France’s Top 14, with its seemingly bottomless resources, has always attracted the finest cuts of world rugby talent but the arrival of Owen Farrell, the epitome of English ‘rosbif’, at Racing 92 comes across as more substantial than most.
This is not mere window dressing to a season which gets underway this weekend, for Farrell has it within him to turn Racing, perennial glamour boys of the Top 14, into genuine contenders.
The 32-year-old fly-half won 112 caps for England and seven for the British and Irish Lions and enjoyed a hugely impressive career with Saracens, but he insists he is no miracle worker.
“It’s not just about me, it’s about everybody,” he said this week ahead of his debut at Castres.
“I am here to fit in to what we are doing. I am here to bring a bit of what I do well into what the club has already been doing.
“It’s not about one person, it never is.”
Teammate Gael Fickou needs no convincing of Farrell’s worth having come up against him plenty in international rugby, often playing under Stuart Lancaster, his new coach at Racing.
“He is a great player who has already done great things with England, he will bring a great deal to the team,” he said.
There is still uncertainty about the future of Springbok captain Siya Kolisi but with Farrell at the helm, Racing’s star-studded side may be the likeliest to unseat Toulouse, the undisputed masters of French rugby.
The champions will be without Olympic 7s gold medallist Antoine Dupont until the start of October but it is difficult to see any club getting close enough to tweak their tail.
Their start on Sunday is an intriguing one as they travel to newly-promoted Vannes, the first ever team from Brittany, not renowned as a rugby region, to play in the Top 14.
Bordeaux-Begles had a vintage season to reach the final in Marseille in June, only for the fine wine to turn to vinegar — they were eviscerated by Toulouse 59-3 in a stunning display of rugby.
That result has not hurt their support — Bordeaux have already sold over 17,000 season tickets.
Up the coast, La Rochelle have also sold 14,000 — for a stadium that holds 16,700 — suggesting confidence in Ronan O’Gara’s team remains high in spite of an iffy season that resulted in defeat in the last eight of the Champions Cup and the semi-finals of the Top 14.
Farrell, of course, is not the only high profile Englishman to have followed the well-travelled path across the Channel.
Recent England internationals Kyle Sinckler, Lewis Ludlam (both at Toulon), the Vunipola brothers (Mako at Vannes with Billy at Montpellier) and Manu Tuilagi (Bayonne) head the list which now shows 24 English players in the Top 14.
Tuilagi’s presence, in spite of a hand injury which is delaying his season, already seems to be rubbing off on his teammates in the Basque Country.
“I know the English prefer the rain and grey skies but I think Manu and his family are settling into life in the Basque Country,” full-back Cheikh Tiberghien told AFP.
“He’s a great player and he’s a very good bloke.
“He talks a lot with the young players, he’s always got some advice. He knows his rugby and wants to help us all improve.”
Tuilagi will get some family time too as his nephew Pasolo is a fixture with Catalan side Perpignan, although that hand injury means they won’t get the chance to go mano-a-Manu until later in the season.
Not that the English are the only foreigners on show in the Top 14.
At the latest count, this season 27 nations will be represented including the likes of Algeria, Belgium, Germany and Moldova.
At the same time the league averages more than 17 home-grown players per team of a matchday 23, making sure the French national team has a constant supply of talent.
Most of the talk and the headlines will be focused on Toulouse, Racing, Bordeaux, La Rochelle, Toulon and Stade Francais but any team can beat any other, especially at home.
That means there is every prospect of seeing a less glamourous club like Castres, Bayonne, Pau or Lyon in the final mix when winter gives way to spring and the play-offs, with the final returning post-Olympics to the capital and the Stade de France.
Round 1 (all times GMT)
Saturday (1430 unless stated):
Bayonne v Perpignan (1230), Clermont v Pau, Castres v Racing 92, Montpellier v Lyon, Bordeaux-Begles v Stade Francais (1905)
Sunday
La Rochelle v Toulon (1500), Vannes v Toulouse (1905)
AFP
AFP
AFP
