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Rugby: what are the latest trends in the transfer market?

2022-01-07T05:21:19.654Z


Damien Dussault, agent of 45 players or coaches, takes stock for "Le Figaro" on a transfer window of rugby more animated than ever.


One year before the World Cup organized in France, the transfer market is particularly agitated in France.

Long-term contracts, Pro D2 breeding ground, international status, attractiveness of the Top 14 and consequences of Brexit ... Damien Dussault, head of the DA Agent agency and agent for 45 players or coaches, discusses the major trends in the transfer window oval.

To discover

  • Calendar and results Top 14

  • Ranking Top 14

  • Pro D2 schedule and results

Le Figaro: We can see this year that more and more long-term contracts are signed.

How to explain this?


Damien Dussault:

There are several factors. The first is psychological on the side of the players. We are in a global pandemic, they are less inclined to take risks professionally. It is therefore reassuring to sign contracts of 3, 4, 5 years. Second element, it is reassuring for the clubs in terms of stability. When we are happy with the players we have, we want to extend it for a long time. We can easily imagine that Toulouse never considered losing Antoine Dupont, the best player in the world. There is also, I think, an economic factor. The clubs, which could encounter financial difficulties, want to show, to investors but also to banks, that they have assets, even if I don't like to talk about players. But in the corporate world, that's how we talk.Having a stable and high-quality workforce is a financial guarantee. If a club must be sold, it is easier with a quality workforce than with thirty players at the end of the contract.

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We have the impression that the transfers are revealed and announced earlier and earlier ...


I think you journalists are doing your job. (Laughs) You annoy the players, the clubs, the agents ... It's the game. When information is released, it pushes the clubs to formalize it. In the same way, it reassures the staffs and the players who could have any inclinations to leave. But it also reassures a steering committee and the sponsors. Moreover, with the pandemic, the clubs wanted to anticipate much more than before. At one time there was a rule where there was no communication possible until January 1. This rule no longer exists. But, in the end, there is still a great deal of control over the clubs, except when the information comes out elsewhere. When people ask me if I leaked information, I answer that two people who know a secret, it isis already one too many people. And generally, there are more than two people ... It goes fast.

At the international level, is there a 2023 World Cup effect to sign new contracts?


In French culture, there is this desire to know where we are going before such an event. We see that the major internationals are on contracts that go beyond the 2023 World Cup. This is not a fad. There was a statistic in England which showed that one or two internationals were changing clubs before a World Cup. The internationals installed have no interest in changing what works, unless - and this is rare - to be in a club that does not work. One year away from the World Cup, that would also be an endangerment. Unless, and this is also rare, to be in a club at the bottom of the ranking. I also think that the staff of the France team advocates this stability.

In two years, the salary cap in Top 14 will drop to 10 million euros.

This does not leave a margin to pay a lot of players well

Damien Dussault

Do you see any new trends in the transfer market?


With the strengthening of JIFFs (players from training courses) and the lowering of the salary cap (capping of the payroll), there is a tendency for clubs to seek good players in Pro D2. It is a championship which is very efficient and which produces more and more very good players. Interest in the Pro D2 breeding ground is growing. There is a plethora of recent internationals (Dulin, Bouthier, Jaminet ...) who have gone through this box to have playing time and get tough. It is a growing trend. This makes it possible to be in the nails with the quotas of JIFF which decreases every year. Interest in foreign players is weakening. Unlike Japan, which will allow more foreigners in its leagues. Competition with Japan is real: there are fewer matches to play,the structures are very professional, the salaries are important.

The JIFF system has been criticized for having created artificial inflation in the salaries of French players ...


There is some truth to this. But today this system, which has been around for enough seasons, is being streamlined. In two years, the salary cap in Top 14 will drop to 10 million euros. This does not leave a margin to pay a lot of players well. Hence this attraction for Pro D2 players who are ambitious and who may ask for less money. The old good solutions were to go find a South African player, who could come quickly. Now, they play in Pro 16 (ex-Celtic League) so we can no longer bring them in during the season. With a coach, we recently looked at the membership of clubs ten years ago with a lot of foreigners. Today that would no longer be possible ...

Brexit completely changed the visa rules for going to play in the UK.

Today, to come and play in France, there is no problem

Damien Dussault

Because of the JIFF, places are now expensive for foreign players ...


Now, clubs are looking for the cream of the crop. Today, information on players has become more democratic: the least player with qualities is very quickly spotted. This was not necessarily the case a few years ago. Be careful, there are always things to do, whether in France or abroad. Another important point: French internationals are absent for long periods. Before, clubs wondered about a player: is he JIFF or not? From now on, it is rather, as well for the French as for the foreigners: is it international or not? There is only one case where a player has become international by coming to France, it is Cheslin Kolbe. VS'is a real exception.

Are there other changes in the international transfer market?


Brexit completely changed the visa rules for going to play in the UK. Today, to come and play in France, there is no problem. Japan, either, from the moment you are recruited by a club. In the UK, the rules are drastic: either have a British grandparent or have played 75% of the matches in a major league. The Pro D2 for example is not one of them, the Top 14 yes. They put this in place to protect their rugby and not have too big an influx of foreigners. I am the agent of a South African player, Chris Cloete, who has played for Munster for four years and an English club wants him. We are currently studying the possibility of obtaining a visa. To be eligible for a visa, it is necessary to be able to prove thathe has played 75% of his team's matches where he was available since January 1, 2020. An Excel table is filled in, in conjunction with the club doctor, with all the matches he has played, specifying: injured, sick (with the Covid), not selected ... It's pretty crazy.

The clubs, except promoted, are entitled to 33 professional contracts.

Last year, we were only at an average of 27-28 pro contracts per club

Damien Dussault

Is the Top 14 still as attractive?


Yes, the pandemic has made the rich richer and the poor poorer.

This is not specific to rugby ... We have seen that many wage cuts have been decided in several countries, in South Africa in particular.

There is less money in Australia and New Zealand.

England also lowered its salary cap.

France offers, and this is not negligible, an unparalleled quality of life.

And we have social protection that is a thousand times more important than any country in the world.

There have been salary cuts decided between players and clubs in France.

In England, clubs imposed a 25% cut without asking the players anything.

The players in France are well protected.

Salary levels remain the same in Top 14?


The salary cap goes down, but not the salaries. Overall there are fewer contracts in the professional workforce. The clubs, except promoted, are entitled to 33 professional contracts. Previously, 95% of clubs used these 33 pro contracts, with some adjustments (jokers, first pro contracts). Last year, we were only at an average of 27-28 pro contracts per club. Five fewer contracts per club, multiplied by 30 clubs, that's 150 lost contracts. Wages haven't gone down, it's just that 150 contracts have been skipped. This is another way of managing the workforce. Many more jokers were then used. With the crisis, the clubs continued to offer good salaries but they offered less. It's a real trend. Maybe things will rebalance in the future with 33 pro contracts.

Source: lefigaro

All sports articles on 2022-01-07

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