former pillar, he talks about his failed stint in Toulouse

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Pure product of the Gers training, Grégory Menkarska had blossomed at the highest level in Auch to the point of being spotted by Stade Toulousain. The pillar, now coach of the RCA, returned to his journey to At the time of Rugby and in particular on this missed passage to Toulouse. In all honesty.

From Auch to Toulouse: a bad choice for Grégory Menkarska

“This parenthesis at Stade Toulousain… clearly I’m at the wrong club.” The scene is set from the first moments when we return to this career choice of Grégory Menkarska, not the type to beat around the bush on the subject.

It is clear that the results of his two seasons with the Rouge et Noir leave little room for nuance. A completely honest first season with 15 Top 14 matches and 2 European Cup matches, then a second without a single minute of play.

However, could he have done things differently at the time? No doubt, but circumstances had somehow made this decision obvious, almost inevitable.

“At that moment, Henri (Broncan, coach of FC Auch at the time, editor’s note) said to me “it’s time”. At the same time, he recovers two Stadistes. I'm not saying that I was a bargaining chip but… I had 7 or 8 clubs knocking on my door, Perpignan, Agen, but I chose the Stade because it's the Stade. Basically, it cannot be refused,” breathes Grégory Menkarska.

Reasons for a missed appointment

At the time of its arrival on the banks of the Garonne, the right pillar was in full ascent. It was also according to him during his match against Toulouse that Guy Novès and his staff had targeted him as a target for their recruitment.

“I was a good defender, I had good scrum skills, and against them it went well. But arriving in Toulouse, it was upheaval. I arrive in June and I am told “you need to lose weight, your stomach, your weight, your stomach, your weight”… In the end you have a complex! But one thing led to another, I lost weight and I ended up starting the season on the left,” relates the former right pillar.

Helping out during the injuries of Jean-Baptiste Poux and Dan Human, he ended up disappearing little by little when the captains returned. Sometimes 24^e man, sometimes relegated to the Espoirs. Before falling into the classic trap.

“I have this good-natured, festive Gers side. So I'm in Toulouse, I meet some great guys, Servat, Fritz, Michalak. We were going out with Fred, he had half the club jumping on him but he kept the focus on me, we were drinking big butts, great. We were probably asked less at the time than now,” he smiles.

In short, it spreads out a bit. And probably loses his illusions as the months go by.

Between bad luck and responsibility

Grégory Menkarska is neither the first nor the last professional rugby player to enjoy nocturnal pleasures while pursuing his career. In itself, its festive side could have had nothing objectionable. A big injury, on the other hand, is much more annoying.

“After the first year, I broke my right shoulder. And this second year, I had a bad time. I undoubtedly have a big part of the responsibility. The problem is that there are many who succeed at Stade Toulousain. But there are also some who fail, and you don’t see those,” he admits.

“I was not recruited by Toulouse to progress, I was there to be an experienced player. It's also a business and I got a little lost in it. In the end, my best friends, Jean-Baptiste Dambielle, Frédéric Pujo, fortunately they were there,” he remembers.

Without throwing stones at the multiple French champion club, we understand that he did not feel completely supported either. And that President René Bouscatel did not do everything to retain him when he wanted to be released from his last year of contract.

We are never as good as in Auch

The Gers must have something special, RC Auch in particular, for its children to be so keen to come back and complete the circle there. Like Grégory Menkarska did, or like Arnaud Mignardi did a few years later.

“My ultimate dream was not to play at Stade Toulousain, it was to be captain at Auch,” concedes Menkarska. But as former Stadiste as he was, he had to fight again to regain status in his favorite club.

“The return to Auch was difficult. I left a club where I was indisputable to return to a club where my replacement had become indisputable,” he explains. But through hard work, he had regained center stage.

“Pierre-Henry Broncan was very hard on me to get back on track, so much so that I was being courted again. But I was more reluctant. Auch was my balance, so I stayed there. I also felt like I was indebted to them,” he adds.

In the end, a 4^e injury to his right shoulder pushed him to end his career in 2013 after realizing his dream of wearing the captain's stripes in Auch. Experiencing this transition very badly, Roland Pujo, his former coach, pushed him to take charge of the youth categories.

From Crabos in 2014 to Espoirs in 2016, before becoming manager and leading the Honor team to Nationale 2. Where the club is playing this season, its 32^e personal under the colors of Auch. A nice total!

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