Sport is a big industry where to be on the top you must stay up to date with and develop constantly. It is the discipline to be honored very much in France, thus special attention and attitude are applied to its development.
Brief historical review for rugby’s evolution
It has gone through one of the most delicate paths: from being excluded from the Six Nations Cup to becoming the richest league in the world. The game was brought by the English to almost all countries of the world. France is no exception. In 1872, British workers organized the sports club Le Havre, which played a kind of hybrid of football and rugby. The English Taylors, founded by English businessmen, are considered the first real union club in the country.
The French championship was first held in 1892 and has been delighting fans for almost 125 years.
In its long history, it has suffered the unspeakable: exclusion from the Five Nations Cup for 8 years due to the introduction of player salaries, accusations of excessive violence and foul play, regular disagreements between the French Rugby Federation and the National Rugby League.
Rugby is as popular in France as nothing to compare
Today France can rightly boast the first rugby team in the world. Just imagine, there are 457,000 licensed players, 1,630 clubs and 11 divisions in the country.
The two main keys to the success are the huge popularity and a very solid financial base. With a population of 66 million and a large number of wealthy people willing to throw money into the discipline, it had little trouble attracting both sides.
The strict system of French rugby
France, like other leading countries, has a proper and sophisticated sports system. Of course, we are talking about the fact that the government pays special attention not only to setting competitions for adult professional sportsmen, but tries to encourage and attract kids and the youth. Here are some salient features of training methods, which differ France from England and New Zealand. There is no day-and-touch rugby in the country. When playing with the “oval” ball, children are allowed to participate from the age of 7, however, full contact is only allowed from the age of 17. Absolutely all youth and junior sports schools have clearly delineated age groups.
At the adult level, there are five professional divisions: TOP-14, PRO D2, Federale 1, Federale 2, Federale 3.
What is more interesting, even the clubs of Federale 3 are provided with financing to engage legionnaires from other countries. While Australia is actively distributing passports to Pacific Islanders, France is more focused on Africa. Such rugby stars as Thierry Dusatua, Yannick Nyanga, Scott Spedding and Eddy Ben Arus have African roots. Thus there is no wonder that the discipline is the second largest sport in France.
The special place to raise talents is specified
The French winning approach to the development of the sport is also based on determining a special training center aimed to raise a new generation of talents. One of the best examples is The Marcoussis Center. It occupies an area of 20 hectares and has all the equipment and facilities updated with the latest technology. The place is not only the training ground for the various French teams, it also has five playing fields, a gym, a swimming pool, a media center and even a library.
Rugby as the option to choose
If you live in France and never tried your hands in this sport – don’t waste time and do it today. Of course, there is no need to become a professional player to enjoy gaming. Just believe, the physical and mental benefits you may get will surely surpass all your expectations.