Pro D2 – The takeover of Béziers, a crazy but still vague project

Friday, on the lawn of the Raoul-Barrière stadium, Bobby Skinstad delivered his first “Aqui es Besièrs”. An obligatory passage by way of presentation. The day before, the Springbok had passed another test: that of the first outing as vice-president of the ASBH. Within the club's brewery, the takeover of the club was formalized in the presence of the former third row, Andrew Mehrtens and the mayor of the city and, therefore, former owner, Robert Ménard. Eddie Jordan was excused because he was currently ill.

A 2007 world champion, a former 70-cap fly-half with New Zealand and the former owner of a Formula 1 team, the cocktail is as intriguing as it is tempting. “It looks like the start of a joke”joked Andrew Mehrtens. Champion of France in Fédérale 1 with Béziers in 2011, the fly-half presented the outlines of this project, with his mastery of French, constantly recalling his attachment to the club. For an hour, the three men returned to the 75% takeover of Strangford Capital, with the town hall keeping 2% of the entity, via its Cooperative Society of Collective Interest. “It is not an investment fund like CVC which operates with public money. There, these are private funds, invested, in particular, by Eddie Jordan. These are sports enthusiasts who put their hands in the pot They see the benefit of buying the club apart from the money. They are not there to generate funds or resell it in 18 months to make a capital gain.specifies the player who passed through the Crusaders. But how many deniers will they inject? The questions regarding the financial aspect did not find precise answers.

Three to four years to climb into the Top 14

It is therefore impossible to say whether the investments will be sufficient to build a team designed for growth from the next financial year.

A cycle of three or four years is announced to join the elite. Stability is therefore currently advocated sportingly. If some supporters already dream of seeing big South African and New Zealand names don the jersey for the eleven Brennus, brought back by Andrew Mehrtens and Bobby Skinstad, this should not be the case. “If we can take advantage of our networks to bring in a few young foreigners, to the training center or for the first team, we will do it, Andrew Mehrtens still announced. But we don't want to make Béziers a foreign club.” In management too, no changes have been announced. The two former players, vice-presidents, will not be 100% at the club, as they do not live in Béziers. But after years of waiting for the white smoke, the supporters are ready to vibrate behind this ASBH under the international flag.