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 3rd 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!)
Sebastien Bruno
Andrew Sheridan
Bakkies Botha
Joe Van Niekerk
Mathieu Bastareaud
Andrew Mehrtens
Pierre Mignoni
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