Restoring France as a powerhouse

[Alan Shore]

Is putting UTC in the ESL really the right move?

It will only cheapen the French National Comp. And considering the Frogs are way left of the British and there's alot of rivalry many French may not like being felt their substandard and have to play in a UK comp. There is an argument that its a quick fix.

Or will it be like marginalising the Bartercard Cup, which doesn't really matter for the game's popularity?

 

[In-goal]

Well i would look at it like this, the super League is a full time proffesional competition were as the Elite 1 is only semi pro.
I think marketed right they could become the warriors of the French game,hopefully sparking interest amongst youngsters who would otherwise have never given our game ago.

In England they have the RSL then under that are the National leagues with promotion relegation, maybe oneday they could work more french clubs into this system making it more a European league.

 

[JasonE]

Yes mate I do think a French team in SL is the best way to go, Sadly France lost 2 outstanding young players to RU after the 2000 WC - Cassin & Dekkiche (both born with RL in their blood) which hurt badly but having the prescence of a SL team should help this situation in future.
There is still a lot of good youngsters in France, I've seen them myself and they need this to aspire to.
I just hope the UTC team dont fill it with Aussies, hopefully with their natural flair in time they will flourish and the National team will benefit.

There is already 3 Frenchman in SL, I'd love to see them all sign for UTC in 2005.

 

[In-goal]

i think having a mainly French team is a priority, filling the side with aussies would be a backward step and a pointless one.

 

[Misanthrope]

Of the few French players I'm familiar with, what does anyone know about these guys?

- Frederic Banquet
- Pascal Jampy

Would those two be in the side? Just that they're French internationals who I've seen once or twice, and you'd really want the best French players to be representing the country.

Chris

 

[The Colonel]

If the French are chasing players like Justin Morgan and Craig Field as coaches then they are in some trouble. Having spoken to Steve Crouch who was going to play over there - he and Andrew Meads were treating it like a big fun trip rather than football.

 

[yakstorm]

They will have the same rules as all other Super League clubs which mean they can only have a maximum of four 'non-europeans'.

From what I've heard alot of the other FFR clubs have been alright in release their players for UTC to pick from cause the seasons don't overlap by much.

 

[In-goal]

We may see a situation were french stars are playing almost 12 months of the year, early on this maybe productive but the toll will sooner show then stay in the closet.

 

[global13]

I agree that a French team in the SL is the best way to go about restoring France as a rugby league power. It will give aspiring youngsters something to strive for and also hopefully see the better players stay in our game and not be lured away to union. Personall I really hope that both Jean-Emmanuel Cassin and Yacine Dekkiche can be convinced to come back to league via UTC, as I think they are both still young enough to add something to the French rugby league landscape both now and in the coming years.

I also think the flow on effect will be a positive one. Because the seasons are run at different times, I think we will find a lot of young players will use the domestic comp as a hopefull pathway to a SL career. I also think that it will open up the apparent divide of recent years between French players and the Britich clubs. If you look at the junior results between France and England over the last 5 or so years, it points very favourably to the French. However, once these players get old enough to play senior football they are lured to union. Hopefully now we will at least see more young French players head to England clubs if they cant crack the UTC side.

All in all I think this is a very positive time for rugby league in France. The national side is competing well in 2 seperate tournaments at the moment and with the Euro Nations Cup just about upon us I think we will see a very strong showing from the French.

Let's just hope that we can again see them competing on an even keel with Australia, NZ and GB.

 

[Tidus_Raider]

France, Russia and Lebanon will hopefully be competitive sooner rather than later. I think a SL team is a great inititive however packing it with aussie and english players defeats it's purpose. Maybe one or two but I think the side shold be made predominantly of french players.

 

[Parra_Eels]

i hate it how theres heaps of aussies in sl

 

[joshreading]

I think a team like UTC shoudl go for players like Johns, Fittler etc. Alot of players might take a little less money to live in southern france over England. (I would) Two or three CLASS players would revolutionise a side and help it become a powerhouse with french players. Afrench side I think should also concentrate on players from say Russia and Morrocco.