Less than two weeks before the first match of its summer tour, the XV of France finally has a broadcaster.
The two meetings of the Blues in Japan, scheduled for July 2 and 9, will be broadcast by TF1, according to information from Rugbyrama confirmed by the channel on Thursday.
It's the end of a little soap opera and a slight concern that grew as the broadcasting rights for these two Asian confrontations of the winners of the last Six Nations Tournament struggled to find takers.
Potential broadcasters, from TF1 to France Télévisions via beIN Sports, hesitated before the particular conditions of this tour: an opponent not the most prestigious, Les Bleus bis with very many players, authors of the Grand Slam in March, left to rest by Fabien Galthié, and very early hours, due to jet lag, with a first match in Aichi at 8 a.m. in France and a second at 7:50 a.m. in Tokyo the following week.
TF1 positions itself one year from the World Cup
But the Blues, who achieved excellent audiences during their outings with in particular nearly nine million viewers for the clash against England in March, finally ended up landing on the TF1 grid.
The first channel of France intends with this purchase to increase in power in the follow-up of the tricolors to a little more than one year of the kick-off of the Rugby World Cup in France (September 8 - October 28).
The group has, in fact, acquired all the broadcasting rights for the competition held in France.
The XV of France, for its part, left our territory on Wednesday evening to set foot in Japan this Thursday in the middle of the afternoon in Tokyo.
The assistant coaches of the XV of France Laurent Labit and Shaun Edwards, as well as the backs Max Spring (Racing 92) and Aymeric Luc (Toulon) tested positive for Covid-19 and placed in solitary confinement before the start.
The pillar of the Toulouse Stadium Dorian Aldegheri, injured in a thigh, is forfeited for the two matches scheduled against Japan.
