How French Rugby At All Levels Can Benefit From RWC 2023

At the Rugby World Cup 2023 Opening Conference held on the morning of Monday 4th September 2023 in Paris to launch the RWC 2023 tournament, Florian Grill, French Rugby Federation president spoke of the boundless benefits the tournament will have for French rugby.

Grill said of the legacy of Rugby World Cup 2023 that all levels of rugby would benefit and that there are currently  100,000 registered women in rugby in France, including 70,000 players and 30,000 managers, coaches and referees.

In terms of the benefits for players, he added “There will be salaried positions, thanks to the Campus 2023 programme for apprentices set up in conjunction with the government and France 2023, which will take shape in French rugby and help to structure the clubs.

We also need to revitalise France’s ‘rugby regions’, particularly in the Overseas Territories, where at least five players in the French teams come from – as well as areas in France where the game remains insufficiently well established. We want to relaunch rugby from the bottom up.”

RUEIL-MALMAISON, FRANCE – SEPTEMBER 02: Antoine Dupont arrives to the Rugby World Cup 2023 Welcome Ceremony for France on September 02, 2023 in Rueil-Malmaison, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images)

Other benefits mentioned were:

• Intention to improve facilities, in particular accessibility for people with reduced mobility.
• Increase the number of women playing rugby.
• Building changing rooms for women will help increase the number of clubs that can offer women’s rugby.
• There are 1,950 clubs in France.

Local French Rugby Clubs – RWC 2023 Impact

“They (the local clubs” enable people of all origins, religions and socio-professional backgrounds to meet and mix. I want to take advantage of the media coverage of this World Cup to highlight the social role played by these grassroots clubs,” added Grill.

He added that the clubs play a major role in education. “Rugby, which began in schools 200 years ago, teaches values of respect that are essential to society and to living together. This is a chance to highlight their sporting role, educational role and also civic role.”

Some of the ongoing developments are:

• Clubs, local organisations and regional leagues have created and will develop adapted rugby sections for young people with disabilities.
• Health rugby sections will be set up to deal with issues such as cancer and diabetes.

The French Rugby Federation president expanded on the reach of the rugby community and the growth of the game: “Some clubs can go into the struggling neighbourhoods in their towns and into rural regeneration areas. They have a role to play locally. Some clubs have set up job dating schemes, in partnership with the government, for long-term jobseekers, with exceptional rates of return to employment.

Some clubs work on inclusion issues and combat discrimination, racism, homophobia and transphobia. All these issues are addressed by the clubs, who are key players in French society.”

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