On March 13, the elective general assembly of the National Rugby League will take place. Will the Grill – Bouscatel duo continue their common mission?
The natural extension of the federal election is none other than the vote for the National Rugby League, holy mother of professional rugby in the country. In fact, the elective general assembly of the LNR will take place on March 13, 2025 and the candidates for the presidency of the institution have until mid-February to come out of the woods. So far, no one has yet applied, but it goes without saying that the current president, René Bouscatel (78), will run for the position again and should announce it shortly. Obviously, the former boss of Stade Toulouse (he managed the red and black club from 1992 to 2017) is coming out of an excellent mandate, during which TV audiences for the Top 14 and Pro D2 increased, attendances of the two professional championships followed the same upward curve when last May, television rights for professional rugby were consolidated until 2032.
At the same time, the roundness and frankness of the former lawyer also made it possible to calm the hitherto tense relations between the League and the FFR, Bouscatel having once again worked to have professional clubs validate this collective agreement offering to Fabien Galthié and the national selection provide invaluable working comfort. On a daily basis, Bouscatel relies on the skills of its general director Emmanuel Eschalier and as such, these two men having often been in conflict before Bouscatel succeeded Paul Goze, have found common ground: the representation of the the institution with financial partners and politicians for the said René, the heaviness of the most technical files and the work in the shadows for Eschalier.
Goze will not go, Revol hesitates…
However, is Bouscatel unanimous? To ask the question is to answer it and in recent weeks, the presidents least convinced by his mandate have in turn surveyed Paul Goze (73 years old) and Pierre-Yves Revol (66 years old) to find out if these two men would be a day inclined to beat the countryside. From what we understand, Goze, president of the LNR institution from 2012 to 2021, would today be more than skeptical about the idea of returning to the front line when Revol, biological father of the Jiff, is also hesitant about the follow-up to be given to the appeals of some of the members of the National Rugby League. De facto, the boss of Castres Olympic therefore has until February 13 to declare himself a candidate. Note, finally, that it is Olivier Pouligny, president of the Ovale Ensemble collective, close to Florian Grill and a rising power on the French rugby scene, who will now be responsible for relations between the League and the Fédé.
