Top 14: how clubs react to the suspension of the championship

More Top 14 until further notice. A logical decision in relation to the coronavirus epidemic hitting the planet. "It is a difficult announcement to make but it is the best possible decision in the current state of affairs," said Eric de Cromières, president of Clermont. But already, several questions arise: will the championship resume? In what conditions ? "If we resume around April 15, I think we will find solutions to resolve this situation with some adjustments, playing or not the final stages, by extending the end of the season, there will be solutions," continues the manager. Auvergne. The longer the recovery, the more complicated it will become. If recovery is not possible within an acceptable time, consideration should be given to freezing it as it is today. ”

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A hypothesis that does not contemplate Laurent Marti, the president of Bordeaux-Bègles, current leader of the elite. “The LNR will work on several possible scenarios in order to be able to finish the championship. (…) I will personally and particularly watch that we can play it until its end ”, he insisted on the website of the Girondin club. Side of the Section Paloise, which knows a complicated sporting season, the president Bernard Pontneau, questioned by France Bleu , speaks about a decision which had become "inevitable for a while". The Béarnais leader is hardly optimistic for the rest of the current fiscal year: "Is a recovery possible before April 30? Because after April 30 nothing is possible in terms of organizing the end of the championship. For me, the end of the championship has come to an end ... This is my personal opinion. This is why the League has not given a resumption date and that there will be an attempt to see the evolution of things, so as to see if a resumption is possible, which I doubt. "

"An athlete must talk to each other physically, there will be part-time hours, that is the term, which will be carried out and therefore, we will speak of part-time or even partial unemployment"

The players will therefore be partially unemployed during this period. "It will be a decision that will be taken within each club," said Figaro Robins Tchale-Watchou, president of Provale, the players' union. Even if it is only a “request” from the NRL, there is no question of the players returning to the club and continuing to train. "In the context of partial unemployment, if the employees return to the site, you question the measure," continues Tchale-Watchou. Racing 92 announced that it had "immediately suspended the collective training sessions for professional players" and closed "its training center and its accommodation center in order to protect all players and members of the management team".

Brivists must stay at home for a week

Bernard Pontneau and the Paloise Section have already started to think about the economic consequences. “We will now see the particular financial terms of this suspension. There are a host of details to consider, including the scenarios of a non-recovery, he details. If there is no more productivity, to compare with a factory, you have to take into account the hours of work done. An athlete must have physical conversation, there will be part-time hours, that is the term, which will be carried out and therefore, we will speak of part-time or even partial unemployment. Personally, the studies of measures to be taken had been done, it is now time to put them in place. ” Same thought at RC Toulon. "Partial unemployment? We are working on it, said Bernard Lemaître, the new Var president at L'Equipe . I will have a precise answer tomorrow (Saturday), because I want to appear on Monday morning in front of the players and the administrative staff and it is imperative that they know who will be on short work and how much they will have left on their pay slip . From a sporting point of view, it's a disaster, but we can't do anything about it. ”

In Brive, players must stay at home for a week. "All players and sports staff are invited to stay at home for a week while respecting prevention instructions," said the CAB in a press release. In order, according to the director general of the Corrèze club, Xavier Ric, to "take advantage of these seven days to properly prepare the follow-up. This will allow us to work in serenity, it was the wisest decision ”.

"There are lots of solutions ... But I imagine in my head that there is no recovery, it's clear"

If there is… Franck Azéma, interviewed by L'Equipe, explains that “there are several scenarios”: “Either we can quickly stem the epidemic and we resume on April 30. But can we overtake on the off-season? It seems complicated to me because it will impact next season. Are we canceling the final phase? Are we going to freeze the Championship and make eight play-offs and freeze the descents? There are plenty of solutions ... But I imagine in my head that there is no recovery, that's clear. " Its president, Eric de Cromières, wants to be more optimistic: “Sportingly, our next challenge will be to define, according to the conditions that will be imposed on us for the recovery, the final ranking of this season. Not necessarily to seek a champion but to unquestionably and fairly allocate the first 6 places as well as the last. This will be the subject of this end of the season which we hope to resume in the best possible conditions. ”

Argentina tour canceled?

If the Top 14 were to resume, and therefore to exceed the dates initially planned, this would also pose a problem for the next XV tour of France in Argentina (July 4 and 11). Even before the announcement of the suspension of the Top 14, Didier Lacroix, the president of the Stade Toulousain, had positioned himself, in the columns of Midi Olympique , for a cancellation of the two test matches against the Pumas. “This season, the French team has already disputed the World Cup and the Six Nations Tournament. Given the economy generated by a tour in Argentina, could we not ask for an effort from the XV of France so that we can use this period to compete for the end of our championship? ”

And the stadian president to continue to wonder: "I am going to retort that it is not possible because the end of the season must be marked by statute on June 30, but it seems to me that we were already in the professional era of rugby on July 13, 2000, when the Stade Français had won its final against our columérin friends. In exceptional situation, exceptional solution! ” For now, this tour in Argentina is maintained, according to information from RMC Sport. But, at the speed where things are going, we cannot be sure of anything…

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