French federation reveals Laporte's replacement

NEWS: The French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced it had appointed Florian Grill as its new president on Wednesday less than three months out from hosting the Rugby World Cup.

Grill is also the head of the Greater Paris rugby committee and takes over from Alexandre Martinez, who had been in temporary charge after Bernard Laporte’s resignation.

Former France head coach Laporte stood down in January after being handed a two-year suspended prison sentence for corruption.

Grill, 57, won 58.14 percent of the votes to beat Patrick Buisson, who had been in charge of amateur rugby under Laporte’s FFR presidency.

He will be in charge until the end of 2024 before new elections are held.

Tournament contenders France host New Zealand in the World Cup’s opening game on September 8.