Fédération Française de Rugby à XIII Director of Rugby Trent Robinson believes Rugby League World Cup 2026 will showcase French talent to NRL clubs and fans.

France, who founded the second oldest sporting World Cup in 1954, are likely to have just one NRL player – South Sydney utility back Latrell Siegwalt – in their squad, although Melbourne’s Joe Chan is also eligible.

The majority of the 23-man squad, coached by Laurent Frayssinous, will be drawn from Super League clubs Catalans and Toulouse, who recently signed former Rabbitohs and Bulldogs backrower Louis Grossemy – a French heritage player who qualifies through his father.

Enzo Griffier, who has been progressing through the Sydney Roosters pathways, is the only French-born player at an NRL club.

However, France recently won the Under 19s European Championship and Robinson predicts there could be more French talent in the NRL after the World Cup.

Photo: Rabbitohs rookie Latrell Siegwalt qualifies for France through his grandfather. @NRL Photos

“For the first time in a long time, and only the second time in our history, we have two Super League teams in Toulouse Olympique and Catalans Dragons, and to have those two teams playing in the Super League improves the number of (top level) games the French players are playing,” said Robinson, the Roosters coach.

“But what we're also seeing is that there's a desire for French players to travel to England and play for English clubs than they ever have before - but there's also a desire to play in Australia.

“There's players like (Catalans forward) Ben Garcia, who will be finishing his playing career at the World Cup, who played at Brisbane and Penrith in the lower grades and is certainly at the level of the NRL.

“There are more players like that that are ready to play in the NRL, but they need to be put on the stage and perform in Australia for clubs to be interested.”

Robinson believes Griffier is destined to play in the NRL after arriving at the Roosters in 2023 for a short-term opportunity and impressing coaching staff.

The 21 year-old has represented France in three Tests since 2024 and was man-of-the-match in last October’s World Cup qualifier against Jamaica.

Photo: Enzo Griffier (left) is in his fourth season with the Roosters after moving from France as a teenager. @Roosters Media

“Enzo's from near Avignon. He came over for a six-week trial just to get some experience, and we saw the quality in him, so he ended up staying and playing SG Ball for the Roosters,” Robinson said.

“He's hungry to play NRL, and he continues to push and train and look for opportunities. He's played some reserve-grade games for us.

“He's a physical centre and we’re excited by the way that he plays so I look forward to his progression throughout the World Cup and obviously into next year.”

France will use the Roosters’ facilities at Moore Park to prepare for their opening World Cup match against Samoa on October 16 and their third game against Lebanon on November 1, both at CommBank Stadium.

FFRXIII director of rugby Trent Robinson with Kangaroos assistant coach Willie Peters at an opposed training session between the two teams. Photo: Trent Robinson with the French team at an opposed training session against the Kangaroos in London last year. @NRL Photos

Les Tricolores also play England at Perth’s HBF Stadium on October 24.

“French Rugby League started in Ille-sur-Têt in 1934. The Vichy Government in 1946 banned the game but they came back stronger than ever,” Robinson said.

“We came out here in 1951, and won two Tests against Australia. It got to the point where we said ‘let's have a World Cup of Rugby League' and France was the instigator of that.

“We've got all these rugby league nations around the Pacific, and obviously England, but there's also France, which is an outlier in mainland Europe.

"There's pockets of countries around Europe who are starting to play and who we are playing constantly, so to have that representative of Europe playing in the World Cup that they instigated in 1954 is a really proud moment for us.

Photo: Former Rabbitohs and Bulldogs forward Louis Grossemy has joined Toulouse and is set to play for France at the World Cup. @SWPix

“We feel really proud about our history in rugby league, but we're also really fighting to continue the growth of rugby league in France.

“I feel like this is a start for us. We've been playing in the World Cup qualifiers to get into the top 10 nations and play in this tournament.

“It's been a while since we've played in Australia and it's really important for us about how we play. I feel like the next decade for French Rugby League is very important.”

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