Former Racing Métro backs coach Simon Mannix has alleged that Fijians at the Parisian club were paid to be unavailable for the 2011 World Cup so they could play in the Top 14 instead.
Clubs are required to release players during international windows and for major tournaments such as the World Cup and IRB Regulation 9 forbids clubs from offering players incentives, either through "contract or conduct", to turn down a national call-up.
Former All Black fly-half and current Munster backs coach Mannix, who was part of the Racing staff from 2006 until he was fired last November, has accused the big-spending French club of using its deep pockets to keep some players in Paris last year.
"Racing Métro had Fijians who declined to go to the World Cup ... because the club gave them a cheque if they stayed here [in Paris]," Mannix told The Independent.
Sireli Bobo and Jone Qovu cited "personal reasons" while Josh Matavesi (now at Worcester) said he wanted to focus on club commitments when they declined to play for Fiji in the 2011 Pacific Nations Cup, effectively ruling themselves out of World Cup selection.
The Racing Métro President Jacky Lorenzetti has denied the club made any illegal payments or broke any regulations.
"(The accusations) make me laugh, especially coming from Simon Mannix. Nothing else to add," Lorenzetti told French site Rugbyrama.
Northampton lock Samu Manoa chose to play in the Premiership rather than with the USA Eagles at the 2011 World Cup although Saints insist it was the player's personal choice.
The 2015 World Cup will once again overlap with European domestic leagues and the tournament risks being devalued should players from cash-strapped teams like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa be persuaded to rather feature for their clubs.
While critics suggest the IRB have not done enough to enforce Regulation 9 the global governing body insists it can only take action if it receives a complaint.
"The IRB can only act on player release issues if requested to do so by a union or if it is provided with credible evidence that would allow it to pursue its own enquiry," read an IRB statement.
Former Fiji Fly-half Nicky Little, who has played for clubs in five European countries, said the practice was not new.
"For many seasons, European and UK-based Islanders have either been blackmailed not to play for their countries, or had pay docked when they were with their national teams," Little, who represented Fiji in four World Cups, told The Independent.
Chief executive of the International Rugby Players' Association told the newspaper that the World Cup would be worse off if the practise was allowed to continue.
"We have been made aware of various situations where this kind of thing has happened but the players concerned haven't wanted to take it to the next level," said Nichol.
"If clubs can circumnavigate regulation nine, they will - and international rugby is the worse for it."
Comments
APV1 says...
@ mana - according to the IRB regulations (Reg 9, to be specific), it is illegal.
It's the lack of proof / whistle-blowing from players which is the issue. How can they sanction a club if the players don't give them evidence? And why would a player ruin his club career and main source of income?
It's a terribly tough situation for a club to put a player in and I hope it's just a few bad apples and we can get rid of them. My concern is, if caught and sanctioned, why would a multi-gazillionaire care about a fine?
Posted 10:32 09th November 2012
mana says...
once a contract is signed and agreed by both player and club,is fine..but anything outside that agreement(an added paycheck for not representing your country)should be made illegal...its that SIMPLE.
Posted 08:28 09th November 2012
side_stepper says...
@ Trader2..pardon my crude response about pride but much has changed now in Fiji, with more players reluctantly opting for club commitments with big money then proudly wearing the Fiji jersey..with the unavailability of jobs and with the amount of people living below the poverty line, providing food on the table is most important, which is a reluctant decision players have to make in opting for club commitments. And also I forgot about the extended families and relatives that Fijian rugby players have a responsibilty towards..we are a communal setting and very deeply rooted in communal relationships. I'm afraid however, that as a Fijian in this day and age, money talks!!
Posted 22:32 07th November 2012
BlackMoses says...
Last week Jone Qovu pulled out of this tour citing injury - no surprise then to see him turn out for Racing a couple of days later. Miracolous recovery? I doubt it.
Posted 19:34 07th November 2012
APV1 says...
@ Trader2 - thank you for the insight. My concern is, as Ferdie suggests, for a player to whistle-blow would potentially be tantamount to career-ending. Add that to the fact that the IRB sanctions are, I believe, a fine, a gazillionaire will probably laugh it off and just pay up.
If this is going on, I can see why the players might be tempted, but it's a real black mark against what we all like to think of as an honourable game.
The outcry and shame from all quarters from the "Bloodgate" scandal just goes to show how highly we regard the principals of rugby and how hurt we all are when they are ridden roughshod over.
Posted 15:57 07th November 2012
Trader2 says...
Hmmm interesting this and a number of people have been quick to condem the Fijian players actions (I am assuming the story is true) without understanding the pressure the players would have been under. I worked in Fiji (many years ago) and I have never meet a prouder people who love their country despite it's recent troubles. All Fijians who seek and find fame, more often and not outside Fiji, have an enourmous responsibility for their wider community not just their immediate family and they take this seriously. So when it came down to the offer, blackmail, call it what you will of the French owners (who obviously picked their marks very well), the decision to opt out of representing their country would have been very difficult and the individual would have had to balance that with their own responsibilities. To those illinformed (Armchair and his side stepping mate) it is not about not having pride in the Fijian jumper, that is a crude response, it's about caring for a wider group of people. If this is ever proved, and as APV1 and others have said it will be difficult, I hope the IRB come down hard on these jumped up little owners who obviously use their money to pump up their own pathetic egos.
Posted 14:00 07th November 2012
APV1 says...
@ Ferdie - the main difference is that the IRB set certain "windows" when players must be released if asked by their country. There is no choice, unless they are not picked or they, as a player, decline. The allegation appears to be that the players are being paid to "decline" during these mandatory windows.
The "out" clauses are sometimes in contracts for Lions and / or Baa-Baas, but not for international duties. The Lions is a little peculiar because, although international, it is not counted by the IRB for mandatory-release.
Posted 11:06 07th November 2012
Ferdie says...
andy1000 - cheers; i looked at Regulation 9 and it's many clauses - "may face sanction's" says it all - IRB versus French billionaire club owner, and only if player makes complaint to IRB, likely a career-ending move. Who would win that one?
Posted 11:01 07th November 2012
any1buttheABs says...
@Monkeyboy......the article said European and UK clubs not T14 and AP clubs, I know you have a slight bias of anything non PRO12 but how on earth do you know Nicky Little was not talking about Irish, welsh or scottish teams ?, or that it does not go on worldwide ?. Please be grown up when posting comments otherwise it just makes you look juvenile.
Posted 10:48 07th November 2012
andy1000 says...
@Ferdie - it doesn't matter what is in a players contract as the IRB rules state that clubs must release players during sanctioned international windows.
@Dezz - it was slightly tongue and cheek, I think he has a Fijian grand parent so qualified for Fiji in the same way Michael Bent does for Ireland. I don't know why Bent playing for Ireland leads to calls for the eligibility rules to be changed yet cases like Little do not. If the grand parent rule was taken away you'd find teams like Fiji, Tonga and Samoa would not be happy. He's a kiwi by the way.
Posted 09:38 07th November 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
@APV1. Agree. Was thinking the same. Anyway Mannix... Apparently England paid him to upset the Fijian camp just before the game with this.
Posted 09:05 07th November 2012
Ferdie says...
dezz says...Can you explain the Nicky Little
He's Tokoroa-born (Waikato, NZ), same place as AB Keven Mealamu, and Richard Kahui, Qantas Walaby Quade Cooper, and his cousin (or uncle) ex AB Walter Little, Ireland's Isaac Boss . . . small town produces lots of talent.
Posted 06:47 07th November 2012
side_stepper says...
Totally agree with you ArmchairGeneral, at least from Fiji's perspective. The pride of wearing the white jumper (ie. with the coconut palm) has dropped since the game turned professional, as most Fijians are full time players with no other qualifications to fall back on one they retire. Also the funding from the FRU (mind you, not the RFU) is minimal during tours and players are even sometimes forced to lodge with Fijian community members, especially in European countries. I could write a whole essay on this but in a nutshell, I believe that this is what's expected. I'm not surprised and I don't blame the clubs for this since they have their own agendas to meet (which unfortunately contrasts with the issue of wearing the white jumper with pride)
Posted 06:34 07th November 2012
Ferdie says...
the original of this story in today's NZ Herald, and on the same page, an advert for the Toulouse Rugby Camp and Paris Rugby Academy internship programmes for 'youth from the whole world'. All about marketing!
Re the players mentioned in this article, is this really any different to players being released/not released for international duties for Wales, England, B&I Lions etc?
If a player signs a contract with a club, doesn't the club have reasonable expectation the player will be available to play for them the whole season? If the player wants an 'out' clause to cover internationals, this is something for before the contract is signed imo. The players go there for money, not some sudden allegiance to a French club/region their agent got them a job with, can't have it both ways in the professional world.
Posted 02:54 07th November 2012
melkdave says...
If true it certinally doesnt show french club rugby in a good light.It also goes against the whole ethos of the game imo.To bribe players not to represent their country ,to me smacks of corruption and cheating,as bad as the cricket and fotball players being paid to lose matches.As a team shorn of players except by injury certinally handicaps them to a very large degree,and if gotten away with once .Well just where will it stop D.Carter being paid not to play for NZ.There has to be a public investigation into this asap imo.One good thing that might come out of it is the LNR stragglehold on french rugby finally being broken if proved true,which imo wouldnt be a bad thing in the long run .
Posted 21:07 06th November 2012
Monkeyboy says...
Are these the same AP & T14 clubs that want a bigger slice of the HCup pie, marginalise the PRO12 in order to hoover up more foreign talent? Goes to show the self interest that's prevalent.
Posted 20:20 06th November 2012
dezz says...
@ Andy1000. Can you explain the Nicky Little comment as I thought he was Fijian.
Posted 18:30 06th November 2012
APV1 says...
@ ArmchairGeneral - perhaps it was not the alleged cash but a protest against the regime that made them opt out of playing...
Posted 18:07 06th November 2012
ArmchairGeneral says...
Fair enough. The fact they are offering the money shows the players were free to leave if they chose. But they didn't. That's a pride issue Fiji needs to address with their players.
Posted 17:29 06th November 2012
Toulousain says...
French clubs' attitude to national teams, starting with their own France team, is rotten to the core. It's just money, money, money. Pure and simple.
Fast forward 20 years, and we'll have the dynamic of ManUtd/Chelsea/ManCity, full of overpaid galacticos, while the national team has still not won a world cup since 1966...
Posted 16:28 06th November 2012