Quite the saddest tale to come out of France last year was the fate of the Elite 1 club Bayonne (in full ‘Association Sportive Bayonnaise Rugby’).
The players – known in Basque as ‘les Neskak’ – became so upset by the way they were being treated by the club’s authorities that in November they took the extreme step of refusing to play their next Cup match against Stade Toulousain.
By then their points record was 16 for, 122 against. As few as 20 players were attending trainings. There were many injuries. Player after player was departing, dissatisfied with the support provided. They had been at elite level for four years but the lack of investment and facilities was endangering the players, they claimed. They had advised the club about the situation several times. Their calls had been ignored.
They sent them an open letter announcing their ‘strike’.
The club authorities held an emergency meeting to decide how to respond. They adopted the even more extreme position of closing down their women’s section completely. They defended their position and derided the complaints as ‘des caprices de princesses’ (whims of princesses). Oh là, là.
France Rugby took note of the action with deep regret and erased the team’s record from the current championship.
The players were appalled. They saw their action merely as an alarm call. The management responded by complaining of a lack of loyalty. Only one member had abstained; the rest agreed on the closure.
Whither shall I wander?
The most unlikely departure came when Pauline Bourdon, the club’s star player, packed her bags. Her choice of new club was the same as Céline Ferer’s, Stade Toulousain. They hold a position similar to Quins in England, the club always battling to topple the leaders of the pack (Montpellier = Saracens).
Unlikely, because Toulouse already had a half-decent scrum-half on their books, Laure Sansus! Both players have been nominees as World Player of the Year.
The French management gets round the problem of having two quite outstanding No 9s in competition by dividing their on-pitch time more or less 50-50. That juggling act is now repeated at club level. In practice it means that the two great players are likely to be in action for a maximum of 50% of the season. Very French.
A Choice of Venues
Meanwhile, over in the world of the Six Nations, France Rugby was intent on ending the run of losses to England (the wins against the Black Ferns had not yet taken place).
One tactic they could repeat was to place the venue as far from English shores as possible. Last time it was Pau, deep in the Midi. For 2022 it was to be …Bayonne, at the Stade Jean Dauger close to the Spanish border! This was two months before the outbreak of rugby hostilities in the proud Basque town.
So the two sets of authorities, club and country, are faced with the profound embarrassment of holding the greatest contest in European rugby at what you might call the ground least suited to the occasion.
I suspect there may yet be second thoughts about that venue.
