RA turns to World Rugby for help after French refuse to pay match fee

Rugby Australia has turned to World Rugby to help chase down the match fee for a final pre-World Cup clash between the Wallabies and France played more than a year ago in Paris.

The French Rugby Federation has so far refused to pay the money owed and RA chief executive Phil Waugh confirmed that the game’s governing body would be used as a mediator to settle the matter.

“RA have been engaged in negotiations for over a year with FFR over the match fee owed for the fixture between France and the Wallabies played last August and are extremely keen to get the matter resolved and closed,” Waugh said. “RA will now engage with World Rugby so all parties can move on and work together in the spirit of the game.”

The 41-17 loss was played in front of a packed crowd at the Stade de France on August 27, 2023 and was originally organised after conversations between former French rugby president Bernard Laporte and ex-RA chairman Hamish McLennan in November 2021.

Subsequently, Laporte requested that the Wallabies play the final World Cup warm-up game at the Stade de France with a match fee of approximately $1.7 million reportedly agreed.

According to sources speaking on the condition of anonymity, RA is now pursuing a much lower amount of money than originally agreed, in the region of $100,000, given the need for the countries to maintain a functioning relationship.

The Wallabies play in front of a packed crowd at the Stade France before the World CupCredit: AP

McLennan and Laporte had worked closely together to ensure France toured Australia in August 2021 in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic. Those games provided vital revenue for the organisation, in what was ultimately a 2-1 series win for the Wallabies.

Laporte also played a key role in supporting Australia’s 2027 World Cup bid and had worked closely with RA on fixtures between the two countries.

Before a written contract was agreed between the FFR and RA, Laporte stood down as president after receiving a two-year suspended sentence for corruption. Subsequently, Laporte has been appointed director of rugby at Top 14 club Montpellier.

Mark Nawaqanitaawase and the Wallabies take on France at Stade de France on August 27, 2023.Credit: Getty

Laporte’s replacement, FFR president Florian Grill, confirmed in August last year that there had been a verbal agreement in place for the match fee.

“On the strength of the words of the Australian leaders, we have discovered an oral agreement for a sum of the order of €1 million [$1.7 million], or a little less,” Grill told French newspaper Midi Olympique.

“The Australian federation therefore wrote to us to collect this sum, plus a percentage on the TV rights, an agreement which would therefore have been given at the time of the old governance. Obviously, it hadn’t been budgeted for.”

In a statement to this masthead, Grill reiterated that there is no written agreement for the match fee, which has postponed payment.

“We are prepared to honour the FFR signature, but there is no written record of an agreement,” Grill said. “It is not possible to justify a payment to the FFR board if there is no written record. We have asked the Australian federation to produce a written document attesting to this agreement. They have not been able to do so.”

In April, after RA announced a loss of $9.2 million for 2023, the organisation’s chief operating officer, Richard Gardham, confirmed the organisation was still seeking this lost revenue and was involved in negotiations with their French counterparts.

“We’re still chasing [the money]; [we’re] optimistic we will end the discussions with them and get some money,” Gardham said. “The reality of the full exposure to it [money owed] will be determined through a negotiation with them.”

The FFR is undergoing its own financial challenges and in December announced it had an operating deficit of €16 million ($26.2 million) for the 2022-2023 season and was expected to have a deficit of €24 million at the end of the 2023-2024 season, despite the revenue from the 2023 World Cup.

World Rugby was approached for comment.

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