Even in a normal year, this week would probably count as reasonably busy in French offseason rugby terms. Preseason – which normally begins for most clubs in early July – is now well underway, as administrators, players, coaches and fans look to an expected restart on September 4.
On the training pitch, a couple of notable injuries have already been reported. Clermont are on the lookout for a back-rower on a short-term deal, as rampaging Peceli Yato will miss a good chunk of the season after undergoing knee surgery; while Toulouse’s Arthur Bonneval – son of Erik – is out for six months with a ruptured Achilles.
But most of the news, still, is off the pitch.
Next Tuesday, a meeting of Top 14 and Pro D2 presidents is set to take place in Toulouse. Top of the agenda: lowering the salary cap, which is currently set at €11.3m. The options: a multi-year process to cut it to €10m; or a deeper cut and a marquee player system, similar to the English Premiership.
Cutting French rugby’s salary cap has been tried before. In December 2018, a similar bid to introduce a marquee player system failed at the final hurdle, with the clubs eventually deciding no change was better than any change.
This time, things may be a little different. According to L’Equipe, the most vociferous presidents remain against the marquee player idea, which runs contrary to the whole idea of cutting the wage bill.
Esta historia es de la edición July 05, 2020 de The Rugby Paper.
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