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No ordinary Joe: Toulon's
English flanker Joe El Abd |
Toulon flanker, and former Bristol captain, Joe El Abd
has joined FRC as a regular columnist - giving us the inside
line on life down on the Cote d'Azur, what it's like to move
from the Guinness Premiership to Top 14 and generally
telling us how it is for a professional rugby player in the
modern era. This week examines the differences he's already
noticed between playing in France and England.
While I have only played six games in
the Top 14 I am already starting to get some early
impressions of French rugby. Some of these impressions have
reinforced previous assumptions while others have proved
unfounded. So what are the differences I have noticed so far
between the French Top 14 and the English Guinness
premiership?
The weather
Ok you’ve probably heard enough in my
last column about the weather out here in France. However
unlike last week where I was gloating about the joys of the
climate down here in the Cote d’Azur this week I am going to
report the downside. What I have come to understand is that
playing an 80-minute match in 35-degree heat is no fun. No
matter how much liquid you take on board it just doesn’t
seem to be enough. No matter how long the breaks in play
seem to last they don’t seem to suffice. Playing in such
heat certainly puts pressure on your physical fitness like I
have never experienced before and towards the end of the
game it is usually the better-conditioned team that comes
out on top.
Top 14 Table 2009/10
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Top 14 try-scorers 2009/10
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Top 14 Transfers
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Top 14
Fixtures 2009/10
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What you might expect in glorious
sunshine is the handling to be crisp and easy. However what
we have found is that the ball can be more difficult to
handle in the heat than in the pouring rain. The sweat
dripping from the arms and shoulders makes your hands so
slippery the ball soon becomes a bar of soap. In an attempt
help some of the players have adopted the use of sweatbands
and the sticky spray has never been handier. I know this
heat will not last forever but come game day, I can’t help
but wish for a return to the British climate.
Home advantage
This week we again saw a clean sweep
for all the home sides in the league. Before I came out here
I had been told that winning away happened very rarely
partly due to the attitude of the away teams being let’s say
“laissez faire”. Well, so far my experiences have not backed
this up with all the teams visiting the Stade Mayol sending
full strength teams ready for a battle. Therefore, while I
have my suspicions I am yet to put a finger on why the home
teams do so well in France. I am sure this will be a topic
in itself for me to discuss in the weeks to come. However,
for now what I am aware of is that while there is pressure
to win at home in England it is nothing compared to out here
in France. Perhaps that’s a reason in itself!
French Flair
When talking about French rugby phrases such as “French
flair” and “free-flowing rugby” are often used. I guess you
only have to look at the past French teams to see how this
could be the case. However, so far in the Top 14 I am yet to
see these statements hold true. While in the premiership
it’s not uncommon for teams to play through multiple phases,
out here in France so far it seems teams play only two or
three phases before looking at their options. Whether this
is due to the heat or the refereeing I am not sure but it
certainly means a greater emphasis is placed on the set
piece. This is something you might not expect, but after
talking to a number of the French players in the squad it’s
clear that the set piece has always been treated as
something special within the game of rugby.
No Scrum No Win
'No Scrum, No Win - Pas de Melée,
Pas de Victoire'. If I had received a Euro every time this
phrase was mentioned I would be a rich man. While in England
the scrum was always thought of as important, but out here
in France the scrum takes a whole new meaning. I must say
that apart from at the weekend where our scrum was good (that’s
the last I want to talk about the weekend) the
importance of the scrum has been played out in the results
of our matches so far. The referees certainly seem to favour
the team who has the ascendancy in this area. In addition,
due to the way the scrum is refereed, a greater emphasis is
also placed on the tactical component of the scrum compared
to in England. What this means for me on a week-to-week
basis is that more time is spent on the scrum machine - a
dream for any back row forward!
I am sure there will be many more
differences that I will uncover throughout the season but
for now I think that will suffice. This week we are looking
to bounce back from our disappointment at the weekend
against Toulouse at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. With
the crowd anticipated to be 60,000 I am sure it will be a
match to remember.
Till next time…
Previous column:
'The money's good, but so is the
weather, the rugby and the amazing
crowds'
