The Battle of Bayonne - The dirtiest game I've ever played - Neil Best

The backline and selections in the backline seems a mess.

And, by the way, can you tell me who are also those that ever transformed a single French club into their cash cow?

It’s probably an old cliché comming from, some time ago in early pro time, the revival of both Ile-de-France clubs by private investors like J. Lorenzetti at Racing 92, or the rise of Toulon’s “Gallacticos” under Mourad Boudjellal, ending with the very noisy late Altrad investments into Montpellier-Hérault. Even if a few major titles were collected by those clubs, and that it would indeniably have helped to rise the fame of the whole Top 14, the global return on private investments simply didn’t ever pay back what they put in.

Another look into the last decade will show you that French clubs are not millionaires pet-projects either. From this season top 6, amongst Stade Toulousain (1st), Union Bordeaux-Bègles (2nd), Rugby Club Toulonnais (3rd), l’Aviron Bayonnais (4th), Clermont-Auvergne (5th) and Castres Olympique (6th), only the last two are backed by historical corporate entities: Michelin (tires) for Clermont and Laboratoires Pierre Fabre (pharma) for Castres.

That’s long term sponsorship from those city main industries and, with Stade Toulousain since 1907, Clermont and Castres (one of the lowest budget in Top 14), are also the oldest members of the French rugby club elite. This certainly prove some healthy stability in their management. They are in fact as far away from marketing “products” that they are from Paris.

But in Top 14, as reflected by their national team selection, club power is certainly measured by their success. The most successful of them all, Stade Toulousain, reached a 2023-2024 budget comparable with the lower end of a French elite football club (those not named PSG) and half of it’s income (€30 millions) was comming from merchandising sales only. Last monday, UBB sold out, in a matter of few hours, its 20K season ticket (out of their 32K seats stadium) and La Rochelle’s stadium was also sold out faster than I can type it for every single game of last season; and so on.

Now, take only those three clubs providing 90% of the national team and paying 100% of their wages. Tell them that the share of the limited game time allowed to their top players, will rise from 25% to 40% for the national team, without any further compensation for the club than allowing them to spend more in recruitment (of probably lesser quality substitutes).

See how it goes now with their board and Presidents, even if probably all of them are turning real profits.

Wait for the third test before accusing him of being misleading.

Of the HEALTHY players in the 33 squad, only Brodie McAlister, George Bower, Noah Hotham, ALB and Ruben Love have yet to be selected.

Luke Jacobson and Tyrel Lomax are still injured. No need to risk either veteran as you know what you get with both of them.

All of them could easily play in test 3 off the bench.

No other AB coach has ever selected a squad with 5 rookies with almost no experience.

Hardly conservative or boring.

Even when Argentina scored their second try, I thought that England would score again and extend their lead.

Hopefully they get another result on Saturday.

Are you a rugby fan in disguise?

Marshall is right though. The SH giants always send their best available squads up North for the November series just weeks after RC finishes. They’re coming off the back of test rugby too, not club rugby.

These 3 test tours are all but disappearing now too. Such a missed chance.

I thought Va’ai did a lot of things well but will need to increase his number of involvements (more ruck cleanouts, carries, and dominant tackles). But that is to be expected his first match at 6 this season.

And if he cannot play 6 then he will be the bench lock for the rest of this RWC cycle because as long as Scott Barrett and Fabian Holland are both healthy, they are your second row at the World Cup.

Now we have a combo made up of the dreadfully out of form chap on the left. And an ageing bloke who told us he was no longer a winger, in the unfamiliar 14 jersey.

Why on earth they didn’t choose at least one form winger in the squad is perplexing. This continued obsession with utilities will end up with the coaches having egg on their face at some point.

The ABs were tired and the French were rusty in November. It goes in cycles.