Good surprise at the start of the season, former Racing player Martin Méliande is offered his first start at the opening, where his profile offers new options.
It’s a slightly crazy story, but one that perhaps foreshadows the future daily life of professional rugby players. It would be an understatement to say that after two seasons with the Racing 92 Espoirs, Martin Méliande thought he would wear the colors of the Hauts-de-Seine club again this season, given his twelve appearances in the Top 14 last season… Las , the transfer of Owen Farrell and the arrival of Dan Lancaster (son of manager Stuart) at Racing 92 necessarily had collateral effects in terms of salary cap, which had to be resolved at the last moment… “Le Lou had already expressed his interest to me earlier in the seasonrecalled Martin Méliande during the week. From the start, we talked about a loan with Racing, who didn’t really agree. But Lyon insisted and in the end, Racing agreed that it was the best solution for everyone. Suddenly, everything came together quickly. And things were resolved by video…”
This is how, in July, Martin Méliande set down his bags in the capital of Gaul where he, like a wink of fate, scored his first attempt in the Top 14 on May 18. “The first thing that pleasantly surprised me in Lyon was obviously the infrastructure. The club itself, I didn’t really know it but I immediately had a good feeling. Besides, since When I arrived, everything went well. The group is very friendly, it was really very easy to integrate there.
A first as number 1 scorer
A well-being which was confirmed on the pitch, where Martin Méliande quickly made his mark, to the point of appearing on all the match sheets since the start of the season, and even scoring a try in Vannes fifteen years ago days. Enough to deserve a first tenure which will be offered to him at La Rochelle, in a fly-half position where he has not played since last season. “When I signed with Lou, in fact, it was originally to evolve a little further at the back. I interested them in this position because, through my profile, I can bring other qualities that players like “Tchap” (Alexandre Tchaptchet) ou “Nini” (Davit Niniashvili). MBut I had made it clear that I wanted to be able to maintain this versatility when opening, that I also wanted to train there. So, since the start of the season, I have been training for both positions. And even if I started the friendly matches and made my appearances at full-back, I will start in 10 this weekend. Which doesn’t bother me at all.” To the point of also occupying the responsibility of scorer, which he has never taken on as a starter in the Top 14, with the main mission with his friend Martin Page-Relo to be efficient in the basics of the position, starting by the camp outings that the Rhodanians have been struggling to master for five days. “It’s true that for certain matches, a profile like mine can be interesting for the staff, as that of others can be in other contexts, he commented soberly. This allows us to offer different options in relation to the strategies we want to implement.” A pledge to Méliande and Lou to keep theirs as best as possible, on the side of Deflandre…
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