The FFR and the LNR came to an agreement on Monday: the Blues coach Fabien Galthié may well have 42 players, including five "training partners", to prepare for the 2021 Six Nations Tournament. This agreement, which does not exist 'applies that for the 2021 Tournament, "is the result of a constructive and balanced dialogue," said League and Federation in a joint statement, published in the evening.
Galthié will therefore be able to summon 37 players and this group will be supplemented by five “training partners” to prepare for the matches in these famous “high intensity” sessions.
These five reinforcements will not however be able to play the match of the weekend or come from a club which already has more than one player selected in the 37. Nine players will then be released to return to their club on Thursday morning.
The clubs will be notified on Wednesday evening, this visibility being one of the essential criteria for Top 14 managers in the negotiations.
During the two weeks of rest, from February 15 to 21 then from March 1 to 7, "the 28 players selected for the match of the previous weekend will remain together until Wednesday evening".
Italy to start on February 6
"French rugby is never as strong as when it is united", welcomed the president of the FFR Bernard Laporte.
According to his LNR counterpart Paul Goze, this agreement "takes better account of the sporting balances of the clubs and allows them to gain visibility in the management of staff".
Les Bleus, second in the 2020 edition, start the 2021 Tournament in Italy on February 6 before traveling to Ireland the following week.
During the winter of 2020, the coach of the XV of France had benefited from 42 players, all selectable, for the preparation of the Six Nations Tournament.
But, during the autumn period, Federation and clubs disagreed on the number of international matches (six in total).
The two parties had finally found a compromise with three match sheets maximum per player and 31 players for the preparation of each meeting.
The coach had to complete training, especially with international rugby sevens.
"The FFR and the LNR will take stock of this system at the end of the 2021 Tournament, before initiating discussions with a view to adjusting the FFR-LNR agreement for the next two seasons with a view to the expiry of the 2023 World Cup, ”the statement continues.
