TOP 14 -Agreement found between the FFR and the LNR: the game of the Sunday is shifted ... of a quarter of an hour

Agreement found between the FFR and the LNR: the game of the Sunday is shifted ... of a quarter of an hour

 After the meeting of the two sides this Friday, the FFR and the LNR agreed to shift the meeting of the Sunday afternoon of a quarter of an hour.

The National Rugby League (LNR) has agreed to shift the Sunday poster in Top 14 and to renegotiate its agreement with the French Federation of Rugby (FFR), especially around the XV of France, announced Friday the vice- President of the FFR Serge Simon. The new schedule will be effective from mid-February on the 18th day.

The NRL also pledged to finance the purchase of screens and subscriptions for the "1895 clubs" of French rugby so that this Sunday summit can be followed in the amateur stadiums after the matches that begin at 15h. The League has made a proposal (...): it is to equip the 1895 clubs with a device to watch these matches, and a very comfortable device since it is a screen of 114 cm plus one Subscription to Canal + until 2023, also announced Serge Simon, in charge of the relationship FFR / LNR.

This measure, which will be implemented in the coming weeks, should cost NRL 3 million, he said. These announcements are the result of a nearly four-hour meeting at the FFR headquarters in Marcoussis (Essonne), the first between NRL presidents Paul Goze and FFR Bernard Laporte since the latter's surprise election on 3 December.

Towards a renegotiated convention

As a reminder, Bertrnard Laporte had made this Sunday meeting one of the highlights of his election campaign, wanting in particular to "sanctuary a time slot for amateur rugby from 14:30 to 17:30". At its steering committee on December 27, 2016, the League and the broadcaster Canal + had taken a first step towards him by staggering the kick-off from 16:15 to 16:45, or half an hour. What had failed to satisfy Laporte.

But it would seem that not all disputes are settled between the two governing bodies. In a joint statement, they stated that "the President of the FFR has expressed his disagreement with certain provisions of the FFR-LNR Convention, so the Presidents of the FFR and the NRL have agreed to engage in an open and constructive way Of the discussions on this Convention with a view to reaching a new agreement at their General Assembly at the end of this season (30 June, ed.) ".

Laporte wants to impose federal contracts on the clubs, which would allow the FFR to employ the best players and control their playing time. "We discussed this and others" at the meeting, said Simon, Which the other sensitive subjects will be evoked during discussions: "financial redistribution, training, number of foreigners, etc."