“for fun”, this former pro Rugby player returns to the amateur level

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There had already been Fabien Vincent, a few seasons ago, now it's the turn of Kevin Milhorat !

In fact, theformer professional fullbackpassed through Massy and the Rouen Normandy Rugbywhere he played for a long time in Pro D2, has just signed a freelance contract with the RC Couronne-Elbeufin Federal 3. In a role of coach-player, he arrives “for pleasure” and to share his experience.

Turn the page

In rugby, there are those who “play” like schoolchildren, university students or village fans do. And then there are those who “practice” rugby, because it’s their job. In these people, there is often a moment when the body, bruised, begins to cry “Stop”. Often, it is around the age of 35 that he whistles the end of the game.

Thirty-five years old is precisely the age of Kévin Milhorat. The former full-back, who sometimes helped out on the wing, is ready to move on, without forgetting his years at the highest level.

But besides, what does he keep from his time among the professionals? “Lots of memories and friendships shared, with good days and bad days,” he confides, seated in an oval lovers’ bar in Caudebec. Besides the 80 minutes spent on Friday evening under the spotlights and the encouragement or whistles of thousands of spectators, depending on whether we are playing at home or traveling, there is the other side of the scene. »

This other side of the coin, according to him, is “the trips by train or most often by bus”, “the returns in the night”, “the Sundays to recover” or even “the return to training whatever time, Monday morning.” However, Kévin Milhorat recognizes that all the constraints “were in the contract”.

We all know this when we start, even if during our journey we have difficulty experiencing certain periods, such as knowing whether the coach will start us or not for the next match or whether our physique will hold up.

A well-prepared post-career

In terms of injury, the former RNR back fell between the drops. “I am lucky not to have known, unlike others, no serious injuries in my career, it’s already an extraordinary opportunity,” he admits.

If, for some, theafter career is a complicated period, that does not seem to be the case for Kévin Milhorat. Still based in Rouen with his wife and two children aged 7 and 3, he has also “joined the world of work as a real estate diagnostician and everything is going well”.

“I enjoy it”

By tasting the rugby amateurat RC Couronne-Elbeuf, the former professional seems to have found a club faithful to his expectations on a human level.

“I feel good, I share the sporting life of my new club where no one takes themselves for another, where we celebrate victories as well as defeats and where rugby, if not an absolute priority, is content to be a cement that brings us together and unites us, he appreciates. I take pleasure and try to give it to others and I am happy in this other rugby on a human scale. »

If professional rugby has sometimes deviated from its image as a sport for friends to respond to the laws of sport business, Kévin Milhorat has chosen to go back to the source of the famous “Values ​​of the Ovalie”. No regrets.

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