It arrived on Tuesday, shining brightly under the sun of Roissy, in a huge A380 bearing the name of it. She was entitled to the honors of the pavilion of the receptions of the Charles-de-Gaulle airport, the one through which the heads of state pass. She is pursued by an army of gorillas and press officers who agitate around her. Then she quickly rushed into a car with tinted windows, with her luxury trunk, because her schedule is very busy.
This star very much in demand, and monitored, it is not Beyoncé, who has just left the France after her concert. It's the Rugby World Cup. Her own France Stadium is scheduled for September 8: France-All Black to open the tournament. And there will be more, until the final on October 28. All France hope to see Antoine Dupont's Les Bleus lift this mythical trophy for the first time. In the meantime, here are some of the secrets of this cup that will be walking around in France for the next 100 days.
Reserved for world champions. The Webb-Ellis Cup, finely carved and gold-plated, has not inscribed on its base, where the winning countries since 1987 are engraved, the name of the France. With an unusual consequence: no French person can touch it. This privilege is reserved only for world champions. On arrival at Roissy, the trophy, which bears the name of the inventor of rugby, William Webb-Ellis, was placed on its display by a Frenchman, a member of the international federation World Rugby. But he had to wear gloves. "When the football World Cup came here in 2018, everyone was touching it," recalls an airport executive. The protocol in rugby is quite different. No way that any influencer in need of notoriety does not raise the trophy.
A seat and a ticket for Webb-Ellis on the plane. An example of this attention paid to the Cup: it cannot travel in the hold on planes. "It's about insurance, and it's about value. We put it in hand luggage, or when it's not possible, we have to take a seat on the plane," explains Michel Poussau, Executive Director of the 2023 World Cup for World Rugby. For its arrival Tuesday in France, from South Africa via Dubai, the Webb-Ellis Trophy travelled alongside Tendai Mtawarira, the reigning world champion pillar with the Springboks. This time, it was in a discreet black suitcase, less sexy but more discreet than the Louis Vuitton trunk in which the Cup is exhibited at major events.
A safe on boulevard Haussmann. Now in France, 100 days before the start of the competition, the World Cup will be carefully preserved in the vault of Société Générale, sponsor of rugby, boulevard Haussmann in Paris. "A very nice room with free access, except for the safes of course," explains Michel Poussau. Well kept in his safe, the trophy will nevertheless travel. When he spends the night away from his home in Paris, he can never remain unattended. "Once I had to stay in the hotel with the Cup, I couldn't get out of my room," recalls an employee of France 2023.
A very busy agenda. Because the World Cup has already travelled a lot. If it arrived with great fanfare for the J-100, in reality, it has already been very often in France for 2 years. Owned by World Rugby, the trophy remains 2 years in the winning country (South Africa in 2019), before arriving in the host country of the following edition (the winning country keeping a copy, a little smaller than the original, of the trophy). The Webb-Ellis Cup has already been on the rugby train last summer in France. "Our teams manage her agenda, with someone who follows her constantly," continues Michel Poussau. It is in high demand, by different entities, sponsors, etc. We see the emotion it arouses. We want it to travel to the territories, so that all the host cities can have it a little. The planning is being made for each of the 20 teams to play at least one group match with the World Cup on display in the stadium."
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