the essential
Alain Rey, president of the Tarn committee, who will hand over in December, salutes the Tarn team and shares his feelings for its latest Amateur Rugby Trophies, the votes for which open this Monday, October 21.
These will be your last amateur rugby Trophies as president of the Tarn committee. How do you view the evolution of this event over the past four years?
Even before four years! We were the first to organize an event of this kind, in 2010. But the transition to the Trophées Dépêche du Midi took what we were doing before to a new level. The media coverage, and within the clubs, has evolved in the right direction. Before, we stayed with a smaller event. To talk about sport, we have moved from an amateur setting to a professional environment. It became a major, significant event. It is eagerly awaited by the clubs, as proof, this year, we are full for the first time (the 31 Tarnais clubs will be represented either in the categories open to votes, or in special prizes, or in various rewards, editor’s note ). Everyone understands the importance of the Dépêche du Midi amateur rugby Trophies, which are a fantastic showcase.
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In this showcase, training will be particularly highlighted through various special prizes this year. Was this the wish of the jury or was it the recent very good results of the young people which pushed them to go in this direction?
Let’s say that the excellent results of the past season have highlighted even more the in-depth work accomplished for several years now. It’s true that we usually talk about it, but nothing more, in this type of event. However, this is the daily life of our rugby. And we don’t always value it enough. So the fact of having obtained such results put a spotlight on this ensemble. It was really the time to salute the educators, the CTCs (club technical advisors, Tarn has three, editor’s note), the employees, who provide extraordinary work.
Another in-depth work that pays is on arbitration. Kévin Bralley has just been promoted to Top 14 and will be present at the awards ceremony on November 13. Is this success a founding element for the future?
Yes because, before, the referees were apart of the committee. I am well placed to talk about it because I was a referee myself, and we often had a tendency to complain (smile). It has now been eight years since referees have been an integral part of the Tarn committee. We work with them, an exchange between committee, referees and clubs has also been set up. And then we have a high-quality technical team, recognized at the level of the Ligue d’Occitanie. The work pays off because we have Kevin Bralley, Bérénice Loubet for the women, as well as several referees from Fédérale 1 and other federal divisions. We have the most complete squad in the entire league, 70. In my time, we were 30… In addition, having Kevin Bralley at the party brings additional light to this team.
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Yannick Jauzion president of the jury, Kevin Bralley sponsor of the awards evening… People who have succeeded in rugby remain attached to Tarn and attend its events. Is maintaining this link a driving force for the department’s oval shape?
We need it. My wish would be to have a sort of alumni association of the department which would follow local rugby news. We started a little with Daniel Revallier, Gérard Cholley or Jacques Cimarosti. These people carry the Tarn identity and when they are there, an attraction is created. Yannick Jauzion participates in the Trophies but gets involved in Graulhet, with the kids on the field, Kevin Bralley is involved in the meetings of the Tarn referees, debriefs with them. Without going too far, there is also Romain Poite at the head of the national arbitration unit, with Mathieu Raynal. Romain is from Tarnais, started at Graulhet and even played a season at Cagnac. People like that are stars and we must continue to have them among us. Firstly because they like it, but also because the club likes it. It is essential to build a Tarn identity, and I find that we have achieved this through the youth selections, via the 100% CO region. Today, there is real solidarity between the Tarn clubs. For example, this offseason, Gaillac and Lavaur had difficulty finding teams to play friendly matches. The idea emerged of organizing a tournament between clubs in the department, which we did in the 1970s and 1980s with the Pavois du Tarn. But some time ago, thinking about this was inconceivable! So that’s a great idea.
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Personally, you know Tarn rugby. But have these Trophies allowed you to rediscover it?
I wouldn’t say that because I’ve been around for a very long time. And we’ve heard all the great stories. But we didn’t value them, we are modest in rugby. However, thanks to the Trophies, we were able to highlight superb human stories: guys from Carmaux who saved their friend, this girl from Sidobre who recovered after cancer, and so on. Ultimately, these stories are more important than the performance. Rugby isn’t just about people bumping into each other. It contains plenty of human adventures, and this must be preserved.
Votes open this Monday, how does it work?
Here we go again for a new edition of the Amateur Rugby Trophies. Launched in 2021, this event highlights different players who correspond to the identity of their respective club. For this 4th edition, nine categories will be submitted to votes by Internet users: rugby school, National 2 and Federal 1 player, Federal 3 and Regional 1 player, Regional 2 player, Regional 3 player, junior player, cadet player, senior player, junior player. Voting is open from this Monday, October 21 until November 3. It will be necessary to choose, in each category, between four different candidates, except for rugby schools (three candidates).
To support your favorite player, go to the ladepeche.fr website and search for “Amateur Rugby Trophies 81” with the “Search” tool on our site. Or type directly into your search engine (Google, Mozilla, Internet Explorer, etc.) “Amateur Rugby Trophies 81”. You will find all the categories submitted to votes, as well as the portraits of the different candidates. If the presentations of the nominees are already available on ladepeche.fr, you will be able to discover them over the next 15 days in your edition of Tarn, in the Sports 81 section. The publication of the portraits will begin tomorrow with the “Player” category. of National 2 and Federal 1”.
