The leading rugby club in the Var region, RC Toulon, made headlines with the arrival of the world star Tana Umaga, who joined a Pro D2 league witnessing the lily of the valley players sitting in a somewhat inglorious ninth place after 7 matches (3 wins and 4 losses).
However, the Toulon squad has every reason to look impressive with players like Jean-Jacques Crinca, Benoit Marfaing, and Yann Delaigue, who support the extraterrestrial freshly arrived from the southern hemisphere. Yet, the magic hasn’t worked yet near the port city. Nevertheless, 10 points already separate the leaders Béziers and Auch, each with only one loss, in this competitive Pro D2 with teams such as Dax, Lyon, La Rochelle, and Tarbes.
It’s undoubtedly to add a new dose of talent that RC Toulon courted Franck Alazet, who ultimately decided to leave the Nice club to try his luck with Mayol. This transfer hasn’t been well received by the Nice management, reviving fraternal rivalries among these titans of rugby from the 80s, which had somewhat subsided following the disappearance of RRC Nice.
A transfer happening at the worst time for a Nice team, which, too, experienced a slow start in the Federale 2 league, where it was one of the favorites. But what really irks the Nice executives is the way the Var club went about acquiring this player. “We were never contacted by RC Toulon, and no compensation entered the club’s coffers.”
It’s a big blow for this new amateur club in Nice, which sees one of its best players, its captain, and especially a homegrown player from the azure rugby school, leaving.
Julien Schramm, one of the RNCAUR’s officials, feels the need to clarify this matter: “In this Friday’s Midi Olympique, an article focuses on Toulon and Franck Alazet. It mentions that his plan to join the physiotherapy school in Nice was on shaky ground. This is false; everything was in place by the club for Franck Alazet to join this school due to his status as a high-level athlete that he obtained from the 2005/2006 season in the Top 14. Franck simply did not follow through, and that’s his responsibility. Clearly, since joining us, he’s constantly thought about possibly returning to Toulon.”
The azure and Var rugby spheres have found a new bone to pick, but amid this southern imbroglio, it seems clear that the status of amateur clubs vis-à-vis the financial power of the big Top 14 and Pro D2 clubs needs to be revised and corrected by the French Rugby Federation. Although busy with organizing the upcoming World Cup, which will take place in France next year, it must not forget that the real strength of rugby is also built through amateur clubs and their rugby schools.
