Emerging Belgium – the perfect location for Saracens’ next adventure

Following a superb 45-0 away victory over Edinburgh at Murrayfield, next Saturday Saracens are scheduled to play their first home Heineken Cup tie of the season in Brussels, against Parisian giants Racing Metro. Three years ago, Stade Francais and Ulster were due to play a European Cup group match at Belgium’s same national stadium, Stade Roi Baudouin, but after a heavy night’s snowfall it was postponed hours before kick-off and played the next day back in Paris. But an autumn fixture poses no such concerns and both Saracens and rugby in Belgium stand to benefit from their joint venture.

Why in Brussels? Of any developing rugby nation, Belgium logistically provides the best location for officials and supporters to travel from London or Paris. But staging a rugby match in a small rugby power is potentially risky and for the event to be a success it requires significant local support to help with promotion, ticket sales and other marketing initiatives.

In Belgium’s case this has not been too difficult. The mayor of Brussels, Freddy Thielemans, is a huge rugby fan (he used to play for the oldest expat Belgium club side, the Brussels Barbarians, and played for the national side), and has provided unreserved support, weighing in heavily to publicise the fixture. But Belgium has many rugby enthusiasts and the sport is growing each year in the capital of Europe. 

In the last fifteen years the number of registered players in junior, adult and both male and female rugby has more than doubled to well over 10,000. The men’s national side are currently ranked 23rd in the current IRB World Rankings (remember the Rugby World Cup is contested between 20 teams) and in 2013 they will compete in the Euro Nations Cup for the first time, widely recognised as the Six Nations ‘B’ tournament, against teams that have all competed at Rugby World Cups - Russia, Spain, Romania and Georgia.

This will not be the first time that famous rugby teams have played rugby at Belgium’s national stadium. In 2007, Argentina based themselves near Brussels for a week before their successful Rugby World Cup campaign. Their preparations finished with a 36-8 victory against a spirited Belgium Select XV, which included a few aging ex France internationals (such as Yann Delaigue and Emile Ntamack's brother, Francis) as well as current French international prop Vincent Debaty (who was born in Belgium). Many of the remaining Belgian side were players based in France’s second, third and fourth tiers but the majority played for clubs in the top Belgian league.  

A year later a touring Barbarians side, which included World Cup winners Ian Balshaw and Stephen Larkham and former Lions captain Gareth Thomas, faced an inexperienced Belgium line up and ran riot in an 84-10 victory. Clearly the free flowing and risk taking nature of Barbarians rugby is not the ideal test for rugby players from emerging nations but few would argue against other developing rugby nations organising a similar fixture, against one of Rugby’s oldest and well known brands, in the future to boost the sport’s profile.

Saracens have worked hard in and around the Brussels area to market the game and have run several coaching camps for local Belgian clubs and schoolchildren. At the beginning of October, their community coach Lewis Sones and star flanker Jacques Burger, the Namibian captain at the 2011 Rugby World Cup (a country who are only one place above Belgium in the latest World Rankings), headed over to Brussels for the most recent of these clinics.

In September, England winger Chris Ashton and the South African 2007 Rugby World Cup winning captain John Smit were chosen by the club to appear at a press conference in Brussels promoting the game, which was attended by many journalists from the UK, France and Belgium.

A source from the Belgium Rugby Board is hoping for a crowd in the region of 30,000 supporters (capacity is 50,000) - a realistic target as this is the same number of tickets that were sold for the Stade Francais v Ulster clash. 10,000 tickets had already been snapped up at the end of September and the game will appear live on Sky Sports (in the UK and Eire) and France 2 (in France and Belgium).

The match is perhaps risky for Saracens as they are desperate for Heineken Cup success but they are giving up home advantage against Racing, who fittingly have a Belgium international (Jens Torfs) in their squad this season. But their commercial initiatives off the field are unrivalled in the Aviva Premiership and they stand to increase their already diverse supporter base in another market. Their Belgian adventure is a risk well worth taking.

 Did you know?

 - The current President of the International Olympic Committee, Jacques Rogge, is a former Belgian rugby international.

@AMP_Rugby

Turning Boudjellal’s millions into silverware

It has been six years since comic strip millionaire Mourad Boudjellal bought RC Toulonnais, his hometown club, and began a quest for French and European club rugby domination. Money aside, few in their wildest dreams could have imagined the wealth of global talent that he has persuaded to head to the south of France since 2006. Even less would have predicted the successive trophy less seasons that followed. This season that could all change.

Let’s put his acquisition into some context. The original comparison in football is Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich’s acquisition of Chelsea shortly after the 2002/03 Premier League season, in which the club finished 3^rd and qualified for the following season’s Champions League. The team have gone on to win every major trophy since, at least once. In contrast, Boudjellal took over a struggling Toulon side that were in the depths of the Pro D2, French rugby’s second tier league, and therefore a minimum of two years away from an appearance in the Heineken Cup.

Undeterred, Boudjellal set a high transfer standard by signing retired All Blacks captain Tana Umaga, as his first galáctico. Regrettably the ex-Hurricane only managed to play a handful of matches, although the team won most of these and Umaga also coached the side with some success. Further billboard signings arrived, but only on short term deals. Four were certainly worth it at the time as, in 2008, Anton Oliver, Andrew Mehrtens, Victor Matfield and George Gregan helped Toulon to the Pro D2 title, and promotion back to French rugby's elite. But while boosting the profile of the French outfit, none of these players stayed on the Mediterranean coast long enough to create the dynasty Boudjellal so desperately craved.

Sonny Bill Williams also arrived on a huge pay packet, but it took a while for the former rugby league star to learn union’s tackling technique, complex running lines and to apply his outrageous offloading ability in this more congested form of rugby. And just when he began to show glimpses of his excellent NRL form, he left for New Zealand, in search of an All Black’s jersey.

More high profile international signings have arrived in the last three years, but these have been characters that recent coaches Phillipe Saint- Andre and now Bernard Laporte, the current and former coaches of the French national side respectively, have been able to build their team around, and for successive campaigns. A revitalised Jonny Wilkinson arrived in 2009 and at the end of his first season with the club he was named the best fly half in the Top 14 by French magazine Midi Olympique. Current captain Joe van Niekerk and fellow back rower Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe have also led from the front imperiously and been constant figures in the Toulon starting line-up.

Their efforts have contributed to Toulon reaching the Amlin Challenge Cup final on two occasions, in 2010 and 2012, only to fall short at the final hurdle. Toulon’s biggest disappointment, but also most impressive feat in the professional era, came at the end of last season when Laporte’s men lost in the Top 14 final to Toulouse, the team Boudjellal is determined to topple as the dominant force in French rugby.

This year Toulon has an even more settled and impressive squad, with depth in most positions. At lock they have former internationals Bakkies Botha, Simon Shaw and Nick Kennedy, while ex Springbok Danie Rossouw joins the club early next year. Freddie Michalak provides impressive cover for Wilkinson and Chris Masoe, another recent signing with Top 14 experience, can play all three back row positions. At loose head prop they have Andrew Sheridan and Gethin Jenkins who, in 2009, were the two British Lions chosen in that position for the last tour to South Africa. Every week hugely talented, international rugby players sit on the bench for the Pilou-Pilou.

Players are constantly linked with Toulon - millionaire owners tend to attract such rumours, but fewer players are arriving on short term contracts and more dependable figures than Oliver, Gregan, Williams, Matfield and Umaga, are being targeted. This is personified by Steffon Armitage, the former London Irish star, who only has a few England caps to his name yet was voted Midi Olympique Top 14 player of the season award in his first year as a Toulon player.

Chelsea would not have achieved success in the Abramovich years by buying the best aging Brazilian or Spanish internationals, on short term contracts, starting in the Championship and built on foundations of second tier players. Toulon might just be worth a flutter on winning the Top 14 or Heineken Cup (or even the double). It would certainly be nice if we mortal rugby folk could also gain from Boudjellal’s millions!

And finally.....

At the peak of their powers and out of any player that has been at Toulon in the Boudjellal years, who would make your starting XV? My choice is below (apologies France!):

Toulon’s Galácticos

Coach: Bernard Laporte

1) Gethin Jenkins

2) Anton Oliver

3) Carl Hayman

4) Simon Shaw

5) Victor Matfield

6) Jerry Collins

7) George Smith

8) Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe

9) George Gregan

10) Jonny Wilkinson

11) Luke Rooney

12) Sonny Bill Williams

13) Matt Giteau

14) Tana Umaga (captain, albeit out of position)

15) Gavin Henson (let the debate begin!)

 Subs:

Sebastien Bruno

Andrew Sheridan

Bakkies Botha

Joe Van Niekerk

Mathieu Bastareaud

Andrew Mehrtens

Pierre Mignoni

Disagree? Select yours in the comments section below.

Follow me on Twitter: @AMP_Rugby 

Argentina can be proud but they are desperate for a first win in the Rugby Championship

The inaugural Rugby Championship ends this weekend and the mighty All Blacks have continued their World Cup winning form – they have already won the tournament and stand on the verge of a unique clean sweep of victories. But it is the introduction of Argentina, finally invited to play in a competition organised by SANZAR, which has really reinvigorated interest in the Southern Hemisphere’s flagship international competition. A home 16-16 draw against South Africa, and strong (albeit losing) away performances in New Zealand and Australia have justified their place at rugby’s top table. The Argentinians have every chance of winning their final match at home, against a luckless Australian side.

That said, earlier in the summer the signs looked ominous for Los Pumas. The big three Southern Hemisphere sides had won eight out of their ten summer international matches against British and Irish opponents, with only Scotland gaining a rather unexpected midweek win over Australia and England salvaging a final test draw against South Africa. After winning their first summer test in June, Argentina found themselves victim of a huge backlash from France, and they went into their first Rugby Championship match on the back of a 49-10 home drubbing.

Their build-up was also hit by an expected decision from talismanic fly-half Felipe Contepomi. One of the strongest proponents for Argentina to be accepted into an annual top tier rugby competition, Contepomi opted to make himself unavailable for selection for the first Rugby Championship, so he could concentrate on club matters at Stade Francais (do not be fooled by him appearing on the homepage of SANZAR’s official website). Fortunately another ten, Juan Martin Hernandez, also a member of Argentina’s superb third placed 2007 Rugby World Cup squad, was fit to return after three years in the international wilderness, and it has been a real bonus to see the team’s most famous rugby player back playing at the highest level. In the five Rugby Championship matches Argentina have played so far, other backs have demonstrated moments of South American magic; Martin Landajo’s opening score at home against New Zealand and the elusive running of Lucas González Amorosino. But their side’s resolve and strength has come from their forward pack and from one aspect of their physical approach in particular.

As was the case in 2007, rugby fans worldwide have marvelled at the consistency of the collective Argentine rucking. The way their players link arms and together trample over, not on, bodies on the floor, easily pushing opponents off the ball, looks so fluent that many rucks appear unopposed. School masters and youth team coaches from Durban to Edinburgh should use their technique as an example to all young aspiring rugby players. While Argentina have changed coach and many players from the class of 2007 have retired, it is evident that rucking, and a strong set piece, still form the bedrock of Argentinian rugby. Three veterans, one from each row of the scrum, are experts in this area of their country’s rugby philosophy and deserve to end the campaign with a win in Rosario on Saturday evening.

The Pumas have been led brilliantly by Toulon’s Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe. He has carried well, tackled his socks off and been strong at the breakdown. He has certainly not looked out of place against the mighty McCaw, Read and Alberts, and he will undoubtedly make many pundits’ team of the tournament. His longstanding teammates and fellow tradesmen playing their club rugby in France, Patricio Albacete and Rodrigo Roncero have worked just as tirelessly, providing two of the Pumas’ abiding memories of the tournament. In the home draw against South Africa, Albacete made a crucial turnover close to his own try line, under enormous pressure from the Springbok forwards, which proved a telling contribution in securing Argentina’s first points in the Rugby Championship. It was Roncero’s trademark burrowing try, in their away tie in New Zealand, which meant they went into the half time break only 6-5 down against the current World Champions. No mean feat – not many teams would complain at being one point down at half time during a test match in Wellington.

Are Argentina likely to beat Australia? They should be favourites on the back of the Wallabies’ humiliating defeat to South Africa at Loftus Versfeld last weekend. But the Pumas also put in their weakest performance of the tournament and they were destroyed by Savea, Jane and co in a 54-15 home loss to the All Blacks. The stats portray a painful night at the office. Even Lobbe, Albacete and Roncero only made a mere 13 successful tackles between them, compared to the 38 at home against South Africa.

But a nasty concussion to Adam Ashley Cooper and punctured lung to Berrick Barnes have depleted an already injury ravaged Australian squad and this hands the advantage back to the South American outfit. They join James Horwill, David Pocock, Will Genia, James O’Connor, Drew Mitchell and Quade Cooper on the side-lines and the pressure is very much on the remaining experienced members of Robbie Deans’ team. Ioane, Beale, Samo and, fourth choice, captain Sharpe will need to be at their inspirational best if the obliterated Australians are to salvage some pride in a disappointing defence of their 2011 Southern Hemisphere crown (and also possibly prevent Robbie Deans from losing his job).

Albacete, Lobbe, and Roncero, possibly playing in his last test match, will be quietly confident of victory when they run out together on Saturday and do not be surprised if the magic of Hernandez proves the difference in Rosario, which is, incidentally, the birthplace of fellow mavericks Che Guevara and Lionel Messi.

Follow me on Twitter: @AMP_Rugby