PARIS – World Rugby chief executive officer Alan Gilpin said the upcoming Rugby World Cup is “timely”, as Wednesday marked 100 days to go until the start of the tournament.
The competition begins on Sept 8 as hosts France play three-time winners New Zealand.
Problems over recent months have included clubs in England continuing to experience financial woes and Welsh players threatening to strike over contract problems.
England’s Rugby Football Union published a report in April that found racism exists at every level of elite rugby, including the England team.
Earlier in 2023, the Welsh Rugby Union was hit by allegations of misogyny, sexism, racism and homophobia within its ranks.
Last December, former World Rugby vice-chairman Bernard Laporte stood down from his role as the French Rugby Federation’s president following his conviction for corruption.
Meanwhile, more players are joining a class-action concussion lawsuit that claims that the sport’s governing bodies, including World Rugby, failed to take reasonable action to protect them.
“It is certainly timely for the sport as a whole that we are going to have this incredible opportunity to celebrate all the best things around rugby,” Gilpin said last week.
“We know it has been challenging times for a number of professional leagues, certainly for a number of clubs. Rugby World Cup comes at a great time.”
More than 600,000 international travellers are expected to head to nine host cities across France for the eight-week showpiece, with tickets for all games sold out far in advance.
A growing number of high-level global sporting events such as Premier League football games and the Tour de France have been impacted by protests from environmental groups.
“We are planning all the time for such a wide range of different scenarios, and protests of any nature are certainly part of that,” Gilpin said, before activists halted last weekend’s English Premiership rugby final in London.
“While I am sure, as there is in every major event and every Rugby World Cup, there will be incidents we need to deal with, we will be well prepared for that,” he added.
The Webb Ellis trophy arrived in France on Tuesday as ex-South Africa prop Tendai Mtawarira, who won the competition at Japan 2019, handed over the silverware to the organisers in France.
On Wednesday, monuments across the country, including Paris’ Arc de Triomphe, will be lit up to mark the date as the excitement for the tournament goes up a gear.
French supporters’ enthusiasm has grown with the impressive on-field performances by Les Bleus since ex-captain Fabien Galthie took over as head coach after the last World Cup.
Skipper Antoine Dupont is the poster boy for this generation of France players, who have tasted success at club level in the Top 14 and the Champions Cup as well as with a Six Nations Grand Slam.
Last week, the Toulouse scrum-half was presented with his waxwork replica at a Paris museum, alongside Frederic Michalak, who was the standout player when they lost in the semi-finals of the 2007 World Cup, also on home soil.
“We’re not far, honestly we’re getting closer and closer even if we do have objectives with our clubs,” the 26-year-old Dupont told reporters. “It’s obvious that it’s in our heads and we want to win the cup.
“We know where we’re at, we’re confident and we’re also humble because of our position and that France have never succeeded in winning it up until now.”
AFP, REUTERS
