Stade Francais and Suburban ... are to merge.

[Adder]

Stade Francais and Racing 92 are to merge. Both have recently built new stadiums and both have been fairly successful in the recent past….

Google Translate from Rugbynistere website:

“No, you do not dream: the two last champions of France will only form one next season.
We could have believed in a hoax, but we are not April 1st, so ... You are well seated: Racing 92 and Stade Français Paris will merge! The Team revealed this morning that the two teams "will only form one from next season." The NRL has already agreed. And the clubs reacted via a statement:

Winners of the first two championships in the history of French rugby in 1892 and 1893, Racing 92 and Stade Français Paris also won the Brennus Shield in the last two seasons.

These two flagship clubs of Paris and the Hauts de Seine, beyond the sporting rivalry they have enjoyed, have many other similarities: a strong local and regional anchoring, a historic educational mission, ancestral ties with The Olympic movement or an inextinguishable will to progress in all areas.

It is on the basis of these principles that the two clubs lay the foundations for a merger project by pooling their resources to better cope with the challenges of performance and education.

This association, effective from next season, must give birth to a new club that will preserve the roots of Racing 92 as those of the Stade Français Paris while multiplying the means put at the service of youth and French rugby.

Consolidated by its dual culture, by the fierce determination of its two presidents and its increased audience in a population pool unmatched in France, this new club has a long-term commitment to build a true reference day after day .

The players learned the news this morning. According to our information, Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit would be the coaches of this new team, who would play at the Arena 92 ... and the Jean-Bouin stadium when the latter is not available. Finally, this merger frees up a place in Top 14. The team says: "The LNR is already thinking in the most loyal format to define the identity of the club which will evolve in the first division next season: a pure draft and Or the holding of a play-off between that 13th and the loser of the final accession of Pro D2. "

[francoisfou]

C'est pas possible!
If true, then few saw this coming.
In this day and age, mergers make sense and one top flight club in Paris would make it the biggest (not necessarily the best) in France.

Bayonne, who will surely be relegated to ProD2, and Biarritz (already in ProD2), please take note and put your personal ambitions behind you and think of what's best for Basque rugby.

[Adder]

I believe this is the sign of future changes going on in the Top 14. Top 14 is failing to deliver quality French Players and the lacklustre National team, and extremely limited game play is not doing Rugby any good in France.

A bit crap that this happens after they renovated Jean- Bouin with public money.

[francoisfou]

True. Opportunities for promising young French players to develop have been limited.

Reading between the lines, it appears that this "fusion" is more like a take-over by Racing.

[Adder]

True. Opportunities for promising young French players to develop have been limited.

Reading between the lines, it appears that this "fusion" is more like a take-over by Racing.

The Savarre brothers were desperatly trying to sell the SF which seemed bound for the Pro D2.

What name will the new Team have. "Stade Francilien"? Is this the beginning of the talked about top 10? I Expect there is going to be a dramatic reduction in foreign players in the next 5 years. Polynesian, Romanian and Georgian Rugby might take a bit of a hit.

[francoisfou]

Stade Francilien ain't bad. Île de France maybe?

So who's next in line for a merger? Toulouse, apparently, aren't in the best of financial health.

[Adder]

Stade Francilien ain't bad. Île de France maybe?

So who's next in line for a merger? Toulouse, apparently, aren't in the best of financial health.

Stade Racing? Racing Francais? Stade Francilien sonne le mieux à priori.

Other possible mergers:

Toulouse-Colomiers?
Montpellier- Narbonne - Bezier?
Pau - Tharbes?
Bayonne- Biarritz- Dax?
Bourgoin-Lyon?

[Mellsblue]

How come so many teams are having financial difficulties? I assumed that the new bumper tv deal and salary cap would prevent such issues.

How a city as large and monyed as Paris can't support two rugby clubs is beyond me.

[Adder]

How come so many teams are having financial difficulties? I assumed that the new bumper tv deal and salary cap would prevent such issues.

How a city as large and monyed as Paris can't support two rugby clubs is beyond me.

Paris and it's suburb/// Don't mix us up with the scum from the "Haut de Seine".


A lot of poor performances from the Stade Francais, a new owner who was clueless and who was desperatly trying to sell.
SF have got eaten alive by the Racing.

It could also be the sign of the federation moving to a super 15 Franchise style with big teams representing different regions.

[Mellsblue]

How come so many teams are having financial difficulties? I assumed that the new bumper tv deal and salary cap would prevent such issues.

How a city as large and monyed as Paris can't support two rugby clubs is beyond me.

Paris and it's suburb/// Don't mix us up with the scum from the "Haut de Seine".


A lot of poor performances from the Stade Francais, a new owner who was clueless and who was desperatly trying to sell.
SF have got eaten alive by the Racing.

It could also be the sign of the federation moving to a super 15 Franchise style with big teams representing different regions.

It seems a shame......he says knowing nothing about French domestic rugby. As an outsider it always seemed to me that the clubs, with the exception of a few smaller ones, were on a sound financial footing, albeit with a fair amount of help from some generous benefactors with NZ player pension plans.
Would the mooted franchise system be run/owned by the LNR or FFR.

[rowan]

PARIS (AP) — Stade Francais players are going on strike in protest at a planned merger with Racing 92, their long-standing rivals from Paris.

The merger has proved to be a hugely divisive move, being welcomed by the French league but earning the disapproval of the French Rugby Federation.

Speaking on behalf of his teammates, Stade Francais lock Pascal Pape told reporters on Tuesday that "99 percent" of the squad has agreed with the decision to take action.

"We have decided to go on strike, we find this decision intolerable," said the 36-year-old Pape, a member of the France team that reached the 2011 World Cup final. "It will be a difficult fight, an irritating one for our players. But as the club's most senior player I am standing by this (decision)."

The team's next scheduled match was supposed to be away to Castres on Saturday.

Presidents from both clubs, Thomas Savare (Stade Francais) and Jacky Lorenzetti (Racing), announced their plans on Monday, leaving players shocked.

"I think we've been betrayed, that's the word, by someone we considered up until yesterday to be a part of our family," Pape said, without naming Savare directly. "We thought we mattered to him. This is very hard to take, morally, mentally. We've given so much to this club. So has he, I don't understand it."

In a previous statement, the FFR said it was "shocked" to learn of the proposed merger.

"(The FFR) is also very surprised to hear of the so-called creation of a new club without having been consulted first," the federation said in a statement. "Without having any information to hand, other than that released by the press, it cannot give a ruling on the said project."

FFR president Bernard Laporte said he will summon French league president Paul Goze in the coming days in order to receive "a full explanation."

In a statement called "Stronger Together," the two Paris-based clubs quickly received the backing of Goze.

"It's a historic announcement because it concerns two clubs that have left their mark on French rugby history and won the two first Brennus shields (French titles)," Goze said. "I salute the work done over many years by (club) presidents Thomas Savare and Jacky Lorenzetti. Having heavily invested in their clubs, their wish today is to combine forces in order to take the next step."

Goze said the idea is to build a "strong economic model" — which can be translated as a superclub of the best local talent in the Paris region and the best foreign talent coming into the Top 14, regarded recently as the most lucrative in world rugby.

New Zealand great Dan Carter plays for Racing 92 and the flyhalf also helped the club reach the European Cup final last season, where it lost to English side Saracens.

"In the coming weeks," Goze said, "the LNR will go hand-in-hand with both clubs in the realization of this project."

However, any plans still need to be ratified by French rugby authorities and the FFR has the power to block it.

Racing 92 is the reigning French champion and both clubs play in the Top 14 championship. The clubs have won a combined 20 titles.

Stade Francais center Jonathan Danty, who is preparing to face Wales this Saturday in the Six Nations, said he was surprised when he found out about the intended merger. He said he went to speak with international teammate Henri Chavancy, who plays for Racing 92, to check if it was a hoax.

"I read it on my mobile phone. My first reaction was to go and see Chavancy to ask him if it was a joke," Danty said Tuesday at France's training camp. "After which, we had a meeting between players from both clubs. We went into a room to discuss it. We really thought it was joke, because it's unthinkable for such a thing to happen."

Danty said he was upset because the players were not made aware of the club's plans.

"I'm still trying to come to terms with what's been done behind our backs.

We've always been told we're the future of the club," Danty said. "We've often heard that if we leave, the club's finished, and now we realize that everything's been done behind our backs. It's pretty hard to swallow."

[Mellsblue]

Or not:

Racing 92 and Stade Francais merger off
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39321038

[Digby]

Crickey, Hammson stayed strong on his change to NIC longer than that. I wonder perhaps were they simply told they wouldn't get approval and to knock it on the head in public.

If they really want to do it then one club can simply relegate and go bust, almost impossible to stop that and you'd probably carry more fans forward than a merger

[rowan]

Or not:

Racing 92 and Stade Francais merger off
http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/39321038

Yes, just been reading the report in the Observer: http://www.sobserver.ws/en/20_03_2017/r ... -plans.htm

[rowan]

Shocker

Six Grenoble players have been detained following an alleged rape of a woman on Saturday.

According to Sky Sports, the women laid a charge against the players stating that they drugged her and coerced her to go back to their hotel, where the alleged rape happened.

The players who have been named by the report are Irish duo Denis Coulson and centre Chris Farrell, lock Peter Kimlin of Australia, loose forwards Rory Grice and Dylan Hayes from New Zealand, as well as French hooker Loïck Jammes.

The players arrived at the Bordeaux police station on Wednesday after law enforcers travelled to Grenoble to question the suspects.

Grenoble has since fired the players.

[francoisfou]

A couple of days ago I read that the FFR had over-ruled the LNR's decision to postpone SF's and Racing's matches with Castres and Montpellier respectively, and that Castres and Montpellier would be awarded 5 points with SF and Racing handed a deduction of 2 points for failing to fulfil the origfinal fixtures.
I now read that the matches will be held on April 22/23.
There's a rare old battle going on between Laporte (FFR) and Goze (LNR) who aren't exactly the best of chums.
Watch this space!

[Adder]

Shocker

Six Grenoble players have been detained following an alleged rape of a woman on Saturday.

According to Sky Sports, the women laid a charge against the players stating that they drugged her and coerced her to go back to their hotel, where the alleged rape happened.

The players who have been named by the report are Irish duo Denis Coulson and centre Chris Farrell, lock Peter Kimlin of Australia, loose forwards Rory Grice and Dylan Hayes from New Zealand, as well as French hooker Loïck Jammes.

The players arrived at the Bordeaux police station on Wednesday after law enforcers travelled to Grenoble to question the suspects.

Grenoble has since fired the players.

3 have been released without charge. I don't think they were fired but on leave without pay.

[rowan]

Thanks for the update. I think I read something similar...

[rowan]

Wow

After six Grenoble players were questioned by police last month over a gang rape charge, three have now been officially charged.

Prosecutors in Bordeaux have announced that Denis Coulson, 22, Rory Grice, 27, and Loick Jammes, 22 are accused of gang raping a 21-year-old woman in a hotel after she met them at a nightclub in Bordeaux following their Top 14 defeat by Bordeaux-Begles on March 11.

On March 22 Coulson, Grice and Jammes were arrested and detained at a police station in Bordeaux while Chris Farrell, Dylan Hayes and Peter Kimlin were brought in for questioning.

After this initial round of questioning, all the players were called in on Tuesday once again for questioning as part of an ongoing investigation except for Kimlin.

It appears that Kimlin, 31, Farrell, 24, and Hayes, 23 have been cleared of any wrongdoing, but the other three have been charged and could face a maxium prison sentence of 20 years if found guilty, according to sport24.co.za.

According to prosecutors, there was “serious or consistent evidence against them which makes their participation likely, as perpetrators or accomplices, in the offence of which they have been accused.”

[Mikey Brown]

Grim really, however it turns out.

[Eugene Wrayburn]

Grim really, however it turns out.

I've not read an allegation of serious sexual offence which isn't.

[rowan]

Indeed.

[Adder]

Stade Francais have come right back from the merge threat and are now 6th in the TOP 14 and could possibly play the play offs.


Allez Allez... Allez Allez... Allez Allez le Stade francaaiiiis.....

[rowan]

Take note, Super Rugby!

[Adder]

SF are now in the Challenge Cup Final and will be playing Racing this weekend in Top 14.
Both teams are playing for the last qualifying spot with one last game to go after that.

30-04-17 Stade Francais - Racing
06-05-17 Racing - Bordeaux
06-05-17 Montpellier - Stade Francais

12-05-17 Gloucester- Stade Francais.

It would be extremely amusing for SF to win the Challenge and beat Racing to the final stage of the Top 14. It would also be an amazing come back story and a great kick in the teeth for Lorenzetti.