A decade has come and gone since Max Guazzini hired a troupe of showgirls from the Folies Berger and transformed staid old Stade Francais into a rugby production of Cecil B DeMille's The Greatest Show On Earth.
Like every other club, the then newly-formed Union of Bordeaux Begles followed the phenomenon from afar in jaw-dropping disbelief but without the wherewithal to do anything about it. One major deficiency left them with no option but to move to the beat of a slower drum.
They didn’t have a crowd. So few attended the old the ground in the suburbs that 3,000 was considered a number to shout about. Despite the relative success of achieving promotion to the Top 14, there seemed nothing to suggest that Guazzini’s Pied Piper effect could be replicated on the banks of the Girondin.
Laurent Marti was working on it. It would take time to find a crowd worthy of such a beautiful place and the newly installed president set about finding one based on criteria which had nothing to do with the Folies Berger or the local equivalent.
Marti set himself three goals – creating a winning environment, finding a proper stadium, and filling it with affordable prices. The squad kept improving, the grand old Stade Chaban-Delmas matched their vaulting ambition and the club offer a 16-match season ticket for €79.
Denne historien er fra May 10, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra May 10, 2020-utgaven av The Rugby Paper.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Unbeaten Lymm put the Tykes on a leash
LYMM maintained their unbeaten start to the campaign, taking the major scalp of Leeds Tykes and ending the visitors' unblemished start.
Dramatic late win boosts leaders
A LAST-minute converted try saw Tonbridge Juddians snatch victory from the jaws of defeat at Barnes.
England need to be more consistent
I WAS at last week's game against the All Blacks and as much as I enjoyed my first visit to the stadium since the Six Nations, I couldn't help noticing a different attitude of those in control of the stadium's notification system which puts out messages to the crowd.
Cuthbert: Wales have to deliver
ALEX Cuthbert says the pressure on Wales is huge ahead of their opening Autumn Nations Series game against Fiji today.
Anyanwu heads the list of star attractions
TOP 14 transfer speculation is always thoroughly entertaining, and this season has so far been no exception.
Goldthorp can challenge Kildunne for No.15 spot
LOUGHBOROUGH Lightning head coach Nathan Smith is backing Fran Goldthorp to compete with Ellie Kildunne, right, for England's No.15 jersey.
Four-try David calls the shots for Bears
MILLIE David helped Bristol blow Leicester away after scoring four of their 10 tries at Welford Road.
Scott-Young keen to follow his father
TYPICAL of most Australians, Scott-Young Angus has fairly sunny disposition and the loose forward is confident that Saints can soon start to turn things around on the road.
When value for money is not part of the deal
ENGLAND'S bench strategy against New Zealand - goodbye \"bomb squad\", hello \"squib squad\"-has been investigated, psychoanalysed, convicted on all charges and mercilessly sentenced by the entire rugby world and its maiden aunt, so there is no earthly point in returning to the scene of the crime.
'I want to prove my worth to Bath'
OUT-OF-FAVOUR winger RuBath aridh McConnochie is hoping to use the Premiership Cup to lay down a challenge to Johann van Graan and make his selection claims impossible to ignore.
