Columnist Paul Williams believes that only France have truly mastered the art of professionalism in rugby and others need to follow suit
The French, as a nation, have a history of mastering loads of cool stuff.
They’re dab hands at cuisine, winemaking and they’re not too shabby when it comes to revolutions either.
But in recent seasons, they’ve mastered professional rugby – something which virtually every other nation has struggled with, or failed at.
Since rugby’s inception many teams have mastered certain aspects of the game – during varying periods and over various time scales.
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The All Blacks have of course dominated the sport from its outset and are one of the most successful teams in any sport – during any period.
How many teams, in any sport, in any country, have remained dominant for the best part of a century, like the All Blacks?
At club and European level, both England and Ireland have had their periods of dominance in Europe and Six Nations level, but then not quite delivered in World Cups.
Over the past decade, the South Africans have of course become the dominant nation at test level and have created the blue/ green and gold print of how to win using a full squad of 23 players – Rassie Eramsus’ contribution to test level innovation is unique in that regard.
But even the Boks haven’t managed to dominate test rugby and club/ provincial rugby at the same time.
Why France are global leaders in rugby
In the professional era, there is more to rugby domination than merely winning at test level and club/ European level.
To truly dominate, and master professional rugby, you must be able to demonstrate that you can not only compete and win on the field, but also off it. It is in this regard where the French have truly mastered the game – and become professional rugby’s end boss.
On the field, at test level, France are playing the most beautiful rugby in the world.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey is among the best players in the world right now. (Photo by Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images)
Yes, they haven’t won the World Cup with this current squad, but they are in a very good place to challenge the Boks next time around.
On a European level they have been dominant over the past two seasons, having won the Six in both 2025 and 2026. And when it comes to squad depth the French are fast approaching Bok levels.
The Boks produce more dominant forwards (every time you switch on a South African URC game there’s a new 21-year-old monster being unleashed) but the French are currently producing the best fleet of backs in the world.
Any squad that can manage without Damian Penaud is doing pretty, pretty good.
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At European club level, it’s all about France. They have been dominating for the past six seasons and that gap in performance is only going to widen.
French teams like Bordeaux-Begles are dominating the Champions Cup. (Photo by ROMAIN PERROCHEAU / AFP via Getty Images)
The last six winners of the Champions’ Cup have come from France (2026 – Bordeaux Bègles, 2025 – Bordeaux Bègles, 2024 – Toulouse, 2023 – La Rochelle, 2022 – La Rochelle, 2021 – Toulouse).
And five of the last six winners in the Challenge Cup have also been French (2026 – Montpellier, 2025 – Montpellier, 2023 – RC Toulon, 2022 – Lyon, 2021 – Montpellier).
The Welsh teams are nowhere near, and the same applies for Scotland and the three Irish provinces outside of Leinster. Even Leinster are struggling to keep pace. To watch Leinster being beaten by Bordeaux Begle was like watching a snake choke out a rabbit, eat it whole, then defecate it – all within 80 minutes.
How France play rugby with style
But perhaps the most laudable thing about the rise of French rugby on the field, is the beauty with which it is played.
Professional sport is about winning, and it cares little for beauty. When many teams head into a dominant phase it can often be at the cost of aesthetics – at both test and club level.
This is not the case with the current French system. They are playing with the same attacking rugby template at test level, as they are their successful club teams.
This isn’t to say that the French teams don’t have dominant packs – they of course do. But the dominant pack isn’t the focus – equal weight is given to the backline.
There is no greater example than Matthieu Jalibert. A player who five seasons ago wouldn’t have been trusted to milk a cow in France – now, along with Sacha Feinberg-Mngomezulu, he is one of the finest examples of an attacking ten in the world.
France’s fly-half Matthieu Jalibert runs in a try during the Six Nations international rugby union match between Wales and France at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, south Wales, on February 15, 2026. (Photo by Paul ELLIS / AFP via Getty Images)
Arguably the most potent differentiator of the French mastering professional rugby, which separates them from everyone else, is that they are not only winning on the field, but off.
The Top 14 is the best league in the world, and as good as the URC, Super Rugby and the English Premiership are to watch, you need only look at the Top 14 to see in which direction the power has shifted. The Top 14 is not only dripping in talent, but in money – it’s got 90’s rapper money.
France’s top division has a TV deal which is worth almost three times that of the English Premiership – with players budgets obviously following suit. To expect any teams outside of France to be able to compete in the Champions’ Cup is beyond pie in the sky – it’s pie in orbit. Even Leinster are being left behind – which is a remarkable situation.
With Top 14 success comes big TV deals. And with big TV deals comes more investment. And with more investment comes a better product. The net result, and most obvious to the naked eye, is French supporters absolutely flooding into stadiums.
To watch a Top 14 game is like watching a massive cultural event, not a rugby fixture – it’s like Glastonbury, but with a Gilbert iNNOVO lobbed in the middle.
Running a successful second tier
France’s second tier boasts British & Irish Test Lions such as Courtney Lawes (Photo by DIARMID COURREGES/AFP via Getty Images)
Not of the above even takes into consideration Pro D2. A league which is almost the perfection fusion of pro rugby’s financing and amateur rugby’s wider approach.
Pro D2 is almost a perfect vision of sustainable rugby. A steady supply of cash, without the sterility of outcome that usually accompanies massive budgets.
It’s also the perfect training paddock for all the younger French players – who get to play in a genuinely structured development funnel which leads directly to the Top 14.
Many will argue of course that the current French squad haven’t yet won the World Cup, thereby rendering everything mentioned above as nonsense – it wouldn’t be the first time this column has faced that accusation.
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You could also argue that the Kiwis achieved true mastery in the early era of pro rugby – and you wouldn’t be far off the mark. You could also argue that the South African’s have come close to rugby mastery with their test level domination and quality of rugby on show at the Stormers etc.
You could also say the same-ish of Ireland over the past decade. But now is crux time for professional rugby. Pro rugby is 30 years old and entering a critical period. Over the next decade it will take its final form – at both club and test level. In that regard the French have mastered rugby when it matters most.
Well played France, on all levels.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: rugbyworld.com
