Invited on the set of Bartoli Time at RMC Sport, Bernard Laporte had things to say. The former president of the FFR, who notably obtained that the World Cup took place in France, judged his successors harshly.
When discussing Florian Grill, the current leader of the Federation, Laporte felt that he was one of the main responsible for the failure at the World Cup, by not having put enough weight on the international authorities: “I I worked with them for six years (the leaders of World Rugby, Editor’s note), I know what I’m talking about. I was vice-president for two years, and for four years on the board. It has always been like this. You have to be important. So that doesn’t mean that the referee favors you, eh, that’s not what should be said, but there we had the impression of not playing the World Cup at home. It is obvious. No political weight, nothing, only constant criticism… I say it again: we should have been world champions”
The former coach then covered the responsibilities weighing on the leaders of the FFR: “It’s not just me who is capable. But if the people in place had done the job, we should have been world champions. (…) We had a golden opportunity to be world champions, but some people ruined everything.
Asked about the current coach of the French makes this French team one of the best teams in France, with 80% victories. He did the job. The criticisms about him are just criticisms from bitter people, from people who are paid to criticize, who never succeed when they are in business. Fabien did a considerable job.” As a reminder, Bernard Laporte resigned from the presidency of the FFR at the start of 2023. He recently found a position at Montpellier, which plays in the Top 14.