If Boxing Day had been imported into French rugby for commercial reasons, its 2021 edition will remain a bad memory for several French clubs who were to receive a Top 14 match on Sunday 26 or Monday 27 December. Due to several cases of Covid-19, four meetings have been postponed: the derby between Brive and Clermont, the poster between the Stade Toulousain and the Stade Français, the match between Racing 92 and Pau, and the opposition between Toulon and Bordeaux-Bègles. Brivist president Simon Gillham is angry at the postponements, some of which were decided shortly before kick-off. He already deplores the financial losses.
Franceinfo: CA Brive was to welcome Clermont for a derby, what had you planned for the occasion?
Simon Gillham: We had to play sold-out (around 14,000 spectators), we had 1,500 meals planned, lots of partners present, fireworks, lots of entertainment, bars, refreshments… All the tables were in place for the hospitality, the flags were in place in the stands, everything was ready. There are a lot of Corréziens who live elsewhere in France, who had returned for the holidays, and who had planned to come for the great moment of the season, the derby against Clermont.
For me, there was a procedural problem: who decided on the cancellation? At what moment ? And why didn’t we do that sooner? It had been a few days since there were rumors of Covid in Clermont, no one warned us, and we learned of the cancellation at 1 p.m. on Christmas Day after a so-called medical commission met in 11 o’clock in the morning. At this time, you are having a drink with the family, and everything had to be set in motion to cancel the event. In the European Challenge, we had to go and play against the London Irish and there were three meetings with the authorities and the club presidents. Everyone was involved. There, it fell from the sky, like Santa Claus, but it was a bad gift.
We were lucky enough to be able to donate the planned meals to charities, which is the only good news of the weekend.
Simon gillhamto franceinfo: sport
The ticket office is not the only source of income affected by this postponement?
The public who cannot return will be reimbursed. But playing a derby, when he is caught up, on weekdays, with a little luck there will be 9,000 spectators. We will have to reimburse tickets and we will pay twice for meals, those canceled this weekend and those that will be caught up when the match is postponed. I think the financial loss can run into hundreds of thousands of euros.
There is also damage to the image. A match like that, at 6 pm, on Canal +, for Boxing Day, it is between 600,000 and 700,000 viewers who would have seen the local fervor. It would have been an amazing publicity stunt and some sponsors might have thought it was awesome. We lost all of that and ultimately we don’t know exactly what we lost in financial terms. It does a lot of damage. It’s a prejudice for the club because unlike partial unemployment, where there was government aid, we will have to ask the League how it intends to compensate us. We are the 13th budget of the Top14.
#BoxingDayRugby
Due to the health situation of the ASM Clermont workforce, following new tests, the match @CABCLRUGBY / @ASMOofficial is reportedThe postponement date of the meeting will be communicated later. pic.twitter.com/xFz4LVY9O6
– TOP 14 Rugby (@ top14rugby) December 25, 2021
Beyond the club, are there other collateral damage?
Yes, the restaurants had full reservations, the bars were due to open for the post-game, and everything was canceled. For the city, for the region, it’s huge. I am angry with the amateurism of the procedure.
For the players too, the disappointment is terrible. I have a player who was left alone for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day, isolated from his family who was in the South, who ultimately did not play. There is an economic loss but also a moral one. I speak for Brive, but if I were the president of Toulouse, I could do the same. The Toulousains learned Sunday at noon that their evening match would not be played. 32,000 spectators were expected. It’s just rubbish.
I would like to clarify that I do not blame the Clermontois at all. They have had cases of Covid and as the protocol indicates, they have reported them to the League. It could happen to us next week, so we wish the sick players a good recovery. On the other hand, we must ask ourselves the question of the leadership of the League in this matter. Today at CA Brive, we are very angry.