XV de France: a new agreement reached between the French rugby federation and the League for the provision of international players

Un accord a été trouvé pour la mise à disposition des internationaux tricolores. MAXPPP

La Fédération française de rugby (FFR) et la ligue nationale de rugby (LNR) ont annoncé mardi 1er octobre  avoir trouvé un accord rétablissant de 34 à 42 le nombre de joueurs appelés avec le XV de France pour le Tournoi des Six nations.

This amendment to the agreement concerning the provision of international players adopted in 2022 between the clubs, represented by the League, and the Federation, was adopted on Monday by the LNR steering committee after being validated by the federal office last week, the two bodies announced in a joint press release.

“We have reached an agreement that also includes an extended relationship with the clubs for more individualized monitoring of targeted players”, rejoiced Jean-Marc Lhermet, vice-president of the FFR.

Coach Fabien Galthié will therefore find a group of 42 players for the 2025 Six Nations Tournament and for the 2026 edition as of 14 days before the competition, instead of the 34 planned for the 2024 Tournament by a previous amendment, adopted a few months after the 2023 World Cup.

During each week of competition in the Tournament, 28 players will be kept until the weekend: the remaining 14 players will return to their club on Wednesday evening, and will be able to be aligned on the weekend in the Top 14.

“This amendment guarantees the competitiveness of the Top 14 while allowing the national team to work in the best possible conditions in order to meet the future challenges of French rugby", declared LNR president René Bouscatel.

“Progressive construction of the squad”

For the November 2024 and 2025 matches, the coach will also benefit from a group of 42 players from Sunday evening to Wednesday evening. Here too, 28 players will be present all week, the other 14 being made available to their club from Wednesday evening.

The summer tours of 2025 and 2026 are the subject of a different agreement, “with an approach focused on the management of the most sought-after players and on the gradual construction of the squad”, the press release specifies.

Fabien Galthié will be able to count on a group of 42 players during these tours, formed in two stages: 28 players selected after the Top 14 play-offs, reinforced by players from the clubs eliminated in semi-final.

Like last year, the Top 14 finalists will not be selected for these international periods. Unlike last year, however, it is no longer a question of selecting only “players who were rarely or not at all called upon during the Six Nations Tournament”.

Like this summer against Uruguay, the French XV test matches may be supplemented by a “France Development” match during the week, against nations that are not among the major countries in world rugby.