Last night in Vabre, former player Thomas Lacombe officially took the reins of a Rodez rugby team that he wants more than ever to be focused on “identity and performance”. Moreover, he announced some major reinforcements for the Fédérale 3 group coached by the club’s manager, Patrick Furet.
A page has officially turned. Last night at the Grange de Vabre, Rodez rugby changed its president. As announced several months ago, the club’s AGM inducted the former player and real estate entrepreneur in Rodez, Thomas Lacombe. He takes over from the man who had greatly contributed to the survival of rugby in the city in 2019 at the time of the death of the SRA after its financial setbacks, Stéphane Floirac.
A transfer carried out in serenity despite the failure of a hoped-for rise to Fédérale 2 last season. Moreover, few changes in the club’s management committee with a budget of nearly 800,000 euros are to be noted. Josian Graux remains vice-president in charge of training and Jean-Luc Delaneau treasurer. A committee that is nevertheless thickening, with now 18 members in total, including a new well-known vice-president, a certain Gilbert Pagès, tutelary figure, in charge of relations with private and public partners or even “the Rodez identity”, specifies Lacombe.
Weight, years and (higher) level
The latter is one of the new president’s strong points with “increasing the cursor on performance”. Both can even be crossed, as the official recruitment to date bears witness to. Indeed, the return of former SRA and experienced players Vincent Favre-Trosson (Millau, versatile full-back, F2) and Alexandre Vaffier (La Seyne, fly-scorer, N2) were confirmed yesterday. Accompanied by the 29-year-old Georgian pillar Giorgi Rokva, who played on the pitch in Fédérale 1 in 2017-18. Versatile at 1.90m (and over 120 kilos!), he comes from Orléans, a regular at Fédérale 1, previously also with Bagnères and Castanet. A local fibre also played with a return, the one who is coming out of retirement again (for the third time at 42), Ralph Teriitaohia. The love for the second row jersey clearly still carries him towards the field.
As for the “real” new faces, it seems to be a tough one. “Young people with great potential or experienced players to come and help a quality group that we wanted to keep as much as possible (five major departures including the young fly-half Delagnes to Millau have already been confirmed previously)”, comments president Lacombe. Indeed, with Hugo Barry (hooker, Nîmes hopefuls, 23 years old), Vianney Kaviki (2nd row, Aubenas hopefuls, 23 years old), the Fijian Sokiveta Nadialobo (3rd row, Nantua Fed.2, 37 years old) or even the dad used to Federal 1 games from Tricastin where he coached the hopefuls, the 40-year-old winger Roy Wemama, Rodez has armed itself to clearly take a step forward. Even if it has not been easy. “We have called up 100 players for 8 confirmed signings to date,” explains the new boss, who is hopeful of recruiting again, perhaps as early as this week, “a front row, a centre, even a second row or a number 9.”
