ALLEZLES AMATEURS!

There will be two Rugby World Cups going on in France this autumn as an exciting new venture gets underway...

- ALAN PEAREY

WHY DID no one think of it before? That was our immediate reaction when hearing about the creation of the Amateur Rugby World Cup, to be staged across seven cities in the South of France on 22-30 September.

Why, when we have World Cups for men and women, sevens and U20s, deaf players and wheelchair users and mixed ability teams, would we not have a grand stage for the grass roots, the millions who play purely for love and embody the heart of the game?

Of course, it’s easy to say and hard to do. The effort required to get 20 amateur club teams in one place doesn’t bear thinking about. It’s a logistical nightmare that founder Jeremy Teyssier was happy to take on. Teyssier, president of Rugby Club Dignois, staged an Amateur Six Nations at his club five years ago and now he’s going the whole hog. He’s hoping 600 players will enjoy a competition that will end with “the largest third half in the history of rugby”.

“I don’t know if in the UK it is the same but in France we have money in the amateur level. And I don’t like this,” he tells Rugby World. “I am a young president of a club and I want my players to play just for the city, the town, the club. Just for the pleasure of playing with friends. That is my vision of rugby.

“When I travel and meet rugby people around the world, we just speak about rugby pleasure, party, beer, singing and all. We never speak about money. So I want to promote the value of amateur rugby. We are a fraternity.”