Senior French rugby league figures Laurent Frayssinous and Ben Garcia have directly called for help from the NRL to grow the sport in the country, following their 78-4 defeat to Samoa.
The loss in the pool B/C clash was France’s biggest-ever World Cup loss, beating their previous record of 62-4 against the same opposition at the delayed 2021 edition in England.
Their plea comes amid the backdrop of talks between the NRL and Super League over a proposed partnership; however, the deadline for the deal passed without an official agreement in place earlier this week.
‘We need a bit of help’
The change in the scoreline between both the World Cup fixtures represents the shifting positions of the respective sides in the international game. 18 of Samoa’s 19-man match-day squad ply their trade in the NRL, with recent Super League winner Jazz Tevaga the only player outside of the Australian competition, while France’s squad is mainly Super League and France-based players, with some players in the side featuring in Super XIII.
“I have a question for you: do you think the NRL is far better now than four years ago?” said Frayssinous. “Then you have the answer.”
“They have a better team (than the last World Cup) with more experience and better players. But that’s them; and I want to focus on us, and what I can tell you is we have good players in our camp. We just need a bit more connection, so we’ll be better next weekend.
“The NRL keeps growing and keeps getting better every year,” he continued. “Watching NRL every year, it’s at the top, at the top, at the top; a step up, step up, step up.
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“Does that mean Super League doesn’t (get better every year)? No. Super League is better every year, but not as fast as the NRL. That’s the difference; the smartness, the skill the guys have under pressure and under fatigue, week in, week out. That’s something we need to improve in Super League, simple as that.”
“One performance doesn’t reflect the level of Super League or the NRL, just us. We’ll take our medicine, and we’ll be better next weekend.”
While France are hoping for improved performances against England and Lebanon over the rest of the pool stages, the long-term growth of the national side still remains a looming question, and their senior leaders have launched an impassioned plea for help from the NRL to turn things around.
“We are all competitors, but it’s the reality of where we are in France,” said captain Garcia. “For example, when Samoa had Marinier’s injury, they put on Faalogo, who is one of the best players in the NRL. We don’t have this luck in France.
“We’re trying to survive, and it’s hard, but we’re all passionate about the sport and we’ll keep going. We’re passionate about rugby league; you don’t understand the situation in France, but there are people like Laurent and like us in the dressing room. We need a bit of help.”
“What the NRL have done here is so good,” added Frayssinous. “What they bring to the game is great. We want the NRL to do the same in Europe; for us there’s no question.
“There are a few things we want the NRL to invest in. We spoke about the last four years and how the game has evolved and is better over the last four years, and that’s what we want in Super League. For that, it’s a full circle: do we invest in the staff, the players or the environment, and that’s what you want for things to be better.
“Yes, it’s about money, but it’s also about strategy and how you grow the game in Europe. What the NRL have done here is a perfect example to follow.
“Grassroots first, definitely,” the head coach continued. “There are some great Super League clubs; Catalans is a great Super League club like Wigan, they’re already well-settled. But instead of having four clubs in their region, can we have 10 (feeding in)? Can we have more children who play rugby league in France and in Europe.
“That’s what we want; that’s the start.”
READ MORE: Why Samoa can WIN the World Cup: Everything we learned from record France victory