A host of English stars have given up on international rugby to cross the Channel\u00a0<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\nHolding court in his luxurious, open-plan Parisian office, the man running the best domestic competition in world rugby has a blunt message for his struggling English counterparts.<\/p>\n
\u2018What has been corrosive within the English game is that the economical product was prioritised over the sport,\u2019 says Rene Bouscatel, the president of France\u2019s TOP14.<\/p>\n
\u2018In France, we prioritised the sport first, building our product and competition. From the success of that, we generated an economical benefit. Not the other way round.<\/p>\n
\u2018The English are kings of marketing! But if you want to sell, it needs a good product. We have built a product and it\u2019s our competition. We\u2019ve had two successive European champions. Our league is very attractive.\u2019<\/p>\n
It certainly is. Rugby is positively thriving in France. Fabien Galthie\u2019s national side might have disappointingly exited their home World Cup at the quarter-final stage, but the sporting landscape in the country is vibrant.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/16\/78561137-0-image-a-1_1701707873183.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
French TOP14 side La Rochelle (above) have won the last two Champions Cup titles<\/p>\n
The TOP14 is a hugely appealing competition for players both from a competitive and monetary perspective. So good is it that it has already attracted a host of English stars who have given up on international rugby to cross the Channel.<\/p>\n
National head coach Steve Borthwick has seen Jack Willis, Jack Nowell, Sam Simmonds, Henry Arundell, David Ribbans and Joe Marchant all move to the TOP14. Kyle Sinckler and Lewis Ludlam are set to follow them.<\/p>\n
Meanwhile, in England, the Premiership lost three teams to financial oblivion last season in Worcester, Wasps and London Irish. The contrast is huge. The chasm is gaping and ever widening.<\/p>\n
\u2018The English clubs have experienced difficulties with quite a lot of players coming to France,\u2019 Bouscatel adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s good news for the clubs that are signing them but I\u2019m not sure it\u2019s good news for rugby in general. We have both experienced highs and lows.<\/p>\n
\u2018England got ahead of us at the dawn of professionalism but now they\u2019re facing challenges. It\u2019s damaging to take advantage of these difficulties by making lots of English players come to play in France. They bring lots to the clubs, but I don\u2019t think it\u2019s good for English rugby.<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/16\/78561427-0-image-a-4_1701708311924.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
Jack Nowell is among the English stars who have given up on Test rugby to cross the Channel<\/p>\n
\u2018It\u2019s not good for us either. Competition is vital. You need opposition teams who are at a similar level. I take no pleasure in the plight of English clubs.<\/p>\n
\u2018I probably shouldn\u2019t say this, but Bath is a good example. They are supposed to have been building a stadium for the past 25 years. I have been there countless times and they show me the plans every time, but I haven\u2019t seen it. I always have to take my umbrella there as it rains a lot.<\/p>\n
\u2018I mean this in the nicest way possible as I\u2019m a friend of Bruce Craig\u2019s, but they are dreamers there.<\/p>\n
\u2018We will never rejoice in the difficulties of others. Health in sport is precarious. We have experienced lows, but now we are in the highs.<\/p>\n
\u2018With the English clubs it\u2019s a real shame. The English were the only ones to have the same competition as us but perhaps creating a better second tier might have been good.<\/p>\n
\u2018If we lose a club from the TOP14 for financial reasons, there\u2019s one ready to take their place straightaway. We have a great spread of clubs emerging. I love it. There is rugby everywhere.\u2019<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/16\/78561233-0-image-a-3_1701708023790.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
England boss Steve Borthwick has also seen Jack Willis and Joe Marchant move to TOP14<\/p>\n
Strict rules on financial monitoring and the numbers of French-qualified players who must be in a team\u2019s matchday day squad are other reasons for the country\u2019s rugby success.<\/p>\n
France boasts 1,900 professional players in 30 clubs across its top two divisions. The TOP14 is in such rude health that it turned down the offer of private equity investment.<\/p>\n
La Rochelle have won the last two Champions Cup titles and are eyeing a third straight success as European action returns this weekend.<\/p>\n
While the Premiership, the Six Nations and United Rugby Championship have all sold large stakes in their organisations to CVC Capital Partners and New Zealand Rugby has done likewise with Silver Lake, France plough on alone safe in the knowledge they do not need external help.<\/p>\n
\u2018I don\u2019t know investment funds and I\u2019d rather not talk to them. I would be too scared of them getting 27 per cent of the league,\u2019 Bouscatel adds.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018Our stadiums are full and our television audiences are on track to be better than last year. We\u2019re getting seven to eight per cent more revenue from each match than before the World Cup and there has been a 10 per cent rise in television audiences.<\/p>\n
\u2018The World Cup has improved us. The semi-finals of the TOP14 are in Bordeaux next year. In four days, we sold out both matches. For the final, in one morning, we sold 17,000 tickets.\u2019<\/p>\n
![](\"https:\/\/i.dailymail.co.uk\/1s\/2023\/12\/04\/16\/78561175-0-image-a-2_1701708016219.jpg\")
<\/p>\n
France boasts 1,900 professional players in 30 clubs across its top two divisions<\/p>\n
It is no surprise that as the man at the head of a thriving organisation, Bouscatel laughs and smiles throughout the interview. He points out the TOP 14\u2019s salary cap \u2013 how much each team can spend on their playing squad \u2013 is \u20ac10.7million.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u2018How much is the English salary cap?\u2019 Bouscatel asks.<\/p>\n
When he is told the answer is \u00a35m \u2013 set to rise to \u00a36.4m for the 2024-25 season \u2013 the former Toulouse president\u2019s face once again breaks into a broad grin.<\/p>\n
\u2018Yes, a fiver!\u2019 he says, sticking the boot into his Gallic rivals for one final time.<\/p>\n
Source: Read Full Article<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"‘I take no pleasure in plight of English clubs…honest!’: French rugby chief revels in success of his domestic league that’s proving irresistible to England stars \u00a0 French side La Rochelle have won the last two Champions Cup titles\u00a0 France boasts 1,900 professional players in 30 clubs across its top two divisions\u00a0 A host of English stars have given up on international rugby to cross the Channel\u00a0 Holding court in his<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
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