One of the truly great All Blacks goes unnoticed by passers-by as he sits outside an old-fashioned Mayfair pub just around the corner from The Ritz.
The hustle and bustle of the heart of London – as Christmas shoppers dance around the city’s business gurus – suits Andrew Mehrtens to a tee.
He is used to being busy. On the day we meet, the now 51-year-old former fly-half has just arrived from Paris via Eurostar following meetings with French rugby officials.
Mehrtens, one of the best No 10’s to have ever played the game, was effortlessly languid on the field. He spent his time trying to avoid the big hitters.
These days, he is one of them off the pitch, combining his sporting gravitas and finance interest as a central part of a consortium looking at acquiring several rugby clubs across the world.
Mehrtens, alongside Formula 1 entrepreneur Eddie Jordan and ex-South Africa No 8 Bobby Skinstad, have the potential to be a rugby equivalent of sorts to the City Football Group – whose teams include Premier League giants Manchester City, Girona, New York City and Melbourne City. There is no such current model of shared ownership in rugby.
Former All Blacks fly-half Andrew Mehrtens recently spoke to Mail Sport in Mayfair, London
Mehrtens scored 967 points for New Zealand during a 70-Test career between 1995 and 2004
At the start of November, Mehrtens, Jordan and Skinstad took their first steps by taking a controlling stake in French second division side Beziers, where Mehrtens ended his playing career.
Mehrtens is keen to point out Beziers remains his No 1 priority. But it seems unlikely the group he is part of – which is backed by Northern Ireland-based private equity firm Strangford Capital – is going to stop there.
Jordan is an investor and adviser to Strangford and continues to be so despite revealing earlier this month he has been cruelly battling a ‘quite aggressive’ form of cancer.
Former Gallagher Premiership side London Irish, one of three victims of English rugby’s financial crisis in 2022, remain of interest to the consortium. So too do Worcester and Wasps, who like Irish went out of business, but have designs on returning to a new, revamped second tier below the Premiership.
‘I love these sorts of pubs and the fresh, winter air,’ Mehrtens says, sipping a lime and soda. ‘I’m not drinking at the moment, but the atmosphere in these places is still appealing to me!
‘I’ve just got so much going on right now that it’s good to keep a clear head. Plus, it’s helped me shift a few pounds!’
The amicable Mehrtens is rugby royalty, but he introduces himself as ‘Mehrts’.
‘I met Eddie for the first time at the World Rugby awards in Monaco,’ he says. ‘It was awesome. He brings an absolutely enormous personal brand with him. People want to engage with you when you have that.
Mehrtens and F1 entrepreneur Eddie Jordan, pictured (left) next to Sebastian Vettel in 2016, are part of a group that could become rugby’s answer to the Man City ownership model
Bobby Skinstad, pictured playing for Transvaal Cats in 2003, is also involved in the venture
‘Strangford have been in contact with Irish and discussions are continuing, as they are across a number of clubs who have recently been in the Premiership.
‘Most of that centres around financial viability. If there comes a time when there’s an opportunity to do something, I’d love to be involved. But I’m letting that play its course.
‘Our focus is definitely Beziers. It’s really important we state that. Any other club acquisitions by Strangford will not be to the detriment of Beziers.
‘But if you can get a model where you can get some good efficiencies by having one owner of multiple clubs and Strangford see those opportunities, then we’ll look at it. If it can be of benefit to Beziers for us to have a network of clubs, then that’s a good thing.
‘I’m certainly curious about the City Group model, particularly how they ring-fence their support between different clubs.’
At a time when rugby is struggling financially across the globe – unless your name is Bill Sweeney – and the sport’s traditional structures are at risk of being blown up by the creation of a new, rebel league, Mehrtens acknowledges club ownership can be a costly business.
But there is no doubt Strangford’s interest in the game is a good thing. Now based in Paris, Mehrtens’ playing career ended with Beziers after stints with Harlequins, Toulon and Racing 92.
Mehrtens, who also does media work, took all four of those clubs to promotion after a glittering stint in his homeland with the Crusaders and New Zealand. It is unsurprising that given the strong state of the country’s domestic game, Strangford have begun their rugby work in France.
Mehrtens and his partners could eventually build something like the City Football Group
The City Football Group current has major stakes in multiple clubs, including Man City, Melbourne City, Mumbai City, New York City, Troyes and Palermo
‘When we went into Beziers, our financial advisors were determined to prove there was no sustainable or financially viable rugby asset there,’ Mehrtens says.
‘Then they looked at the French market, how it’s thriving, the television revenue that goes with it, and they changed their minds! I’ve enjoyed this ownership group coming together because it has very much been like a rugby team – different people, different skills.
‘We have finance specialists as well as those who know sport from a different perspective – particularly Eddie and Dan McKeown who set-up Strangford. They obviously know F1 very well which is one of the biggest global sports. Rugby is very different to F1, but hopefully, we can tap into that expertise.
‘We’ve had to get the right people in the right roles. I guess that’s where me being a former fly-half comes in. As a No 10, you have to use the resource around you on the field.
‘That’s what I’ve tried to bring to ownership. I’m not the one who is going to run a rugby club day-to-day. We’ve got experts to do that. But what I do have is global rugby knowledge and a network I can use to help us be successful. With club ownership, I feel like I can make use of the 20 years I had in the game.
‘We’ve got some grunt behind us in terms of our investment. But firstly, these are passionate rugby people who don’t consider a return from a solely financial perspective. We’re in it for the right reasons.’
A New Zealand legend who was born in South Africa, Mehrtens has an intricate knowledge of French rugby. After our first meeting was curtailed, Mehrtens was battling a similarly busy, but altogether different challenge when we next caught up via telephone.
‘The days are pretty labour intensive here,’ Mehrtens says, taking a stroll through Paris to try and tire out his two recently born new arrivals.
Discussing his plans for rugby club ownership, Mehrtens said: ‘We’re in it for the right reasons’
‘The twins are full of energy. There’s hardly time to breathe!’
Mehrtens wants to take Beziers – who have been crowned French champions 11 times – back into the TOP14. They are currently challenging the second division’s leaders. From there, the possibilities seem endless and global too.
Skinstad has admitted clubs are available to buy in England as well as in America, South Africa and Australia.
‘Look at the second tier in European rugby – Germany, Georgia, Portugal and Spain have all got clubs,’ Mehrtens says. ‘There’s Tel Aviv Heat in Israel.
‘You have to think they would all benefit from playing in an expanded United Rugby Championship.
‘As those franchises develop, you’re going to get multiple club ownerships. It doesn’t have to be majority ownership, but there could be shared intellectual property around players and systems and efficiencies gained from centralised functions in areas such as ticketing, sponsorship and social media. I can certainly see that happening.
‘It’s new and exciting. I was very fortunate that with every team I played for in Europe, we got promoted. It was a great feeling of accomplishment.
‘And that’s what we want to do with ownership, starting with Beziers. They’ve got unbelievable history – 10 of their titles came in a 14-year period. I don’t feel it’s altruistic of me to get involved, but at the same time it’s not necessarily a financial goal either. I have a genuine passion for Beziers and for rugby.’