"We have won our bet,"
the multi-millionaire told AFP. "We have been engaged for
several months now in signing excellent players and not
stars, because we have a habit of saying that with us there
is not one individual star, it is the team that counts."
Top 14 Table
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ProD2 Table
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Top 14 Transfers
Chabal (31) and Nallet
(32) may be getting on in years but they will still be
junior members compared to fly-half Andrew Mehrtens, the
35-year-old former All Black who will be handed a one-year
contract extension to continue next season.
Lorenzetti has set his
sights on emulating the commercial and playing success of
Paris neighbours Stade Francais, under the guidance of Max
Guazzani. The city rivalry is likely to be one of the
highlights of next season's Top 14 campaign, with the clash
of egos off the pitch - between the two presidents - likely
to be as explosive as the action on it.
"The team is making its return to the top division after an
absence of 10 years," said Lorenzetti. "I would like to
thank Pierre Berbizier [coach] who I managed to convince
that the project was interesting.
"People have often
accused us of being mercenaries but we showed in our last
match our qualities in terms of playing as a team, which are
indispensable when you play rugby. This bad image which we
have been given is not Racing's real one. This team has a
soul," he added.
Racing secured
promotion with two games to go at the weekend and are set to
continue their investment in new players throughout the
summer. In addition to signing Steyn they have also lined up
a hatful of other players, with Lorenzetti admitting that up
to 30% of the squad will be new faces as he seeks to
implement a proposed budget of 15m euros.
That would put Racing
up in the top six spenders, although money and big-name
signings alone does not guarantee success - as witnessed by
Toulon's struggles this season. But in Berbizier Racing have
an experienced and street-wise coach amply able at dealing
with big names and international stars - something that
clearly has proved a problem for Tana Umaga at Toulon this
season.
Although results have
improved of late for Toulon, the guiding hand of incoming
director of rugby Philippe Saint-Andre has been integral to
that change. Both teams - Toulon and Racing - also shared a
desire to sign England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson, although it
now seems that
Toulon have won that particular race,
with their capture of the Newcastle Falcons player set to be
confirmed next week.
