Filthy Lucre

As with many endeavours, the glory of sport is often spoilt by money.

The extraordinary spectacle of Mourad Boudjellal, the multimillionaire owner of French rugby club Toulon, insulting star recruit and former All Blacks wing Julian Savea via the media can be summarised a number of ways, ranging from “he who pays the piper calls the tune” to “buyer beware”.

Both parties should have known what they were letting themselves in for. Boudjellal has a track record of high-handed behaviour and verbal abuse, including his portrayal of Jerry Collins, who played for Toulon in 2008/9, as a wild drunk who was fortunate not to be behind bars.

By his own admission, Boudjellal’s decision to do a two-year deal with Savea, reportedly worth more than $3 million, was based on the Wellingtonian’s explosive performance against France in a 2015 World Cup quarterfinal. As rugby scribes and fans here could have predicted, subsequent sightings of that Julian Savea have been rare, fleeting and unverified.

Having decided he’d made a bad investment, Boudjellal apparently intends to make Savea’s life in Toulon as unpleasant as he can – which is very unpleasant – in the hope the player simply leaves the club, thereby voiding his contract. Savea, presumably, will put up with the humiliation to ensure his contract is honoured.