Seven tries in five matches with Saint-Estève/XIII Catalan. Léo Darrélatour (24 years old) is in the process of successfully changing his code. Fifteen player since he was three years old, the Girondin has made his place within the Catalan Dragons reserve which is preparing the clash against leader Carcassonne this Sunday in Saint-Estève (3:45 p.m.).
The path of a child gifted in Rugby is rarely a straight line. In any case, Léo Darrélatour takes matters in hand and draws the contours of his career, according to his desires and his choices. Grandson of a former Arcachon XIII Littoral player and son of an Arcachon XV player, this employee of CATANET (premises cleaning and maintenance company), is one of his boys, who fell into the the rugby pot. The UBB training center (2018-2029) opened the doors to the USAP for him, explains the player who typed “in the eye of David Marty who coached the USAP Espoirs and after a match, he came to see me to offer me to sign with them”. From 2020 to 2022, Léo Darrélatour will therefore play alongside Théo Forner and Akato Fakatika, with the USAP Espoirs, until this semi-final lost against Aurillac (25-26). “At the end of the season, USAP extended my contract for one year, while lending me to Carcassonne which played in Pro D2”he summarizes.
A European Cup meeting with the blood and gold against Treviso, fifteen Pro D2 matches and 20 National matches with USC, therefore completed the fifteenth period of this enthusiast. “I no longer wanted to play in the National, I sent videos of myself in Australia and I had contacts, except that the championship doesn't start until January”explains the Baby Dracs winger who adds. “Friends, including Nino Séguéla, Mathieu Puig and Alexandre Ferret showed the video to the St-Estève/XIII Catalan club and quickly, contacts were made”.
No endless discussions behind the scenes. In life, as on the field, Léo Darrélatour likes things to send, to pulse, all the more so, on “the left side, where he easily found with another quinziste, Ben Lam. We get along well and understand each other quickly. The hardest part was wrestling at first, but now I've gotten used to this new sport.”he specifies, not without having noted that his “family still has difficulty understanding the rules when they come the see play”. They will perhaps be in the stands on Sunday, for the event and this duel between the first two in the championship. “I'm looking forward to this match, it's incredible to see ourselves in this place anyway. We are the nice surprise of this first half of the championship and even if we have no pressure, since we are not favorites, it We must make our journey a reality, one week before the derby in Pia”.
“See how far I can go”
This test hunter who is starting to be more and more watched by his counterparts, has not erased from his thoughts his plan to play in Australia, the country of both rugbys. “I received a great offer to join a Super Rugby team. But for the moment I want to stay here, in this club to see how far I am capable of going”, humbly admits Léo Darrélatour, who is an attentive spectator of the training of Nino Séguéla and Ben Lam with the Catalan Dragons. Perhaps his turn will come, but in the meantime, the journey of this child gifted in rugby has led him to the doors of the Catalan Dragons. A fierce defender, Léo Darrélatour does not leave anyone indifferent and his sporting and human qualities make him one of the gems of Saint-Estève/XIII Catalan, where Julien Touxagas had a hollow nose when he suggested he change codes.
France
Rugby
