INTERVIEW – The former secretary general of the FFR is running for the presidency of the federation in charge of European rugby, excluding the Six Nations. He details his program for The Figaro.
Vice-President of Rugby Europe for seven years, the Frenchman Christian Dullin is a candidate, on November 8, to succeed the Romanian Octavian Morariu, the current president of the body, who cannot stand again. The former secretary of the FFR, under the presidency of Bernard Laporte, reveals the axes of his program for this organization which manages European competitions outside the Six Nations Tournament.
Le Figaro: What prompted you to run for the presidency of Rugby Europe?
Christian Dullin: I am no longer the only candidate since a Dutch candidate is also running. Regarding my motivations, I have been vice-president of Rugby Europe for seven years now. I know all the ins and outs and all the subtleties. So I have been working for three years on a governance project since, by the statutes, the current president could not stand again. There too, it is a form of logic. I have always been in my past at the French Rugby Federation with people like Bernard Lapassé or Jean-Claude Baquet, I have been very immersed in this European culture since, throughout history, France has helped the development of European rugby.
Do you have other motivations?
Yes, beyond this French influence, I would add another fight in inverted commas because I am an ardent defender of the French-speaking world. And we see that at the level of Rugby Europe, even if there are two official languages, French and English, today our British friends have taken over. It is a small wink, but there will be a need to re-implant a little French-speaking world. Afterwards, my program is relatively ambitious in the sense that, today, Rugby Europe is very little known in terms of notoriety. It is not ideal. We really need to get away from what we do today, that is to say the organization of competitions. We organize the Rugby Europe Championship in which there are Georgia, Portugal, Spain and nations that we see in the European Cup. But we also organize rugby 7s, since it is Rugby Europe that is in charge of qualifying for the Olympic Games. And finally, the competitions for young people U16, U18, U20.
What goals have you set for yourself?
If we want to raise the level of European rugby, we need a real development project. And I illustrate this with several things: it’s rugby at school, rugby at university and rugby in companies. Today, we realize that these are not actions led by Rugby Europe. We really need to move in this direction, because it is by expanding our base that we will be able to improve the level of each country. And I structure all of this around the values that rugby represents, whether they are social and societal values. Because rugby is about sharing, it is about inclusion. I think that by putting all of this together, there is a real ambitious and realistic project.
“Rugby Europe only has a budget of 4 million euros. We need to double it by 2028.”
How to gain visibility and get more people talking about Rugby Europe?
It’s simple. Today, if we do benchmarking (marketing technique based on comparative analysis) European team sports federations – and if we take out football because UEFA is a world apart -, when we take the basketball and handball section, we see that the European federations have between 15 and 30 employees, while Rugby Europe only has 9. These same federations have a budget of between 15 and 30 million euros, Rugby Europe only has 4. We therefore need to expand our staff, to be able to provide really significant assistance to all our nations. We need to completely change our economic model because, over the first term until 2028, we would have to double our turnover, i.e. increase it from €4 million to €8 million.
How do you plan to do this?
Today, we see that we have very few private partnerships, so I absolutely want to develop private partnerships and patronage, precisely around the values of rugby. There are many companies that invest, not necessarily to pay for jerseys, but to be associated with development actions. I am going to create a XV of builders, try to bring fifteen large European companies to be partners of Rugby Europe, which will allow us to ensure our development. It is in this model that we will succeed in developing and, therefore, in making ourselves known, in having a reputation. Another aspect: I realized that Rugby Europe had no contact with European political bodies. In the statutes of Rugby Europe today, the president has the possibility of proposing his secretary general. That is to say that the position of secretary general is not subject to a vote and, because diversity is something that concerns me, I will propose Muriel Cottave-Claudet as secretary general. She is now Secretary General of the Belgian Federation but has worked for twenty years in the European Parliament. This will be an asset.
At the next World Cup, the number of teams will increase from 20 to 24 nations. There will be an additional European nation, a boon for you…
Yes, of course. We noticed during the last World Cup that Portugal, Georgia and Romania did rather well. That’s also the case, if we send teams that take 70 points in every match, it’s not interesting. We also need to work with our supervisory bodies, such as World Rugby, the Six Nations, so that we can see how, in fact, we can help the development of the nations that participate in the Rugby Europe Championship, (also called Tournament B, Editor’s note) like Georgia, Portugal, Spain.
“We must not make our teams dream. The statutes of the Six Nations Tournament can only change if there is a unanimous decision. And I can’t see a nation voting so that it can be relegated.”
What is your position on the possible implementation of an promotion/relegation system with the Six Nations Tournament?
We are not going to make our teams dream. I do not see in the next four years a statutory modification of the Six Nations Tournament that would allow to integrate one more nation, or, why not, to create a model of promotion-relegation. I believe that today we must exclude this idea. But, on the other hand, I work a lot with Dominic MacKay, the boss of the EPCR, so that the two European teams that participate in the Super Cup, a competition organized by Rugby Europe, can systematically integrate the European Challenge. The Black Lions, a Georgian team that won the Super Cup, were invited to the European Challenge and they won a match in Wales, that means that the level is there. Afterwards, the Six Nations must continue to fulfill its role as tutor for the other nations, by helping with training, the contribution of coaches, etc. On this subject, I am in contact with Tech XV (the coaches’ union in France).
Do you feel that there is still a strong demand from Georgia to join the Six Nations?
Yes, it is indeed something that is not new. Georgia has been dominating European rugby for 4-5 years, since they are the ones who win the Rugby Europe Championship every year. For them, it could certainly be interesting because they have already beaten Wales and Italy. Even if it is only once, it shows that they are at the level. But, as I was saying, we must not make them dream because the statutes of the Tournament can only change if there is a unanimous decision. And I can’t see a nation voting so that it can be relegated. So that’s why I say that we have to try to move in that direction but that things are not going to happen overnight.
Unlike XV, rugby 7s allows small nations to quickly become competitive. Is this an area of development?
Indeed, in XV, there is a fairly significant difference in level between the top 10 teams and those a little below. In rugby 7s, the gap has narrowed between the best nations and the others, it is easier to catch up. And then, for small nations, it is much easier to start rugby with 7s teams, it requires fewer people, it also allows for a much faster mix. Nations like Turkey have bet on 7s and have the objective of qualifying a women’s team for the next Olympic Games. For us, in terms of development, 7s is obviously one of the forms that we must use to accelerate the development of rugby. To do this, I want to work closely with the national Olympic committees, in charge of the development of this Olympic discipline.
“We can always criticize everything, but the mandate that I had with Bernard Laporte – and which I do not regret – established democracy at the FFR.”
You are supported in your candidacy by the FFR, chaired by Florian Grill, while you were in Bernard Laporte’s team. Have you managed to bury the hatchet around your candidacy?
I’m not sure there was any hatchet-shaking since I left office (of secretary of the FFR). Afterwards, we can always blame everything, but the mandate that I did with Bernard Laporte – and that I do not regret – established democracy at the FFR. I knew the time at the FFR when the clubs did not vote, only the league presidents voted. With Bernard, we established democracy, it is not to not respect it at the first contrary vote.
Concretely, what relationship do you have with the FFR?
As my mandate allows me, I sit on the FFR steering committee. But I have clearly said that I will not be involved in the current election campaign. For a year, I have never intervened on either side. I remain focused on this candidacy for Rugby Europe. And when I say that there has never been much debate with Florian (Grill) on this, I know that it is in his desire to reposition France in the governance of world rugby. We also have, in this order of ideas, Abdelatif Benazzi running for World Rugby presidency. I have been in rugby for 40 years, I have always been there to serve rugby. So it is not today that I am going to get involved in internal quarrels. Even if I know that, on certain social networks, it has earned me insults, mockery. But when you run for president, you have to expect that too.
Related News :