In this post I'm going to be talking about how rugby union clubs like Toulon buy players.  I will describe the inputs and processes and then obviously the output is the player. 
Unlike other sports like Soccer and American Football, there is no set time that transfers can happen only in this set time. 
What usually happens is that when a player's contract at a club is coming to an end, other teams will put in offers to that player to try and get them to their club.  If the team that the player is currently at want to keep said player they will also give contract offers to the player.  The player will look over these offers and will choose the one he wants.  Which one they choose can be for a variety of different reasons, whether it be money, importance in the team's set up or even the place where the club is based.
Once they choose their favourite contract they will accept the offer and then move to the other team when their contract with their current team runs at the end of the current season.
The reason Toulon get so many world-class players is because they have a perfect mixture of all the things players look for in a team.  They can give players amazing salaries, Toulon is a beautiful city and the players they sign will always have a good position on the team.

In this picture it shows Toulon lifting the Heineken Cup.  In this post I’m going to be follow up from the last post and talk about how Toulon have continued buying foreign players to boost the power of their team.  It has been working very well for them, they have had a very successful few years.  They have won the Top 14 a few years in a row.  They have also won the European Cup 3 years consecutively.  This is very impressive and Toulon have been the most successful team in world rugby at the moment.  So clearly buying these foreign players has clearly been working for them.  In recent years they have brought in players like Australia’s Matt Giteau and Drew Mitchell and Johnny Wilkinson of England, probably the most influential players of this era for Toulon.  Just season they brought in Ma’a Nonu of New Zealand and Duane Vermulen of South Africa and also Quade Cooper of Australia.  These have all been massive signings for Toulon and they have all had massive impacts on the Toulon team.
http://www.irishtimes.com/polopoly_fs/1.1399070.1368906345!/image/image.jpg_gen/derivatives/landscape_685/image.jpg
This is the link for the photo

Toulon is a city based in Southern France, the club Toulon RC is based in this city and was set up in 1908, 108 years ago.  They play in the Stade Mayol which holds about 15,000 people, but due to their recent success in most competitions they compete in they have moved to the Stade Velodrome in Marseille which holds about 60,000 people.  They played 5 matches there between 2008-2011, but now they play most matches there. 
In the early 2000's the club was struggling massively.  They were relegated into the Pro D2 which is the second division in France.  Mourad Boudjellal then bought the club and promised to invent a new team.  He started signing world class players from the southern hemisphere as they brought more flare and talent to the team.  He brought in players like Tana Umaga and Dan Luger of Zealand an South Africa.  These players wages were a massive amount of money for that time.  This then started a trend and Toulon are still buying foreign players from the Southern Hemisphere, I have pointed this out in my last two blogs.

In this post I'm going to talk about Toulon's backs and where they come from.
They're Scrum-Half (9) is Sebastian Tillous-Borde from France.
They're Out-Half (10) I'm putting in, even though some of you may not agree, is Quade Cooper of Australia.  At First-Centre (12) is Matt Giteau of also Australia.
At Second-Centre (13) is Ma'a Nonu of New Zealand.
At Left-Wing (14) is Australian legend Drew Mitchell.
At Right-Wing (11) is South African and general legend Bryan Habana.
We have two options at Full-Back (15).  We could either have Delon Armitage of England, who is playing for them now.  But their usual starting 15 is Leigh Halfpenny of Wales.
Lets remember that Toulon are a French side playing in France and yet they only have one French player in the back-line, Tillous-Borde, then everyone else bar their fullback no matter which one is playing their, are from the Southern Hemisphere.

In this post I'm going to talk about Toulon's starting Forwards and the different countries that they come from.
I'll start with their starting front row.
At loosehead prop they have Xavier Chiocci of France.  At hooker they have Guilhem Guirado of France as well.  At tighthead prop they have Matt Stevens of England.  66% of players in their front row are French.  That is fairly standard percentage of home country players for most teams.
In the second row they have Paul O'Connel of Ireland and Samu Manoa of the U.S.A.  The back row is openside flanker is Stefon Armitage of England Number Eight is Duane Vermulen of South Africa, blindeside flanker is Mamuka Gorgoza of Gerogia.  There are no French players in Toulon's second or back row.  This is very unusual for any team and shows the money Toulon have to spend on players.
There are three British players, O'Connel, Stevens and Armitage.
There is one Southern Hemisphere player, Vermulen.
There is one American, Manoa.
There is then one player from Georgia, Gorgoza.
In my next post I will Talk about Toulon's starting backs and where they are from.

Hello my name is Ross Henderson and this is my blog on the geography of Toulon Rugby Club set in Toulon in France.  I will be talking about the famous stadiums that they have played in, in different countries.  I will also be talking about where the bulk of star players are from.