Even if he is no longer president of the French Federation (FFR) since his resignation on January 27, Bernard Laporte remains very present with the French rugby team. On Friday evening, the former Secretary of State for Sports even came… to hand over their jerseys to the French players, who face Wales this Saturday afternoon at the Stade de France for the last match of the Six Nations Tournament.
Last week, after the historic triumph of Twickenham and the knockdown inflicted on the English (53-10), coach Fabien Galthié wanted to pay tribute to his leader, in office for just over six years. “It’s a lot of joy, pleasure and emotions, had dropped Galthié at the end of the meeting. We have often come here. We know the place. Right now, I have a special thought for Bernard. »
This is not the first time that Laporte has invited himself to a gathering of the Blues since his departure from the presidency of the FFR. At the beginning of February, before the start of the Tournament in Italy and just a few days after the loss of his chair, the businessman had offered himself a breath of fresh air in Capbreton to meet the players and eat with the staff.
“We kept very far from these political agitations, explained the manager of the Blues Raphaël Ibanez. We invited Bernard Laporte to join us. The reasons are very simple: the organization of the World Cup in France, it is him. The motivation of the players for this year comes from there. And the current device, the training conditions and the staff, it is also him. »
If it can challenge or seem a bit out of place, the presence of the ex-elected with Antoine Dupont and his band is not prohibited. After his conviction at first instance to a two-year suspended prison sentence for corruption and influence peddling, Laporte, who appealed, had to withdraw from his duties and distance himself from Marcoussis. But for a month and a half, he has become a free electron again… His successor to the presidency will be known on June 14th.
