AlbertRosenfeld
Juniors
- Messages
- 1,009
It is now late February, 2007, past the second round of Super League, and more than half way through the French domestic competition. Yet we have no French Federaton website.
What possible excuse can M. Larrat have? What are the Paris-based permanent staff of the Federation (one full time official, M. Dalongueville, and two or three secretaries) doing for their money? These French government-funded bureaucrats certainly give no common courtesy, let alone administrative help, to the diehard fans in the south, some of whom are toiling daily at their own expense to produce gems like planete13.tv
Moreover, does M. Larrrat have a strategic plan for building rugby league in France? I have heard nothing of any such plan. Mick Aldous made a number of detailed suggestions to the Federation, for reforms, after he completed his time as national coach in 2004. But what became of these proposals? Did M. Larrat read them?
This is no small matter. Les Catalans has been a great success, even though finishing last in 2006. The crowds are very good, the national TV coverage is there now, and the English fans love to come visit. But this is mostly thanks to the management of Les Catalans, esp. the club's dynamic President M. Bernard Guasch. It has little to do with the French Federation.
The French Elite competition, which should be the showcase of the game, is deeply flawed. While there is a strong interest in the game in the old heartland of the southwest, especially in the Catalan region (UTC, Pia) and in the Aude region (Carcassonne, Lezignan, Limoux), the game has not expanded into the bigger population centres. The likely admission of Toulouse into Super League in 2009 should be a big boost for the game in this most important and wealthy French city. There will be plenty of young rugby union players who will be yearning for a spot in the Super League who will switch codes if Toulouse becomes a second avenue for professional full time rugby league in France. Already Matthieu Griffi is a member of Les Catalans professional squad, and one of the most successful rugby union converts so far.
But the French Elite competition should be set up as a real nursery for the Super League --- especially for the two French Super League clubs, but also for the English clubs. That will only happen in a big way if there is grass roots development of the game in Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille ---with a view to creating Elite clubs there soon --- and a complete renovation of the massively mismanaged Elite club at Lyon. The performance of the Lyon on and off the field is a disgrace. Larrat seems not to care. Furthermore Avignon, which has had some excellent juniors, needs to be resuscitated as an Elite club along with Albi. But Paris must become a priority for development. Without a team in the capital, the game will not be taken seriously by most French people. Establishing an Elite club in Paris is a necessary immediate first step towards creating the third French Super League club in Paris in the next 5-8 years.
All this requires leadership. M. Larrat should be the man to provide it. But so far this well groomed Toulouse lawyer has shown more ability to swagger ostentatiously into a crowded reception room than to deliver a concrete program of development. I will start to believe in him when he delivers not only a professional website, but also a strategic plan for the future of the French game. My guess is that I will have to wait a long time.
What possible excuse can M. Larrat have? What are the Paris-based permanent staff of the Federation (one full time official, M. Dalongueville, and two or three secretaries) doing for their money? These French government-funded bureaucrats certainly give no common courtesy, let alone administrative help, to the diehard fans in the south, some of whom are toiling daily at their own expense to produce gems like planete13.tv
Moreover, does M. Larrrat have a strategic plan for building rugby league in France? I have heard nothing of any such plan. Mick Aldous made a number of detailed suggestions to the Federation, for reforms, after he completed his time as national coach in 2004. But what became of these proposals? Did M. Larrat read them?
This is no small matter. Les Catalans has been a great success, even though finishing last in 2006. The crowds are very good, the national TV coverage is there now, and the English fans love to come visit. But this is mostly thanks to the management of Les Catalans, esp. the club's dynamic President M. Bernard Guasch. It has little to do with the French Federation.
The French Elite competition, which should be the showcase of the game, is deeply flawed. While there is a strong interest in the game in the old heartland of the southwest, especially in the Catalan region (UTC, Pia) and in the Aude region (Carcassonne, Lezignan, Limoux), the game has not expanded into the bigger population centres. The likely admission of Toulouse into Super League in 2009 should be a big boost for the game in this most important and wealthy French city. There will be plenty of young rugby union players who will be yearning for a spot in the Super League who will switch codes if Toulouse becomes a second avenue for professional full time rugby league in France. Already Matthieu Griffi is a member of Les Catalans professional squad, and one of the most successful rugby union converts so far.
But the French Elite competition should be set up as a real nursery for the Super League --- especially for the two French Super League clubs, but also for the English clubs. That will only happen in a big way if there is grass roots development of the game in Paris, Bordeaux and Marseille ---with a view to creating Elite clubs there soon --- and a complete renovation of the massively mismanaged Elite club at Lyon. The performance of the Lyon on and off the field is a disgrace. Larrat seems not to care. Furthermore Avignon, which has had some excellent juniors, needs to be resuscitated as an Elite club along with Albi. But Paris must become a priority for development. Without a team in the capital, the game will not be taken seriously by most French people. Establishing an Elite club in Paris is a necessary immediate first step towards creating the third French Super League club in Paris in the next 5-8 years.
All this requires leadership. M. Larrat should be the man to provide it. But so far this well groomed Toulouse lawyer has shown more ability to swagger ostentatiously into a crowded reception room than to deliver a concrete program of development. I will start to believe in him when he delivers not only a professional website, but also a strategic plan for the future of the French game. My guess is that I will have to wait a long time.
