Filthy Lucre

As with many endeavours, the glory of sport is often spoilt by money.

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The extraordinary spectacle of Mourad Boudjellal, the multimillionaire owner of French rugby club Toulon, insulting star recruit and former All Blacks wing Julian Savea via the media can be summarised a number of ways, ranging from “he who pays the piper calls the tune” to “buyer beware”.

Both parties should have known what they were letting themselves in for. Boudjellal has a track record of high-handed behaviour and verbal abuse, including his portrayal of Jerry Collins, who played for Toulon in 2008/9, as a wild drunk who was fortunate not to be behind bars.

By his own admission, Boudjellal’s decision to do a two-year deal with Savea, reportedly worth more than $3 million, was based on the Wellingtonian’s explosive performance against France in a 2015 World Cup quarterfinal. As rugby scribes and fans here could have predicted, subsequent sightings of that Julian Savea have been rare, fleeting and unverified.

Having decided he’d made a bad investment, Boudjellal apparently intends to make Savea’s life in Toulon as unpleasant as he can – which is very unpleasant – in the hope the player simply leaves the club, thereby voiding his contract. Savea, presumably, will put up with the humiliation to ensure his contract is honoured.