For British or Australian players who would like to consider playing in France, there are many differences to be aware of, but if you learn and embrace them, a great experience awaits.
WITH the Ashes series returning this autumn, an outsider may think that international rugby league consists of only two nations: England and Australia, and that the holy grail for an Australian player is to play in England, and vice versa.
But between those two, there is still the possibility to pursue a playing career in France, a country which, despite a national media blackout, still offers an enthusiastic and competitive rugby league scene.
Many players have crossed the channel (or have changed hemispheres): not only did they survive but some even settled in the country.
However, playing in a foreign country is never easy, especially in a non-Anglophone country like France, for players or their relatives.
I asked Alan Walsh, the British coach of Lézignan-Corbières, newly appointed defence coach of the U19 Men’s France national team, and long-term resident in France to find out what advice he would give to any players considering playing here.
“Integrate by learning the language, trying new food, help with the rugby schools and always say hello and shake hands with everyone. Don’t worry, sometimes you will think they are arguing between themselves but in fact they are just having a discussion!
“Also, French referees have different interpretations of laws and you just have to accept that. If you use bad language even against to your team mate the ref usually believes it against them and you’ll get a yellow. Also, never contest a decision in a loud English voice or you’ll be penalised.”
Speaking French is definitively a must to integrate in the country. Some of us may speak or understand English but we may not practice it daily or have an extensive vocabulary, not to mention the fact we may not use ‘slang’. Be aware of all your references (puns related to news, films, series, etc.) and you may be completely lost by some strong accents. If you use your own language on the field, referees may also indeed misunderstand or misinterpret what you say.
About shaking hands, it is true. This gallic habit was temporarily lost during the Covid19 pandemic, but we greet this way at work and in our private life. It’s daily and mandatory. It’s true that, especially in the south, we tend to have enthusiastic discussions about everything. Could it be the fact that we tend to think that we can only make our mark by opposing?
What Walsh told me about coaching in France is instructive.
“As for coaching, the French players and club presidents want to see beautiful rugby. They’ll quite happily do a chip kick in their own half or a cut out pass in their own 10 metres, they want to score at every opportunity and often take risks. The imports are usually more disciplined and usually follow the coaches word to the letter even if they don’t agree, whereas a French player will question you. But that’s putting everyone in the same boat, at Carcassonne a few of the players had played Championship and Super League and they usually have the same mentality as an import. The older French players can struggle with an easy going pre-match approach although they’re getting used to it. They are passionate people and when I first came over you’d see screaming, shouting, face slapping etc before kick-off.”
In France, not only do we have the “French flair” but we also have an expression “se faire plaisir” (to enjoy yourself). It implies sometimes that regardless of the score, you may take some risky actions, to enjoy your time on the field. This is exactly like playing football in your youth: everyone wants to score goals, fewer want to be goalkeeper. Nevertheless, as pointed out by Walsh, French players’ behaviours are getting closer to their Anglophone counterparts and now tend to be more disciplined and keener to accept the thankless tasks of defence. Look, how I as a French man instinctively describe defence as a thankless task!
As for the atmosphere, this is indeed difficult to describe. You must come here to experience it.
Luke Srama, an Australian former international player with Polish and Filipino heritage, manager of ‘Srama Rugby League Recruitment’ and a mentor to many ex-pat players also has an interesting point of view on the issue.
“Before they fly over, I send players a list. A big part of it is that you do feel like an alien at the start, with the language barrier and the culture shock compared to Australia, UK etc. I have had some young players on the phone crying to me after a few days, or leaving. But I say you just need to get over the initial start; embrace the culture and language. After that it is the best life and experience.
“In saying that, being an import is leading by example on and off the field, training and playing hard, the extras, assisting the rest of players, club, and juniors.”
Very comparable to what Walsh said, but Srama adds some further hints: “Bring gear to swap. The boys love it. Get travel insurance. Pack less as you will swap or buy over here. If you want to travel, do it over Christmas break. It is cheaper to fly around Europe than catch a bus. A ‘must do’ are Spain and Andorra and a car drive down south is not too far. You are in a small country town and people will talk to you. Be polite, say ‘bonjour’ to everyone and lead by example, as if you were a NRL player here.”
He also pointed out some funny differences with Australia and acquired a few French addictions when he played here himself.
“I never used to drink wine or espresso coffee until I went there, now I’m hooked. Ricard is a drink as well with water, Get 27 (a mint liqueur), and good food, like Cassoulet. Be aware that everyone shuts up shop between 12-2pm. Food is unreal, three-course meals. Cherish every moment.”
The tip to bring gear to swap is a particularly good one. Yes, French Treizistes can buy everything they like via the internet, but if you buy something from UK or Australia, you will pay tariffs and sometimes this is an unwelcome surprise, because it is not specified on the commercial sites. You are sometimes extorted; pay the tariffs to get the parcel. Plus, to say the least, and this is an understatement, not all the sport shops in France offer rugby (both codes) gear, and really only a few (around Carcassonne or Perpignan) offer rugby league items.
I agree with the food culture, nevertheless I’ll add a little nuance: 12-2pm is indeed the traditional operating schedule of French restaurants and the time to close for small shops, but we also have Brasseries which tend to be open all the day long, and big commercial centres (Auchan, Carrefour etc) with all day-long service. The bigger the city, the more opportunities you’ll get to eat or shop outside of that national schedule.
Ricard and Get 27 are genuine brands of French drinks and the time when they are served is interesting: Ricard (aniseed flavour) is popular at the apéritif time (that kind of pre-meal we have on evenings). Get 27 is a popular drink for night-clubbers. But, if you have some religious restrictions and cannot drink alcohol, this is fully understandable here too. Coffee is for us what tea is for the Brits, espresso being indeed very popular despite the Italian appellation. Cassoulet is also very popular but French gastronomy is diverse and dishes can vary from one place to another. As a French native I am still discovering new dishes every year!
There will be more useful advice in the next issue.
First published in Rugby League World magazine, Issue 509 (June 2025)