Why are you announcing the end of your playing career today?
I tried to come back for 10 months, but I have just been declared permanently unfit by occupational medicine. We did everything possible to delay the decision, but the pain was too great. I am still unable to run, traveling by public transport is complicated. I’m stopping after ten years of career.
When and how did this injury occur?
I injured my back at the end of last season, just before the final stages, during a cohesion training course with the military. Bad reception on an obstacle course. But there was already a fragility in the back. I have always been physically fragile, obliged to have an impeccable lifestyle. Today, I have to stop exercising to try to get back to a normal life. There is no miracle treatment.
What is your contractual situation, while you were under contract at RC Vannes until next June?
I was fired for incapacity. This is the classic procedure and it was my wish, rather than staying off work for three or four years. I need to move on and seize opportunities, launch my new career. I’m only 28 years old and great things await me. I hope to sign with a media, I will be happy to bring my expertise as a consultant, while completing my mission with the Vannes group engaged in SuperSevens (French Rugby 7s championship, the final phases of which will be played in February) . I’ll be happy to end on that. I’m leaving Vannes, but a part of me will always be here.
How are you coping with this difficult decision?
It’s still a bit of a death, when you can’t decide when to stop or play one last match with your friends. But I put things into perspective, I am proud of my career. I just regret not having been able to discover the Top 14 with Vannes. I would like to continue working in rugby, taking advantage of my knowledge of the sector.
Will rugby sevens remain the main marker of your playing career?
Yes, obviously, because I spent more than seven out of ten years there. But I experienced things here, in Vannes, that I had never experienced: communion with the home crowd, the length of a championship season and a family club, with values. I don’t regret going to rugby at 7 to 18 years old. Antoine Dupont was the first skeptic at the time, because I was at Stade Toulousain and in the French youth XV team. But when he was crowned Olympic champion this summer, he sent me a little message to tell me that I was right! The 7th was an indescribable joy in my career. I still watch all the matches and follow all the competitions.
What will you remember from your three seasons in Vannes?
I had an extraordinary adventure, with ups and downs. I didn’t know anyone when I arrived. I had never played professionally in XV. I wasn’t very good at the beginning, because it was really another sport. What gave me the strength not to give up was discovering a new family and exceptional players. It took me a year to assimilate everything and feel comfortable on the field. Not everything was easy, but the story ended in apotheosis with the promotion to the Top 14. And when I see how the team is selling its skin dearly this season, I am proud and happy to have brought my little stone in the building.
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