How did an Erasmus + project lead to a partnership between the Polish rugby federation and the Pays de la Loire league, and why? The ride of the laughing oval, let’s take a look!

The genesis: an Erasmus + application and the urge to go further

The genesis, the idea? To file an Erasmus + application as part of exchanges with other federations. And then also to allow rugby practices to be compared by going beyond the Loire region and building a link with a European federation. The approach is encouraged by the FFR as part of its development programme. The Pays de la Loire league’s objective was above all a European one.

Why Poland? The answer from the league’s president, Hugues Meillereux: “We have an affinity with Poland, some of their players have played for Stade Nantais, I know their general manager Kamil Bobryk very well, we have known each other for a very long time, a former CSV Vienne prop who also spent time at Epernay. My wife is Polish too and the history of France and Poland is often intertwined!”

European bridges encouraged by the FFR

On a serious note, the important thing was to build bridges with foreign federations, following the FFR’s recommendations. So the Occitanie league has moved closer to Spain and Portugal, the Sud league to Italy, and the Est and Nord leagues to Belgium and Germany.

When you sit on the Atlantic, the United States is a lovely idea but a long way off! Hugues Meillereux picks up the thread: “With Hervé Padioleau, who was behind the Erasmus + project, a former Stade Nantais player who also played at Clisson, a really fine bridge has been built. In practical terms, Poles are going to come to the Pays de la Loire and people from the region are going to go to Poland, and it involves administrators as much as coaches and players. There will be exchanges on training clubs, referees and associations, quite a wide range. Club representatives, technical advisers, volunteers. That will be the first phase. The second will be hosting the youngsters.”

Poland, a rugby land more family-minded than you might think

Rugby is a universal language, but Poland, a rugby land? President Meillereux’s answer: “It is different because, for a start, the federation is the size of our league, 10,500 registered players and 45 clubs. We were made very welcome by the president of the Polish rugby federation Jarosław Prasał and Piotr Popławski, the general secretary. Otherwise, we did not feel out of place at all, the atmosphere is the same, it may even be more family-oriented still! We did not feel out of place on that score. It was 3° though… The supporters were in the national colours, they sold every ticket, the stadium was full, more than 5,000 people!”

Rugby is a sport tailor-made for this nation of 40 million inhabitants, which gave French rugby its Skrelas, Kacalas, Wisniewskis and Jedrasiaks, and more recently UBB’s powerful lock Adam Zapedowski…

And then what?

The partnership calendar will unfold in two stages: phase 1 devoted to administrators, coaches, referees and volunteers; phase 2 reserved for hosting young players. It is a momentum that fits squarely within the Erasmus + Sport programme, which funds this kind of transnational cooperation to develop sport at European level. Alongside the Rugby Europe Championship in which Poland regularly competes, the Polish road to the fifteen-a-side game now runs through the Pays de la Loire as well.