The manager of the Paloise Section formalized the tenure of the young second-row for the trip to Perpignan this Saturday, three months after his indictment for “violent rape in a meeting” by the Argentine courts.
A return that will make noise. French international Hugo Auradou, 21, will return to the rugby fields this Saturday in the Top 14 with the Section Paloise, traveling to Perpignan. Almost three months to the day after the alleged rape case, for which he is still being prosecuted in Argentina with Oscar Jegou.
“He will start the meetingsaid the manager of the Pau Section Sébastien Piqueronies, this Friday at a pre-match press conference. There is no surprise, you have seen him training with us, the day has come to put him on a rugby field and that will be tomorrow”evoking “the fruit of a logic of support”, “one more step, the logic of things since July”.
“Nothing prohibits him from playing rugby, he is presumed innocent. »
Sébastien Piqueronies, manager of the Pau Section
“Nothing prohibits him from playing rugby, he is presumed innocent. Today, it is up to those who defend it and to the management of the club to assume consistency as they have done from the start.added the manager of the Béarnais club.
Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou, both 21 years old, are charged in Argentina with aggravated rape, because in a meeting, for alleged acts that occurred on the night of July 6 to 7 in a hotel room in Mendoza, where they had just won a match against Argentina for their first selection with the XV of France.
The players have maintained from the beginning that the sexual relations with the 39-year-old complainant, met in a nightclub, were consensual. First detained then placed under house arrest, they were released in mid-August, then authorized to leave Argentina pending the end of the investigation, the prosecution believing “that the initial accusation has lost its force”. They returned to France on September 4.
Mendoza justice will soon rule on the request for dismissal
Hugo Auradou, son of former international David Auradou, returned to the Pau training center five days later and resumed collective training in mid-September. Oscar Jegou resumed last week with La Rochelle, where he plays in the third row position, but no date has yet been publicly mentioned for his return to competition.
The Mendoza courts must, in the coming days, set a hearing date for the examination of the request for dismissal filed at the end of August by the players’ lawyers. Last week, the prosecution validated a final act, a psychiatric and psychological expert report from the complainant, which seems to weaken her position.
Since his return to training on September 9, the under-20 world champion (in 2023) has first refined his physical condition, which he had already started working on again. Before gradually reintegrating into collective training. “As agreed on his recovery plan, he did a week of athletic recovery, of testing. Then a second week where he partly resumed collective training. He fit back into the mold very naturally, very comfortable in rugby. For now, appreciated and positive feedback from Hugo”commented on September 18, the coach of the Pau defense, Antoine Nicoud.
A necessarily highly publicized return
At the start of the week, observers noted that the young second-row was among his partners during the sessions relocated to Hagetmau, in the Landes, away from the cameras. The player had let his staff know that he felt ready to play again, physically and mentally. He will therefore return to the field this Saturday, 91 days after his last official match, this Argentina-France where he honored his first selection in blue. Much more in the Pau jersey, his last outing dating back to March 30 (31-29 defeat against Toulouse) before forfeiting the end of the Top 14 season, injured in an ankle.
It remains to be seen what reception the enthusiastic public of Perpignan will give him. And the impact of the comments which will undoubtedly accompany this return. Obviously highly publicized. The only certainty is that the player will not speak out. His lawyer, Maître Vey, who mentioned a necessary “media rehabilitation”will however wait for the continuation of the procedure in Argentina and a possible dismissal before authorizing his client to give, finally publicly, his version of the facts for the first time.
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