tournament does sound a blast. Discussions will commence about inviting them into Europe. That may sound strange but the Challenge Cup has, for years, been sending teams to play opposition in Siberia. What part of Europe is that in?
And what will four heavyweight South African teams do for the Celtic game? They will finally make for decent opposition for Leinster but will the Welsh or the Scots ever be competitive or qualify for Europe again?
These were questions considered by Gordon D’Arcy, the former Ireland centre, in The Irish Times last week. “Only the strongest will survive,” he wrote. “Right now, that does not look like any of the Welsh teams. I envisage this setting Scottish rugby back a decade. Here we are, at the precipice. Everyone must jump off the cliff together.”
The happy news, of course, is that Laporte may be there to catch them. He has, thus far, looked after himself and promised to look after the amateur game in France. If it works for him, he will catch you too. Yet he is, of course, also vice-president of World Rugby and by definition, obliged to keep the whole world game on its feet. The alternative view is that he is only vice-president of World Rugby because his next step is president. At this rate, he will inherit a world game that is fractured.
The conclusion to all this, however, cannot be quite as bleak as D’Arcy would have it. The rugby cliché has to apply here: that we are stronger as a team. Solo missions tend to end in disaster. Yet, in the current fight for survival, too many have gone solo.
My team of the season
The regular season of the Gallagher Premiership was supposed to end two days ago. Sale Sharks have given us a short extension, but this campaign has been going on long enough, so here is my team of the season anyway.
15 Charles Piutau (Bristol) Consistently brilliant. Top of the charts for most metres gained.
14 Luke Morahan (Bristol) Doesn’t get headlines like Semi Radradra and Piutau, but he is so sharp and error free, has nine tries to his name.
13 Malakai Fekitoa (Wasps) A key man during Wasps extraordinary rise from the depths of the table. Ollie Lawrence (Worcester) was also classy, far smarter than a mere carrier, and is developing a good kicking game.
12 Sam James (Sale) Consistent, versatile and under-rated. For the first third of the season, Rory Hutchinson (Northampton) stood out but he could not rise above his team’s struggles thereafter.
11 Tom O’Flaherty (Exeter) Incredible, light dancing feet and used more and more by Exeter.
10 Joe Simmonds (Exeter) Has grown in class and authority throughout the year. Must be close to an England call-up, surely. Jacob Umaga (Wasps) has also come on considerably since the restart.
9 Dan Robson (Wasps) For the last few years, the best No 9s have been South Africans. Now, Robson and Ben Spencer (Bath) have been a class apart.
1 Beno Obano (Bath) A modern all-court prop; brilliant from start to finish.
2 Harry Thacker (Bristol) Don’t you just love watching this guy? A mention too for Tom Dunn (Bath), fourth in the Premiership for most tackles made.
3 Harry Williams (Exeter) It will be forever one of Eddie Jones’s biggest errors to leave him behind for the World Cup. Will Stuart (Bath) is also clearly a growing force.
4 Jonny Hill (Exeter) Unusual to see a lock forward as one of the league’s top try-scorers.
5 Maro Itoje (Saracens) Only played nine games, but his impact is extraordinary and the standard he drives relentlessly elite.
6 Jake Polledri (Gloucester) Such a shame they are not called the British, Irish and Italian Lions. Ben Earl (Saracens/Bristol) also had an immense season.
7 Jack Willis (Wasps) Ranks top for turnovers. By a very considerable distance.
8 Alex Dombrandt (Harlequins) Steadily growing in confidence and authority. Good speed, hands and game awareness. Sam Simmonds (Exeter) has also been outstanding.
Topic: If unions do not pull together then they will die alone (Read 1251 times)
Always a Wasp