By STEVE MASCORD
TOULOUSE Olympique CEO Cedric Garcia has said “anything and everything” is possible as rumours continue to swirl over the future of French clubs in Britain-based competitions.
Olympique lie in third position on the Championship table but the situation is much less straightforward off the field, where they are linked to the proposed NRL Europe but said to be under pressure – alongside Catalans – to keep their central funding or even their places in the existing leagues.
Garcia told West Yorkshire Radio he had met with new RFL interim chair Nigel Wood but heard nothing from League Central in Sydney.
“There’s many rumours and I think on every subject, with social media now, you have rumours everywhere,” Garcia said.
“There’s this one (about the RFL), there’s one about NRL also.
“I think there’s only one thing to be said: anything and everything can be possible.”
Asked if there had been any contact from the NRL, Garcia said: “No, not at all. Once again … there are many rumours.
“Some may be a bit true, some not. I don’t know and I just want to concentrate on what we can master and that’s our club.”
Asked if he was detecting the same “love and warmth” from Wood as he had from his predecessor Simon Johnson, Garcia told host Mick Gledhill: “Well, Nigel has always said he was a Francophile.
“Nigel is a very sound man and … he is going to have a clear look at the situation and see what could happen.
“Nigel, I’m not going to speak on his behalf but I think he wants a strong rugby league and for that he needs France strong.
“We’ve had an interesting meeting and we’ll work with whoever runs the RFL and the English leagues.
“One main challenge – and we’re not going to hide – is to generate revenue from France and I thoroughly believe that we need to have two French teams in Super League to achieve that.
“Because the French market is complicated and Catalans by themselves, it’s very tough.”
Toulouse’s IMG score has them a frontline contender for promotion to Super League in 2026.
“At the moment we are still under IMG rules and we keep working in that direction,” Garcia said.
“If things change, we’ll change at that time but at the moment promotion for now is guided by IMG rules.”
Garcia said in his view Wood’s working group had only just started their work and they would be canvassing views from across the game.
Image: Allan McKenzie/SWpix
