Friday 27 November 2015 10:22, UK
David Strettle is yet another English rugby player to benefit from moving to the Top 14, says Dewi Morris...
David Strettle has joined an impressive list of English rugby players who have taken their trade across the Channel and improved their skills noticeably.
Steffon Armitage and Nick Abendanon are two recent success stories of the RFU's unwanted exchange programme, while Jonny Wilkinson has made no secret of the impact his time in France had on his game. There are a lot of suspicious English eyebrows raised over the spending of the French rugby clubs, but I think that suspicion is short-sighted.
Years ago, Buck Shelford joined Northampton and worked alongside Tim Rodber, who was just starting his international career at the time. The experience made Rodber a better player by his own admission because he was able to learn from someone who viewed the game of rugby in a different way.
Carter and Nonu may have won all there is to win south of the equator but there is still a trophy or two to be won here, and that will drive them enormously.
As a long-time fan of the Top 14, I have been advocating the benefit of allowing England players to play abroad. There is a wealth of rugby knowledge and success out there from which players can profit, but they aren't being allowed to until they pack away their international ambitions. The thinking is flawed in my opinion.
The myth is that the Top 14 is the waiting room to full-time retirement which attracts players who are trying to bleed the last of their paydays out as a professional sportsman. It's true that a move to the Top 14 brings with it better financial reward than most leagues, but much more than that factors into a player's decision to move to France.
Dan Carter will be shown off by Racing 92 this weekend, having just won a World Cup and will be given a hero's welcome, but the fly-half knows he cannot just parachute into France without putting any effort in and expect to be handed a starting jersey each week. He knows that he will need to prove himself if he is to make a success of his move.
Similarly, Ma'a Nonu has his work cut out if he is to break into the Toulon midfield. But both players know that, and that's what makes the Top 14 such an attractive league to watch.
The pair of All Blacks join a long list of players hoping to make it at the top level in Europe. When preparing for a match I'm working on, I often marvel at what is considered a second string side in France's domestic league - it's page after page of talent.
But it's the combination of talent and desire that makes the games so competitive. Carter and Nonu may have won all there is to win south of the equator, but there is still a trophy or two to be won here, and that will drive them enormously.
Juan Smith is the perfect example of a player welcomed by French fans through nothing more than effort on the field. Fans will welcome any big-name player, but only the players who buy into the club and put their head down and work hard are truly embraced by a club's supporters.
Fans will welcome any big-name player, but only the players who buy into the club and put their head down and work hard are truly embraced by a club's supporters.
Another factor that helps the Top 14 is the relegation rule. Two teams are relegated each season, which means if you want to survive, you have to get up and going early in the season and maintain that form for the remainder if you want to avoid being one of the two to make the drop.
This weekend is a perfect example of how competitive the league is, because you've got the top four teams squaring off against each other. In the first game, you've got Racing 92 wanting to flex their muscles after making a host of signings this season, while they play against a Toulouse side looking to reclaim their glory days as a European powerhouse.
After that, it's a repeat of last season's Champions Cup final as Clermont take on Toulon. Clermont have experienced defeat in every agonising stage of knockout rugby in recent seasons, and will be looking to go one better this year by establishing themselves at the top of the table with a win over the side that beat them in that Twickenham final in May.
Toulon, on the other hand, have not hit the heights that made them a feared outfit throughout Europe and will be targeting this game as a must-win affair if they are to reinstate their dominance over their rivals.
Watch Top 14 rugby live on Sky Sports on Saturday. Racing 92 host Toulouse from 1.40pm on Sky Sports 2 HD, with Clermont's clash against Toulon shown from 7.40pm on Sky Sports 4 HD.
