Racing 92 and Stade Francais players that may be affected by the merger

With the confirmation of a merger between Racing 92 and Stade Francais, we have a look at some of the players that might be up for grabs to other clubs.

 

Jacky Lorenzetti, Racing 92 President, has stated that players that are eligible to player for France will be given preference.

 

The other thing to consider is that only 45 players can be selected for the new club, meaning that they must cut the pool of 90 players in half, while still abiding to the Top 14's wage cap of €10 million.

 

These are the top players that may be up for grabs:

 

Stade Francais

Hugh Pyle

Heinke van der Merwe

Craig Burden

Meyer Bosman

Paul Williams

Sakaria Taulafo

Gerhard Mostert

Faraj Fartass

Emmanuel Felsina

Entienne Swanepoel

Alipate Ratini

Zurabi Zhvania

Jono Ross

Waisea Vuidravuwalu

Remi Bonfils

Johnathan Danty

Morne Steyn

Rabah Slimani

Sergio Parisse

 

Racing 92 

Vilaimu Afatia

Marc Andreu

Eddy Ben Arous

Maunuel Carizza

Dan Carter

Gerbrandt Grobler

Juan Imhoff

James Hart

Casey Laulala

Bernard Le Roux

Leone Nakawa

Yannick Nyanga

Joe Rokocoko

Dimitri Szarzewski

Francois van der Merwe

Antonie Classens

Ben Tameifuna 

Sean Robinson

Chris Maseo

Bernard Le Roux

Heinko Van der Merwe

Sekou Macalou

 

Top 5 from Stade Francais

 

Pascal Pape, Willem Alberts, Will Genia, Morne Steyn, Rabah Slimani and Sergio Parisse

 

These players are all internationals for their respective nations, with Pape having recently retired from international rugby.

 

Genia and Alberts could be key players for the new team but will also walk into most starting line-ups around Europe.

  

These players could have crucial roles to play if they join the new merged club. Parisse is still regarded as one of the best no.8s in the world, while Slimani has become a key member of the French national team.

 

The choice of having Morne Steyn or Dan Carter as your starting fly half or as a pair will please any coach and add plenty of experience and depth to the squad.

 

Top 5 from Racing 92

Dan Carter, Eddy Ben Arous, Juan Imhoff, Ben Tameifuna and Bernard Le Roux

 

French fans will be hoping that Eddy Ben Arous and Rabah Slimani can form a partnership at club level that will affect the national team positively.

 

Dan Carter will be one of the top priorities when the clubs merge as the former World Rugby Player of the Year is still one of the best fly-halves in the world.

 

Le Roux is international flank and would add quality to any team. Since joining Racing 92, Le Roux has become an important part of the team and might be one of the players that will join the new side.

 

Argentine winger Juan Imhoff is one of the best wingers in France and will be a massive loss. He may take this opportunity to link up with the Jaguares and play international rugby for Argentina again.

 

Big Ben Tameifuna could be big hit at any team that snatches him, the 142kg prop is an absolute monster in the scrum and bulldozes over opposition defenders. He might be one of the overseas players that the new club will look to keep on their books, but if they don't I'm sure the fans in Waikato wouldn't mind seeing the return of "Big Ben".