Bernard Laporte, president of the French Rugby Federation, has just proposed to Fabien Galthié, coach of the XV of France, to extend it until 2027. “When you have the best, you have to keep them”he justifies on Monday March 21 on franceinfo Le coach of the XV of France is indeed all haloed with a Grand Slam at the Six Nations Tournament after the victory of the Blues against England on Saturday.
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The next objective of the French team is the World Cup in 2023: “In the minds of players when you play a World Cup, it’s to win it”assures Bernard Laporte. “But it’s not easy”because “the international level is very balanced”.
franceinfo: Why extend Fabien Galthié so quickly?
Bernard laporte: He asked absolutely nothing. He never mentioned an extension or anything else, but in the interest of French rugby, when you have the best, you have to keep them. It is for these reasons that I wanted to show the players all the confidence I have in Fabien and his staff. It is for these reasons that I said that I wanted him to extend four more years. I extend it to show the confidence I have in him and his staff. I repeat, when you have the best, you have to keep them. It’s a little selfish, but I absolutely wanted him to stay with the French Rugby Federation.
The objective is to win the next World Cup?
In the minds of players when you play a World Cup it’s to win it. We haven’t gotten there so far. But it’s not easy. When we see Saturday’s match against the English, we see that the international level is very balanced. There are good teams everywhere. But hey, it’s a home World Cup. It’s a real challenge. That’s what I told the players.
France will be favourites. We moved up to second in the world rankings behind South Africa but ahead of New Zealand. It is important ?
It is symbolic. It’s true that the accumulation of results means that today we are the second team in the world behind South Africa. But hey, the important thing is to be the first team in the world in October 2023, that is to say to win the title of world champion.
The health crisis has made sports federations suffer. Can this Grand Slam attract new licensees?
The French Rugby Federation, thanks to the fact that we play outdoors, suffered less than other federations. For them the gymnasiums were closed. We were lucky to be able to receive our kids. We actually lost because of the Covid but very few licensees. First, because our educators in the clubs did the right thing. They received kids, they did training with constraints, of course. You shouldn’t touch each other. You had to stay five meters from each other. But at least there was the practice and the initiation to rugby that was being done, which was being put in place. It was hard but we suffered less than other federations.