The proposal has been passed by the French Rugby Federation and the Ligue National de Rugby and will see all domestic action stopped for two months between January 23 and March 23.

It is designed to give the France players a rest and improve their chances of success in next years World Cup - a tournament the French will host.

''Out of those eight weeks we should give a 10-day holiday break to our players and then we will go somewhere for special training,'' Nourault told L'Equipe.

''We will work on the physical side. This will be one of the advantages of that break.

''I don't think that the clubs who have many internationals will be that penalised by the absence of their players in the end.

''The internationals will train non-stop during that period of time and they will also feature in high-level matches during the Six Nations.

''Playing in a France v England match is far better than any training.

''At the end of the tournament, they will be ready even if they are a little bit tired.

''This all-new system ends up being acceptable because French rugby is determined to help the French XV become world champions.'' 

The Top 14 will start on August 18 and go on for five months before the break.

When they resume action on March 23, they will have only three months left to play until the Top 14 final on June 9.

''It's like playing in two championships,'' said Fabrice Landreau, one of Stade Francais' coaches.

''Between both we will have a real break which will allow us to regenerate the group and recover from the first part of the season.

''We usually experience a difficult spell at the end of January, but the break will allow us to recover.

''We will make the most of that time to work on things we don't have the time to concentrate on such as the individual technique.

''This is the first time we will have to cope with such a situation.''