Jason Costigan : « The credibility of French Rugby League has gone up in smoke thanks to this debacle »

VERSION FRANÇAISE

We met Jason Costigan, a famous Australian commentator, who talks about France’s withdrawal from the 2025 World Cup, talks about international rugby league and tells us about the perception of French rugby league by Australians.

Jason, what was your first reaction after the announcement of France’s withdrawal for the 2025 World Cup ?

I was stunned but not shocked when I saw the first tweet come through late at night from the BBC. I thought “well, well, well”. I had heard last month that CDMFrance2025 was going to be canned and my information was clearly right on the money.

Did you expect this to happen in the last few weeks ?

Yes and no because I would have thought CDMFrance2025 would have used 11th hour talks with French Government officials to get a result that ensured the event went ahead, even if they reduced the size of the women’s, wheelchair and youth tournaments. They were biting off more than they could chew especially once the Government cut the funding they had promised. As I said on radio in New Zealand, the French Government, historically, has form. We all know what happened during the Second World War, so for the second time in 80 years or so, they have done their best to exterminate French Rugby League. Puig Aubert would be rolling in his grave!

What do you think Luc Lacoste the president of the FFR XIII should do ?

He should do the honourable thing and resign from office. The credibility of French Rugby League has gone up in smoke thanks to this debacle. It is utterly embarrassing for our sport.. not just for FFRXIII and the people behind CDMFrance2025.

So are we heading for a World Cup in Australia in 2025?

I think Australia will co-host with New Zealand. Personally, I believe the final should be at Eden Park. It was there in 1988 and it deserves to be there in 2025. I’m also advocating for some games to go to the Pacific Islands.. Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga.

More generally, international matches are struggling to find space in the calendar, how do you explain this ?

I don’t think we are struggling for “space” but many countries are struggling to get the money to play internationals in the gazetted IRL window which is October and November every year. Some of these countries are first world economies but they are going nowhere. We recently saw England host France but who else played that weekend ?

Yet we see with other sports on international matches are really important, why rugby league does not see it ?

I know we have some great people out there who see lots of value in international matches. Super coach Wayne Bennett comes to mind straight away but he comes from an era when internationals carried plenty of weight. Trent Robinson is another person who deserves to be acknowledged given his efforts with France. Unfortunately, since the Super League war, we’ve lost our way and we need to go back to the future to showcase the culture and talent we have on offer.

How is the French XIII perceived in Australia ? and the XIII in English?

Most Aussies, to be brutally honest, think Super League is now rubbish. That wasn’t always the case but the people running Super League have let it slide and slide and the Poms get very upset when Aussies ridicule it. The good news is that it can be fixed and as an international commentator, I would love to play a part in its much needed revival in the 2020s. As for the game in France, well I have never seen it first hand, except on camera, of course. Elite 1 and so forth will continue to play an important role but you need to grow that footprint, no different to the UK, and that requires some serious investment and resources.

What would you do if you were president of the FFR XIII to develop your sport ?

If I were president or CEO, I would firstly get much better at my French! But in terms of what to do, I would get a real TV deal sorted for your Elite 1 and have a match of the round broadcast in both French and English. The latter opens up a whole new audience, something I have     raised previously with FFRXIII but it has come to nothing. I would make sure Elite 1 had a naming rights sponsor and the same for your Elite 2 and other competitions. This includes the women’s game. I would make sure France has a robust international program that includes overseas tours to toughen up your players against quality opposition. I would start Rugby League in French Polynesia and secure  the investment and resources needed to underwrite Pacifique Treize’s inclusion in the Queensland Cup. I would get Toulouse back in Super League and ensure they stay there via licensing and eventually add teams from Paris, like we had before, and probably Bordeaux.

I would expect to see Super League on French TV every week, in French, showcasing the French teams. I would also secure investment in pathways for players in French-speaking nations and territories. Not just in the Pacific but also in Africa because I see Africa as a future source of great talent for the very best players in Super League and potential Test players for France. Having once advised Australia’s Minister for Sport, who was later our High Commissioner to the UK, I would also work to improve government relations because clearly that is a weak link for FFRXIII given the political winds of change over the past 12 months or so. If the relationship improved, we could see the French Government or even regional authorities supporting development officers in the field throughout the country which would get more French kids, both boys and girls, actually playing the game. I could keep going but that’s just a few things to get the ball rolling in the renaissance of French Rugby League.

Jason, tell us a bit about yourself. So you are a commentator but in love with rugby league first and foremost ?

I am 100% a Rugby League man. I began broadcasting the game for what is now part of Australia’s Seven Network at just 16 years of age. At 19, I covered my first international as a Rugby League writer for News Corp when Gilles Dumas, Patrick Entat and Co toured Australia in 1990. I covered their tour match in Cairns, gateway to the Great Barrier Reef and that is where I first met Tas Baitieri. He even gave me an FFRXIII tie which I still have! I called Great Britain on TV at 20 when they toured Australia and then began commentating on what is now the NRL at 23 as the Cowboys came into the competition. By 25, I was in the UK, calling Super League and remember one game involving PSG when they came to Halifax.

I also worked for Bradford Bulls when they were a powerhouse club and after my return to Australia, it was onto the Bulldogs in the NRL. In the 2000s, I became the voice of Rugby League in New Zealand and the Pacific, broadcasting the Warriors and Kiwis in NRL and International Rugby League respectively. I have now called almost 50 internationals including a World Cup Final on Sky TV in New Zealand and in 2021, Ukraine beating Russia in the Euros before the war started! I’ve actually called in 10 countries – in person, in Australia, England, New Zealand and Fiji and remotely in France (it was a Test), Ireland, USA, Serbia, Ukraine and Wales (in wheelchair rugby league). I continue to champion our game around the world as best I can.. in the media, on Twitter, wherever. Put simply, I absolutely love Rugby League especially broadcasting Rugby League and genuinely believe our game can expand and prosper. I say to people, let’s make it happen!

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