Every week we read articles about huge crowds watching club Rugby matches in France but seldom here of big crowds at football. The french have produced some amazing footballers and great teams such as the one that won Euro 2000. In England we have Rugby able to pull in large crowds for ceratin fixtures but it is still dwarfed in popularity by football. So how do the two compare/compete in France? Is football now seen as the game of coloured people turning white French people off it, and towards rugby instead?
My dad lives in France and goes to see both codes of rugby more frequently than football...the nearest Ligue 1 team to him is Montpellier...however there are a few more rugby teams closer by..Bezeiers, Catalan Dragons for example...Rugby League is also now becoming a lot more popular over there
South Africa is a prime example of polarisation towards football and rugby. Coming back to France though, I think their national team's performance isn't helping them too much either.