Les partenaires d’entraînement des Bleus au cœur des discussions
C’est ce mercredi 13 décembre que la Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) et la Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) vont s’entretenir pour revoir la convention qui les lie. Cette convention est censée faciliter le passage des joueurs internationaux des clubs à l’équipe nationale et inversement.
Le sélectionneur de l’équipe de France, Fabien Galthié, participera à cette réunion depuis Marcoussis où il commencera à partager son analyse sur la campagne tronquée de la Coupe du Monde de Rugby 2023.
Mais c’est surtout la deuxième partie de l’ordre du jour qui est très attendue avec la volonté du nouveau staff d’obtenir les mêmes moyens dont il bénéficiait au fil des années précédentes. Parmi ces moyens, Galthié souhaite notamment la mise à disposition de 42 joueurs pour préparer les matchs des Bleus.
Le président de la LNR, René Bouscatel, a déjà indiqué que le cadre de la convention ne changerait pas jusqu’en 2027.
On ne touche pas aux 42, mais…
Si le principe des 42 joueurs ne semble pas remis en cause par une partie des dirigeants du Top 14, c’est leur répartition qui devrait faire réagir. « Être à 42 nous permet d’avoir deux équipes de 21 pour travailler à haute intensité sur deux journées, sans dégrader la qualité », a toujours dit Fabien Galthié.
« Le nombre de 42, avancé à l’époque par Fabien Galthié, est un mode de fonctionnement qui est propre à 80-90% des clubs de Top 14 », indique Ugo Mola, manager du Stade Toulousain interrogé à ce sujet par L’Equipe dans son édition du 13 décembre.
« On a tous besoin de continuer à s’entraîner à 42 parce qu’on a quand même des échéances. »
Sur les 42 mobilisés pour préparer une rencontre internationale, 23 sont assurés d’aller jusqu’au bout (les quinze titulaires et les huit remplaçants), cinq ont un espoir, même minime de jouer (ils sont réservistes et donc mobilisables en cas de souci de dernière minute).
Reste 14 joueurs qui jouent les partenaires d’entraînement, ce qu’on nomme dans le jargon les « sparring partners », qui sont généralement libérés le mercredi soir de leurs engagements avec le XV de France et remis à disposition de leur club pour jouer ou non le week-end suivant – sachant qu’ils ont manqué une partie des entraînements de leur club durant la semaine.
Que faire des 14 partenaires d’entraînement
Or c’est précisément sur ce point que les discussions pourraient s’enclencher entre la Fédé et la Ligue. « C’est vrai que les garçons qui ont vécu ce rôle de partenaires d’entrainement pendant deux, trois, quatre saisons peuvent estimer que c’est un peu lourd à gérer. Ils perdent un peu le rythme, ils ne sont ni en club, ni en équipe de France, c’est un peu pesant », indique Ugo Mola dans les colonnes de L’Equipe.
L’idée serait par exemple de faire tourner cet effectif afin que ce ne soit pas toujours les mêmes joueurs concernés qui jouent ce rôle, quitte à faire appel aux moins de 20 ans pour compléter l’effectif.
Il faudrait ainsi voir qui, comment et pour combien de temps ces partenaires d’entraînement seraient mis à disposition du XV de France. Jean-Marc Lhermet, vice-président de la FFR délégué au haut niveau, fixe un cadre d’emblée : « repartir sur un nouveau cycle, avec une nouvelle organisation, la plus simple possible. Ce qu’on veut éviter, c’est d’avoir une usine à gaz ».
Comments on RugbyPass
wel the crusaders were beaten by a queensland reds side that hadnt beaten them at home since 1999 and queensland reds partied like it was 1999
4 Go to commentsHard to disagree with the 5 points - with the exception that Wilson should be a squad member but, depending on the other loose forward selections, is not yet a shoo-in. McReight is. Aussie is looking a lot better this year and JS has some selection options. Also, Havili’s tendency to get caught, charged down is also a liability at times but he seemed focused (mostly) and is definitely a consideration for utility back-up. Still feel Reihana is a better prospect at 1st five for Saders.
4 Go to commentsYeah nah, still not sure on Havili tbh. Even though I’m a Crusaders fan through and through I’d be stunned if Razor considers him after seeing some of the stunning talent coming through up North.
4 Go to commentsThink it was a great defensive performance by Northampton. They didn't have stage fright in the first half, the Nienaber defense smothered them. They limited Leinster to 15-3 in the first half. It could have been over by then. A great try from Leinster in the start of the second half looked to have sealed it. But Byrne missed another conversion. Northampton started trying little kicks behind the Leinster wingers. Leinster messed one and Smith brilliantly made the conversion. Leinster decided to tighten the game after Byrne missed a straight forward penalty. A few errors got NH into the 22 and they scored and converted with a few minutes left. Another brilliant steal from Lawes saw NH have a final attack which was turned over by Conan. A classic semi final. World record attendance of 82,300. Leinsters 3 week preparation warranted for this one.
1 Go to commentsJust came back from the game and the atmosphere was amazing. Players stayed afterwards for more than a hour to sign stuff and take photos with fans. Great day out.
5 Go to commentsA great game. The Sharks without Etsebeth are a shadow of the team compared to when he plays. The limitations of Some of the expensive Sharks players are being exposed. Credit to Clermont for some exhilaration play at times.
5 Go to comments100% Mr Owens. But who would want to be a referee.? It must be the most difficult job on earth.
1 Go to commentsStarts to be overdone and oversold this systematic SA narrative…which nevertheless has the merit in this case to recognise blatant refereeing mistakes in their favor
5 Go to commentsNice article. Shades of Steinbeck. They can win the final if they take the game seriously; but only if they take it seriously.
5 Go to commentsWhat a sad way to end a glittering career. Somebody should tell him to delete his social media accounts and face the consequences of what he's done. Then he should slip away quietly into obscurity. This isn't likely to happen, something tells me he'll be back in The Sun / Daily Mail sooner rather than later.
5 Go to commentsguys its fine! he understands why he did what he did and has taken accountability for it; why should he have to be accountable to a court? after all he did was abuse people in person - its not as if he was engaging in _online_ abuse!
5 Go to commentsChiefs flanker Kaylum Boshier yellow-carded for collapsing the scrum as it rolled towards the line. It was a maul….
1 Go to commentsyou know, i’m a leinster fan so I want Northampton to lose and it is gonna be tuff with Cortney lawes, Alex michell and the other guys🏉 lets go leinster🏉
1 Go to commentsWelcome to the Pro ranks. Those hard teams of old do hit the sole better though. its a dog fight at the top.
6 Go to commentsCan someone fill me in please, I've read a number of Ben Smith articles now and it seems he's got something again South Africa? Surely, this game was over and done with 7 months ago. Can't we have something a bit more interesting and relevant, or is this the calibre of journalist on this site?
238 Go to commentsNot sure what the Welsh are moaning about. They’ve had far more players off England, than England have had off Wales. Guys like Josh Hathaway and Kane James will play for Wales in the end. And they’ll be fsr better players for having played in the Gallagher Premiership, than they ever would have been had they stayed mired in the shambles that is Welsh rugby.
4 Go to commentsThis is all being blown totally out of proportion. First of all, since half the Irish team isn’t Irish - it’s very likely that none of the Irish players said that at all and, thus, we’re not being arrogant. Second, since half the Irish team is Kiwi - it’s very likely the Kiwi players were predicting a NZ SA World Cup final. Which they got spot on. Good on them!
163 Go to commentsAha. An Irishman with logic! Follow the flow: - Ireland peaks with a >80% win record between 2020 and 2023. And then… - crashes out of another QF at the WC; - Beat a poor French Team; - Beat 6N wooden spoonists Italy; - Play shite against eventual wooden spoonists Wales; - Lose against the most boring, “the worst English team ever” , a team widely regarded as unable to attack; - scrape through against Scotland. This article, No - Trimble, is on the money! Except for one glaring statement: _The Springboks have a few aces in the hole in this debate being the reigning world champions and official world number ones_ There is no debate, boys and girls. There it is. In black and white. “Reigning World Champions and OFFICIAL world number ones”. Come July, the overrated Andy Farrell and this overhyped team are going to enter into a world of hurt.
90 Go to commentsI’d like to know what homoerotic events Daniel enjoyed at 8th man. I clearly missed out!
20 Go to commentsThis article is missing some detail, like some actual context or info about what led to him abusing the ref.
2 Go to comments