Andrew Mehrtens is part of the club Beziers’s rescue act after it plummeted down the divisions. Photo / Getty Images
All Blacks great Andrew Mehrtens has hit the headlines again as part of a group that has taken over fallen French club giants Beziers.
Mehrtens still has a strong profile in New Zealand as a rugby pundit for Australia’s Stan Sport, but the 51-year-old lives in France, where he played for three clubs after his 70-test career ended 20 years ago.
The last of those clubs was Beziers, in the south of France, and Mehrtens is part of the club’s rescue act after it plummeted down the divisions and spent four years under municipal control.
In combination with former Springboks forward Bob Skinstad, Mehrtens is the public face of a Beziers ownership group that includes Irish motor racing personality Eddie Jordan.
Mehrtens chats about the Beziers deal, reveals why French rugby is booming, explains why Europe holds lessons for New Zealand rugby, and predicts Jordie Barrett’s move to Leinster can be a game-changer for the All Blacks.
How did the Beziers deal happen? What is the ownership set-up?
This deal was not on my radar when I returned to live in France in late 2022.
An old Beziers teammate, Englishman Johnny Howard, had remained in the town and we strongly believed there was great potential. I sought help from Bob Skinstad, who works for consultants Elixirr in London. He needed no encouragement, having been on the lookout already for a rugby opportunity that wasn’t coaching or broadcasting.
His analysts came back surprisingly positive and his network helped us quickly find investors passionate about rugby and a challenge.
The holding company includes Eddie Jordan of F1 racing fame, plus a small number of rugby-loving investment specialists, plus Bob and Johnny. This company owns 75% of the club, with full control.
The mayor retained a tiny symbolic holding to remain informed and involved. The remainder are legacy holdings of local Beziers people who have been involved with the club.
Some European clubs are struggling financially – what are the risks?
I put my faith in Bob’s specialists who have serious intellectual clout, as you’d expect with successful equity investors.
It was a long process because it involved a mayor, and because we were foreigners. I believe we are the first owners who are all foreign. Everything was done painstakingly and thoroughly.
I know there is talk about opportunities in rugby, but there’s a lot of trepidation when you read the numbers at clubs.
Outside of France, it’s mostly a matter of a rich person’s toy, people comfortable burning a few million per year.
French rugby by contrast is in rude health. The clubs benefit from significant financial support from local government because it is seen as a valuable community initiative.
All matches from the top two divisions are televised live on Canal+ ... Pro D2 on Thursday and Friday nights; Top 14 on Saturday and Sunday.
Television rights are generous, and sponsors get better exposure.
There are risks of course, but seeing the numbers from the four years of the mayor’s involvement gave us confidence that without trying to do or change anything, the club would at least break even every year.
What is your link with Bobby Skinstad?
We played against one another a fair bit and always got on well. We’ve crossed paths over the years but it was last year’s World Cup, where we ended up doing a lot of events together, that led to an even stronger friendship.
You played for and coached Beziers. Memories?
I had four fabulous seasons playing in France and then a couple coaching as a way to stay involved and at Beziers a bit longer.
At Toulon, we won the ProD2 in 2008 under Tana Umaga’s coaching. A stellar line-up included George Gregan, Victor Matfield, Anton Oliver, and Esteban Lozada who all arrived in the French second division straight after playing in the 2007 World Cup!
The next season, I went to Racing and again won the ProD2. I managed to stay an extra year and play in the Top 14, alongside reinforcements like Sebastian Chabal, Lionel Nallet, François Steyn, Sireli Bobo and Auckland’s Brent Ward. We were coached by Pierre Berbizier and Simon Mannix and international referee Nic Berry played at halfback.
The history of Beziers Rugby is unmatched — during La Grande Epoque the team won 10 French championships between 1971 and 1984. I got the only yellow card of my career at Beziers playing for Toulon.
Are you putting money into this venture yourself? What will your direct role be?
I’m not an investor — I’m co-president with Bob with more of a supervisory role … sometimes ambassadorial, sometimes figurehead.
I will represent the club dealing with the LNR [national administration] and on the council of club presidents. Of course, in France, there are many layers of governance so I’ll also have roles alongside our investors on the club board and the ‘council of surveillance’.
I will try to get to as many home games from Paris as possible — we want at least one owner at each match.
How do you rebuild? Locally? Imports?
Beziers had actually slipped further, so after promotion back to second division in 2011 it has been a long consolidation. Last year, the team narrowly missed out on the ProD2 but the Beziers supporters are daring to dream again.
We’re not there to reinvent the wheel. We want to be distinctly Beziers but naturally, there will be foreign players worth recruiting.
But developing more local talent through our academy makes financial sense as much as anything, rather than paying a premium for a player to change clubs. We’re there to build a club that earns promotion and stays up.
French club rugby had a reputation for skullduggery – has it changed?
With the number of cameras present these days it has definitely changed. Even in my time, it wasn’t really brutal like the days of old. There was plenty of cheating of course, but not much thuggery. The game is too fast and intense. It’s tough up front, but the wanton brutality has almost entirely disappeared.
What is the state of French rugby?
In tremendous health. The top two divisions are fully televised and neither encroaches on the other. Crowds are strong and the atmosphere is fantastic. Top 14 has one game every weekend that kicks off at 9pm on Sunday night — and it’s always a big match and sold out. The third division — technically not professional although player payments are still permitted — is similar to ProD2 structure and has some ambitious teams with Top 14 heritage like Narbonne, Albi and Bourgoin. Below that the competitions are regional but lead to a national champion from up to 80 teams.
Will you be hands-on with the Beziers club?
I’ll be staying in Paris and a reason the mayor liked our proposal was we hope to leverage our international connections. Whether that means sponsorships and partnerships, events at the stadium, or recruitment, we feel we’ve got extensive coverage. Eddie Jordan lives just down the road in Monaco — I don’t think we’ll see a Beziers Grand Prix but he certainly has some clout.
Can New Zealand rugby learn anything from European rugby?
Absolutely — I think the competitions over here have a greater diversity of playing styles and body types.
Even though Super Rugby suffered from straddling the time zones, New Zealand misses the South African influence while the South Africans are benefitting hugely from being involved in Europe.
We just can’t replicate some things in New Zealand — population, resources etc. So we have to do what we can and use our strengths — innovation, early skills learning, accuracy, read and feel ... but getting more exposure to different styles of rugby would be advantageous.
I’m excited by Jordie Barrett spending several months at Leinster. It will be good for him and I think also for the All Blacks.
Have you seen Welcome to Wrexham on Disney+? Is there a reality series in your Beziers venture?
I haven’t seen it; everyone is looking to do a rags-to-riches story aren’t they?
We haven’t considered it, but there may be a few elements in our ongoing story that are interesting enough for some type of platform.
At the moment it’s heads down, first things first.
Chris Rattue has been a journalist since 1980 and is one of the most respected opinion writers in New Zealand sports journalism.
It’s the war cry of the more ‘traditional’ footy fan.