'We want to attract the big cities': French officials buoyed about future

Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII president Dominque Baloup has outlined plans to move the French domestic competition to the European summer and is buoyed about the future of the game in France after a successful visit to Australia.

Baloup and France coach Laurent Frayssinous made the trip to look at accommodation and training facilities for RLWC2026, in which the World Cup founders are drawn to meet Samoa and Lebanon in Sydney on October 16 and November 1 and England in Perth on October 24.      

While in Sydney they also met with ARLC Chair Peter V’landys and NRL CEO Andrew Abdo and came away brimming with confidence after hearing of their support for the game in France and at international level.

“We are very excited,” Baloup said. “We had a very good meeting with Peter V’landys and Andrew Abdo and of course we have many, many options to work with them in the future in Europe and in France.

“We are going to provide them with a strategic plan for the next three-years, with youth (participation) targets and a strategy for the next few years for the French competition.

“Work on that project has begun and we are wanting to come back in the summertime, like the Super League, and try to attract different support and different media coverage.

“We want to attract the big cities again, like Paris and Lyon.

“Because rugby union is finishing at that time, we will try to attract their players. The pathways in rugby union in France are huge and many players don’t play who could have fantastic rugby league careers.

“French TV are interested to support this because they have nothing (to broadcast) during this period.”

Robinson, who began his coaching career in Toulouse and has also coached at Catalans with Frayssinous – a former French international – as his assistant, is passionate about the game in France.

“We are pretty excited about being one of the 10 teams in the World Cup at the end of the year and we want to improve the French game,” Robinson said.

“France is an outlier that has been a really important outpost since 1934 in the game and Laurent and Dominque are flying the flag for it. The more experience they can get and the more experience we can have at the World Cup is really important to the future of rugby league in Europe.”

France beat Greece 34-12, trailed just 18-12 at halftime against England before losing 42-18 and were thrashed 62-4 by finalists Samoa at the last World Cup in 2022, but Frayssinous believes the team, which may include up to four NRL-based players, will be competitive at RLWC2026.

“We have got three great opponents at the end of the year, and we want to perform in every game,” Frayssinous said. “That is our objective. If we can win one game, two games or three games … we want to perform and be in the game every weekend, that’s our goal.”

In addition to Rabbitohs playmaker Latrell Siegwalt, Bulldogs secondrower Louis Grossemy and Roosters backs Enzo Griffier and Zac Sarfati, there are more than 25 French players in Super League, mainly with Catalans and Toulouse but also at English clubs.

Frayssinous met with the Australian-based quartet during his trip to Sydney and also did a series of media interviews, including with James Graham’s podcast, The Bye Round, about the plans for the future of the game in France.

“I am more than positive, I am excited from what I heard for 40 minutes from Peter and Andrew. They are very, very keen to help the game in Europe - in France and in Super League,” Frayssinous said.

“They want the game to grow so it is up to France, and to me and to us, to keep working and working very hard, but we have got their backing and we have got their support, which is what we wanted to hear.

“What they have done in the game, and obviously with the NRL, when these people tell you what they want to do in the future you have to be pumped, and I am pumped.”