Meyer's Stade have ambitions to become world's best

Cape Town - French club Stade Francais, who are coached by former Springbok mentor Heyneke Meyer, have ambitions to become the dominant rugby club in the world.

Stade Francais have traditionally been one of the powerhouses of French rugby but struggled in recent years.

They narrowly avoided relegation from the Top14 last season when they finished 12hh on the standings, winning just nine out of 26 games.

However, the club's fortunes may soon change as they will enter the 2018/19 Top 14 season with the highest player budget of €34 million (R566 million) in the competition.

The Parisian club’s German billionaire owner Hans-Peter Wild has high hopes and wants them to dominate.

"We need the best coaches, the best players, in the medium term to win the championship. And the long-term goal is to become one of the best teams in the world, like Bayern Munich, Real Madrid or Manchester United in football,” he told the francetvinfo.fr website.

The French website added that Meyer put the players through some intense physical preparation during their pre-season.