Agreement between the FFR and TeamLagardère

Jean Dunyach, Vice President of the French Rugby Federation (FFR), with responsibility for high-level players, and Arnaud Molinié, Manager of TeamLagardère, have signed a technical services agreement between the FFR and TeamLagardère with the aim of finalising the preparation of the French national rugby team for the 2007 World Cup.

The agreement reached between the FFR and TeamLagardère gives official standing to a joint assignment performed by Christian Miller and the FFR teams in recent months. The assignment falls within the framework of the projects supervised by the “2007 World Cup Assessment Unit”, which was established by the FFR with a view to preparing the French national rugby team for the 2007 World Cup. Its membership includes a number of public (INSEP, etc.) and private organizations.

TeamLagardère provides two types of services:

• muscular physical capacity assessments for French rugby team players
• applied research and development

The first area deals with physical capacity assessments, which form the basis for muscle-strengthening programmes tailored to each member of the French national rugby team. The assessments are performed at the French National Rugby Centre in Marcoussis, in close cooperation with French rugby team managers and the FFR “2007 World Cup” unit.

The second area relates to a study exploring the muscular support of rugby players. Conducted jointly by TeamLagardère researchers and FFR national trainers, the study aims to play an educational role in improving training by determining the specific physical preparation requirements of rugby players in relation to their movements on the field.

Both areas covered by this agreement fall within the scope of the key functions of the structure set up by Lagardère; the first area being the assessment of physical, muscular and energy capacities, based at TeamLagardère’s Centre for Scientific Expertise Applied to Sports, which is managed by Christian Miller; the second area being applied research into subjects related to physical training and which are applicable to all sports.

This agreement enables TeamLagardère to widen its partner base as a provider of physical test and assessment services.