In almost all sports, this practice, born in the United States, has been commonplace for decades. But for rugby and its self-claimed collective values, it’s an event. Last Saturday at Murrayfield against Australia (15-16), the Scottish players had their surname flocked above their number, on the back of the shirt. Owen Farrell and the English will imitate them on Sunday against Argentina at Twickenham.
Nothing like this on the other hand for the Blues this Saturday evening at the Stade de France, when facing the Wallabies. No “Dupont” or “Ntamack” written on the back of the tunics of the friends of the hinge. “We will look at what the RFU is doing [la fédération anglaise] “Says Laurent Latour, director of communication and digital at the French Federation (FFR).
While specifying: “We do not plan to flock the jerseys with the names of the players on the back, above the numbers. But we already make each jersey unique by flocking the name of the player, his number of selections, the date and the place of the match on the front face, at the bottom left, at the level of the groin. »
This initiative, invisible to the (television) viewer, was applied for the first time on the occasion of France – Wales on October 24, 2020 (38-21). Since then, when the identity of the 23 elected officials is made official by coach Fabien Galthié, two days before a match, intendant Jean-Luc Passard has been busy personalizing each tunic, which Laurent Latour describes as “sacred”.
“A collective philosophical dimension”
Out of the question for the time being, therefore, to imitate Scots and English. “It’s something that is less common in rugby,” continues the Federation’s “dircom”. There is a collective philosophical dimension. And the belief that the star is the team is deeply rooted in our sport. »
In football, it is not uncommon for a player to carry around a favorite number throughout his career, like Cristiano Ronaldo, aka CR7. Nothing to do with the world of ovality at XV, where the starting left pillar systematically wears the 1, whatever his identity, like the 3rd center line the 8 or the back the 15. “I cannot say that I’m against [cette initiative] but it bothers me a little, our number does not belong to us, ”sums up the versatile 2nd row of Racing 92 and the Blues Cameron Woki, who will wear 4 against Australia.
“The English are already doing it in the Premiership and I find it nice, judge the Toulousain Thibaut Flament, former 2nd line of Wasps and n ° 5 of the XV of France this Saturday evening. But I prefer that the jerseys are not flocked. We represent a team and it is perhaps a bit individualistic to put a name on a shirt. »
The Scottish and English Feds have no such modesty. As you can imagine, their choice was not only guided by the concern that each player’s grandmother could distinguish her grandson in a confused ruck. RFU Chief Executive Bill Sweeney said the initiative “can bring fans closer to the international stars of our sport” and “can’t wait” to see their reaction. In other words, to see whether or not the supporters of the XV de la Rose will spend their pounds in “Smith No. 10” shirts, because they idolize Marcus Smiththe star flyhalf of Harlequins.
During the Covid crisis, the FFR had found another innovative marketing idea, born in one of the workshops led by the players during each gathering in Marcoussis. Since rugby enthusiasts could no longer come to stadiums because of health restrictions, it was the Blues who came to them, integrating the names of the 1,900 French amateur clubs inside the jersey numbers. “We multiplied by 16 our sales on the Federation store between October 2020 and October 2021, and we made it the best-selling jersey in the history of the XV of France”, welcomes Laurent Latour.
Our old country has not always been hermetic to the fashion that is spreading across the Channel. In the 1990s, when fledgling professionalism pierced behind brown amateurism, Castres, Grenoble or Brive supporters could thus recognize their favorites from behind, thanks to the surnames on the jerseys. “It lasted a few seasons, recalls François Duboisset, former 3rd line of the Corrèze club. We were in a somewhat anonymous world, with few television broadcasts and it was a nice little touch of marketing. »
Soon the name of the players in Top 14?
Nice, but artisanal. “We had a set of jerseys, sometimes two for a season, resumes the 1997 European champion, then passed by Canal + and now responsible for Rugby Mag, the monthly of the FFR. The name appeared on a strip of fabric, sewn before the match and unstitched after. Once, she had torn during the encounter. Duboisset, however, joins the young Woki and Flament at the philosophical level: “In rugby, you only enter the skin of a number 7, a 12 or another for 80 minutes. Afterwards, we return the tunic. »
On a more prosaic level, the clubs also prefer to reserve as many pitches as possible for their sponsors. But nothing says that the championship of France will not soon make a leap in the past, and that the Top 14 will not follow the example of the English championship as well as the XV at the Rose and the Thistle. In any case, its broadcaster has nothing against it. “Canal+ is always in favor of this kind of progress because it can help the public to identify the players”, confides the encrypted channel.