4/5/2023 0 Comments Simon says in frenchThe affair has clouded France's preparations to hold the World Cup. A court found he had shown favouritism in awarding a shirt sponsorship contract for the national side to Mohed Altrad, the billionaire owner of TOP 14 champions Montpellier. He had received a two-year suspended prison sentence and hefty fine in December. Laporte (pictured) can take credit for French teams claiming both of rugby's European titles last season but he and Atcher have threatened to derail the French rugby project But in January, he went from hero to zero when he resigned as president after being convicted of corruption. Laporte can take much of the credit for that. The country’s women’s game is also healthy. Last season, French teams claimed both of rugby’s European titles. The same is true further down the pyramid in the French club system. Unlike England’s Gallagher Premiership, it is awash with cash and financially stable. France’s elite league, the TOP 14, is hugely competitive. The country’s age grade system is a conveyor belt for talent. France’s men’s national team is undoubtedly one of the best in the world, currently only behind Ireland in the official rankings. He unified the previously fragmented French system from top to bottom after years of unmitigated failure. His success as a coach had already made him a powerful figure, but Laporte’s work in a presidency role was equally impressive. In 2016, he became the French Rugby Federation’s (FFR) president. He won four Six Nations titles before moving to Toulon and winning three European Cups. The irony that it is Laporte – who kickstarted French rugby’s journey from mediocrity back to Six Nations champions – who is now the country’s villain hasn’t been lost on many. After what has happened to Laporte, we need to be cleaner with the way we work, more transparent.’ We cannot make the same mistakes in the future. The process is still ongoing,’ French great Olivier Magne told Sportsmail, when asked for his view on Laporte’s and Atcher’s brushes with controversy. French rugby though is in rude health with Bernard Laporte (left) convicted of corruption while Claude Atcher (right) was fired after an investigation into his workplace conduct
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