Toulouse (AFP)

The agreement torn Thursday on the provision of French internationals represents "the best possible harmony in the face of an emergency situation", said Didier Lacroix, president of Stade Toulousain involved in last-minute negotiations with the Federation (FFR) .

During the exceptionally enlarged international autumn window (October 24 - December 5) due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the XV will play six matches, as wanted the president of the FFR Bernard Laporte and the coach Fabien Galthié, but the Top 14 clubs have obtained that the players they employ are capped at 3 matches each.

Q: Did you count the number of meeting hours before reaching this agreement?

A: "Yes, it's a big, significant investment of time on everyone's part. But it's an important moment for French rugby, at a time when there was frying on the line. . We ran out of time for discussion, disturbed by the Covid, disturbed because it is never the right time to deal with it, disturbed by the Federation elections. Little by little, it became urgent to agree. position has been found, it is very balanced, such as to allow the France team to play all the matches it has scheduled and to reduce the number of matches per player. too many matches at high intensity, while allowing them to play the final of the 2020 Tournament (against Ireland on October 31, Editor's note). And I would like France to win this 2020 Tournament. "

Q: Is this agreement more a proposal from the Federation or the clubs?

A: "It's really 50-50, really. What had to be found was the most effective solution for the players. What stands out is intelligence, listening and mutual respect. We have not resolved the problem of duplicates, (the busy schedule) of competitions, but we have found the best possible harmony in an emergency situation. "

Q: Limiting the number of matches per player will cause Fabien Galthié to select more players in total.

Have you set a limit of called-up players per club?

A: "Of course not, there is no limit to the number of players to call in a given club. To be effective, the France team must have the possibility of selecting the best. It is not only a typical team. There are 6 matches to play, Fabien Galthié and his team must optimize in order to perform well over the entire period with a constraint which is a maximum number of matches per player. They will articulate according to adversity and their priorities. There is situational intelligence to make these selections. Four of the five possible hookers are in two clubs, Racing (Camille Chat, Teddy Baubigny) and Stade Toulousain (Julien Marchand, Peato Mauvaka). C 'is an observation ... However, at no time, we can prohibit the France team to take the two from the same club and force it to mix things up. We touch on the problem of the moment. not to write, we must leave the freedom (to the coach): if the two best

players from France (for the same position) are at Stade Toulousain, they must both be selected. "

Interview on the phone by Pierrick YVON

© 2020 AFP