Faraway French rugby fields aren't always greener

Ian Moriarty
IT might feel like a lifetime ago but it’s been just five years since Brian O’Driscoll was very nearly tempted by a life in France.
It was September 2005 and the Leinster centre was pictured on TV sitting in the stand alongside then president Marcel Martin in Biarritz Olympique’s Stade Aguilera.
The tiny world of Irish rugby was about to change once more but no one knew what direction it would go in.
Then aged 26, an injured O’Driscoll (it was a few months after THAT infamous spear tackle) was a guest of honour at Biarritz that day and his presence set off an avalanche of rumours that Ireland’s greatest player was swapping the green pastures of his native land for the equally green (albeit warmer) pastures of the Pays Basque.
No one would have blamed O’Driscoll had he decided to go to France back then, just as no one could blame any other Irish-based player from doing the same now.
The increase in wages aside, lifestyle choice has always been one of the more alluring aspects of France’s Top 14. Most of us have had dreams of that old farmhouse in the Tarn or the apartment in an old Hôtel in Toulouse’s St. Etienne district yet few of us have had the opportunity to turn such hopes into reality.
However life in France is not as straightforward as it might seem.
For all the talk of increased wages, the likes of Paul Warwick or any other Irish-based player will be worked for their money. There can be a maximum of 38 club games in a season which lasts over ten months. Summer holidays can vary from between six to just three weeks for some players — Toulouse were back in training six weeks after their Heineken Cup but just 16 days after their French internationals had returned home from Argentina last summer.
But aside from being flogged to near death by the number and regularity of games, there are other questions to ponder. I’m amazed to regularly meet people who still believe a language as complicated as French can be picked up in a few months. Learning French is tough and arduous, and even with the aid of club-organised lessons, fluency can take a few years. A bigger task still, is becoming acclimatised to the ‘unique’ way of French life. It might sound innocuous enough but there have been quite a few players who have moved only to find life too lonely, too individualistic and too quiet for their own tastes.
Then there’s the question of choosing the right team. Stade Francais are not in the Heineken Cup this year — once an important benchmark for Irish international selection — nor do they look likely to qualify next season.
That’s not a problem at Toulouse but your chances of playing consistently there are limited by the squad turnover per match — again another important aspect to remember for Irish internationals.
The Top 14 has grown to become the richest and most popular club league in the world. But given the immense challenges of moving to and then playing in France, you’re already in trouble if the move is just about money.

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