NRL support for French rugby league, Digi Mart USA News: French rugby league could soon receive significant support from Australia. Peter V’landys, chairman of the Australian Rugby League Commission (ARLC), has confirmed that France is among the National Rugby League’s (NRL) priorities.
The project does not depend on the outcome of negotiations with the Super League.
The initiative follows a difficult World Cup for the French national team, which lost all three of its matches. After the tournament, V’landys met several French representatives.
Trent Robinson, former coach of the Catalans Dragons and a supporter of rugby league in France, also took part in the discussions.
Australia’s stated aim is to help French rugby league develop sustainably, both sporting and commercially.
“France is high on our agenda,” V’landys said. “They came to Australia and we met with Trent Robinson.
We told them we wanted to help them.”
Robinson also confirmed that discussions are moving forward. He spoke with V’landys and Dean Bosnich, a former Pia player who is the NRL’s general manager of game development.
“We plan to meet in a few weeks to build a shared vision between the French Federation and the NRL. This is very important for us,” he said.
The project could therefore advance independently of the agreement under discussion between the NRL and the Super League. Talks between the two competitions are ongoing, but no agreement has yet been reached.
Any possible collaboration is not expected to take effect before 2028.
For France, this separation is good news. Even if negotiations with the Super League do not succeed, the plan to support French rugby league is expected to continue.
The NRL could provide its experience, commercial assistance and financial support to help develop the sport.
The coming weeks will be important in defining the framework of this collaboration. French rugby league could gain valuable support as it plans for its future.
