France confirm four Rugby World Cup warm-up matches and sign a new five year deal with the LNR
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Just over a year out from the 2023 Rugby World Cup, France and the LNR (the governing body of French club rugby) have signed an agreement which outlines the ambition of French rugby for the five years to come.
The new agreement applies from the 2022-2023 season to the 2026-2027 season.
It incorporates the deadlines for the World Cup in 2023 and the Olympic Games in 2024 in Paris and sets ten strategic priorities common to the FFR and the LNR:
- Place the XV of France in the best conditions to win the 2023 World Cup, and after this deadline allow it to remain among the top nations in world rugby, particularly in view of the 2027 World Cup
- Pursue the controlled development of strong and secure professional club rugby
- Ensure the consistency of the areas of development of Professional Rugby and Amateur Rugby and strengthen solidarity
- Reinforce exchanges and actions to protect the health of players
- Succeed in the organization and legacy of the 2023 World Cup in France
- Strengthen training at all levels of French rugby and permanently maintain a pool of high-level players who can evolve within the French teams within the professional championships
- Strengthen the structure of high-level French arbitration with the launch of a performance plan that sets up an organization ensuring long-term performance
- Develop Rugby 7s and in particular bring the French 7s team to the top of world Rugby 7s
- Collaborate in the development and structuring of women's rugby;
- Strengthen the structural bridges between amateur and professional competitions
In short, this means that the French national team and the controlling body of the Top 14 and PROD2 will continue to collaborate in order to best serve the French national team as well as the clubs.
It also means that in the coming season, Fabien Galthie will be able to select 42 players per test window with the group reduced to 28 on the Wednesday before a test, and those players released will be available to their clubs.
The Final of the Top 14 has also been moved to an earlier date in 2023, scheduled for June 17, with 42 players then available for selection and Rugby World Cup preparation.
France will play four test matches in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup:
- Weekend of August 5 against Scotland
- Weekend of August 12 against Scotland
- Week of August 19 against Fiji
- Weekend of August 26 against Australia
After these test matches, nine of the 42-man squad will be released to complete the 33-man squad for the Rugby World Cup.
While the Top 14 took place during the 2019 Rugby World Cup, this will not be the case in 2023 with the competition playing out the opening three rounds before pausing during the tournament and will resume a day after the final.
