René Bouscatel atomises the English rugby system and praises the French system!

This Monday, René Bouscadel, president of the National Rugby League, spoke to The Times.

The latter was particularly critical of the Premiership’s economic model and did not fail to greatly admire the French system.

And Rene Bouscadel comes straight to the heart of the matter. Extraction:

“The obsession with money is killing English clubs. What is corrosive about English rugby is that the economic product has taken precedence over the sport itself. I don’t want to make a scandal or anything, but initially English rugby was based on millionaires, people with a lot of money, who think they are right because they have a lot of money.“

It goes without saying that English rugby is red. Recently, several clubs have gone bankrupt, including Worcester, London Wasps and London Irish.

At the same time, stadium attendances have fallen by 15%, which doesn’t help English rugby’s economy in any way.

Especially following these economic problems, many international players left the country, including Sam Simmonds (Montpellier), David Rippons (Toulon) and Henry Arundel (Racing 92).

For his part, Maro Itoje is deep in thought and may decide to join the top 14 at the end of the season.

In this process, René Bouscadel praised the Bath Club. He believes he is a great role model for English rugby. Extraction:

“I shouldn’t say this, but they’re a good example. They’ve had to build a stadium for 25 years. I’ve been there countless times and they show maps every time, but I’ve never seen the stadium. I always have to bring an umbrella there because it rains so much. I’m Bruce’s. (Craig, Bath’s owner) Being a friend, I mean it in the nicest possible way, but they’re dreamers out there.

With Toulouse, I never made a profit, but improved the club’s sporting results.

Finally, René Bouscatel explains why the French system currently works so well. Extraction:

“We’re not perfect, but for now we have a model that’s identified and well-recognized based on simple elements: sport first, finance second. We don’t ignore the economic aspect, it’s essential, but it’s not enough. The British are marketing kings. But if you want to sell, you have a We need a good product. We have made a product, the top 14. We have two consecutive European champions, La Rochelle and Toulouse. Our league is attractive.

That’s what it says!