The French Federation wanted to offer contracts to several players in a bid to lighten their work load ahead of the 2007 tournament, which is to be held in France from September 7 to October 20.

The contracts, which could have seen the players paid part of their salary by the FFR, concerned older players such as 32-year-old captain and lock Fabien Pelous.

Also included were Stade Francais trio Pieter De Villiers, Sylvain Marconnet and Remy Martin, Bourgoin's Olivier Milloud, Pascal Pape and Julien Bonnaire, Sale's Sebastien Bruno plus Biarritz's Jerome Thion.

The proposal had created controversy in France but, following discussions between the federation, club presidents and players unions, it was eventually rejected leaving Laporte searching for a new answer.

''For me this solution was ideal but we are forced to abandon it,'' Laporte told L'Equipe.

''The problem was not so much the amount of matches played in one season but how to create the longest periods of preparation for the players, during which they would only dedicate themselves to training for the World Cup without playing a single match.

''Eight weeks would be great but I know it will be less. Now the key is to work out the match schedule to get a few preparation periods throughout the season.''