STADE FRANCAIS PLAYERS have voted in favour of unlimited strike action in protest at a planned merger with bitter Paris rivals Racing 92, club vice-captain Pascal Pape confirmed on Tuesday.
Pape, a 65-times capped France international, slammed the fusion of the winners of the past two Top 14 titles into one super club as “the death of 136 years of the club’s history”.
Players voted overwhelmingly — at “99.8%” — for the action and will not train or play in Saturday’s Top 14 clash against Castres, he said.
The action comes a day after Racing’s billionaire owner Jacky Lorenzetti and Stade Francais counterpart Thomas Savare made the bombshell announcement.
Stade Francais players believe the merger to be an unequal partnership which will favour Racing and called on their supporters to rally behind them at the club’s Jean-Bouin Stadium in Paris on Monday.
The plan was hatched in secret behind the back of the players, French international Jonathan Danty said earlier on Tuesday.
“It’s hard to swallow,” said Danty, 24, the Stade Francais centre who is training with the French team for the Six Nations match against Wales in Paris on Saturday.
“We were always told we were the future of the club and that if we left, the club would be in danger. And now we find out they did this behind our backs,” he said.
Rival clubs expressed fears over the creation of a new super club while the French Rugby Federation and the Paris government complained they had been kept in the dark about the move.
Lorenzetti paved the way for a cull of players, saying half the combined roster of professionals could be axed.
“They’ve got 45 players, we’ve got 45 players, 45 + 45 = 45,” he said. “Merit will be the criteria, probably youth and the factor of being selectable” for France, Lorenzetti said.
Danty, along with teammate Djibril Camara, also in the squad for the Wales game, took part in a protest by more than a dozen players and a crowd of more the 100 fans against the proposed merger at the Jean-Bouin Stadium.
Both players left the Marcoussis French national training centre in the southern suburbs of the city without asking permission from coach Guy Noves to travel to the protest but said they would take the consequences for taking a stand against the merger plan.
“I take full responsibility for going there. I don’t know if Guy was in agreement or not but I doubt it,” said Camara. “If I am punished, so be it.”
Camara, who plays fullback, said his future was up in the air.
“Maybe next year I will be somewhere else, maybe in Federal 1 (third division),” he said.
He said he had had no contact with Stade owner Savare.
“Who? Don’t ask me about that after he just screwed me over.”
He said the merger of the two rival clubs was like asking two families who hate each other to move in together.
“We are all shocked, all sad. This is two Top 14 clubs finished.”
He’s not as disappointed as some on relation to how far off they are? They are miles off. No offence to Munster but they are an average,though very gutsy and committed side,and they have hammers Leinster twice in a row now. I do agree that they haven’t had any continuity with combinations,especially from 9-13,and hopefully when the likes of OBrien, Healy, Moore, Teo, McFadden etc come back then there will be a big improvement.
I must take the opportunity to praise Matt O’Connor for the huge improvement in Guinness Pro12 teams. Ever since he arrived at Leinster, every other team has greatly improved. Teams, that two years ago were almost brushed aside by Leinster, have now reached the heights that Leinster once inhabited alone.
Treviso have improved, Munster have improved, Edinburgh have improved, Scarlets have improved, Dragons have improved, Zebra have improved, Connacht (brilliant tonight, by the way) have improved..
In fact, they have all improved so much that Leinster has great difficulty taking on any of them.
By extension, Wasps and Harlequins have shown just how brilliant they are too due to you Matt.
I can hardly wait to see how much Castres get better when they arrive at the RDS soon. They will build statues in your image all over the town.
Matt, you have done European rugby a great service. They have all reached and surpassed Leinster this season thanks to your input at Leinster and everywhere else.
Thank you Matt and Happy New year!.
(and also to Mr Caputo, the news paper seller. Your influence on all other teams has been exceptional)