“The most important thing for me is to be out of all that”

Ua white season due to a meniscus injury, a grueling sequence after the 2023 World Cup, a burglary at his home in February… More is needed to stop Guido Petti (30 years old). Despite all these adventures, the Argentinian international (85 caps) managed to move forward with Union Bordeaux-Bègles this season.

Since the Autumn Tour with Argentina, do you feel back at your best level?

Yes, actually, even after the Rugby Championship, I already felt good. The break, the holidays and the preparation in Argentina really did me good physically. This is what I have been missing since the World Cup (2023). Last year, I did a lot of training. By the end of the season, I was dead. I know myself, I know how to manage my body, I hope I will keep this shape all year round.

“This burglary also weighed on my mind, I was not well for a while”

Between your knee injury and the burglary you suffered last year, did your luck finally change?

The knee injury was already two years ago. But last season was my recovery after a blank year. Last year, I still played 30 matches. I’ve had my ups and downs. I played all the World Cup matches where we reached the semi-finals. I came back to Bordeaux where I played all the matches in this series of eight straight victories… After all that, without stopping, I got into the tough stuff a bit. This burglary also weighed on my mind, I was not well for a while. The most important thing for me is to have come out of all that and to have come back well. It’s impossible to be on top all the time. You just have to know how to come back.

Did this burglary really have an impact on your performance?

Yes, I think so. When I look at it today, I tell myself that it’s just material damage (250,000 euros), it’s not serious. But it’s always difficult to feel that when you go home, there were people there. You don’t feel safe. I live alone, I have no family in Bordeaux. It was a really difficult time to live through. After that, there was a long investigation, they found someone (Editor’s note: sentenced to 2 years in prison in May). In the end, I didn’t get back anything that was stolen from me. There are harder things in life. But the legal process obviously took up my mind a little. I had to follow all that in French, take care of the papers, the insurance, the lawyer… I don’t know if all that explains my performance at the end of last season but unconsciously, it obviously played a role.

This season, you remain a key man on the sidelines for UBB, a rather fickle sector. How do you view these difficulties?

We have still made good progress since the start of the season. We have been irregular but we are on the right path. Everyone works. We know very well that even if we have the best three-quarters, our forward pack must be at the top. In recent matches, we have seen improvement in scrums, on mauls… We are progressing. On the sidelines, you can’t be 100% all the time. But everyone is working to make it better. For me, rugby is simple, but it’s difficult to do simple things (smile). You need good timing, understanding, the right gesture… The touch remains simple: there are the basics which are the throw, the jump, the lift. You can do 1,000 combinations, if the basics aren’t there, you just do shit.

You are often presented as a touchstone specialist. Do you find this reductive?

In Argentina, I am also presented like that. This is the sector in which I am comfortable. But I still feel like a complete player: I try to be everywhere, to put on speed even if I’m second row, to make good tackles in defense, to carry balls… And as an Argentinian, I love the scrum. Afterwards, we always talk about everyone’s main strength, right? Louis (Bielle-Biarrey), it’s speed, Matthieu (Jalibert), the play with the hands… To be a starter in the Top 14 in a team like UBB, I believe you have to be complete.

You will be at the end of your contract in June. How do you see your future?

At the moment, I’m enjoying Bordeaux like never before. I feel good, I’m playing, we’re winning a series of victories… I’ll let my agent handle the rest. I am open to anything, whether it is staying at UBB, or why not a new adventure. But honestly, today, I only think about one thing: being champion with my club. I only came here for that. And I hope it will be this year.

Being an Argentinian international and not a Jiff, is it complicated in the Top 14?

There are quite a few Argentinians in the Top 14. We’re not there for three months, it’s true, but we don’t miss that many matches over a season compared to the French internationals. The Rugby Championship takes place in the pre-season, there is a break in November, and then we are there all year round. I recognize that you are missing important moments with the club. But when you play for the selection, it also allows the club to benefit from your level. That’s what’s beautiful about the Top 14, there are plenty of internationals everywhere. Everyone brings their pride, their game, their mentality… I will never put Argentina aside, it’s my country. If I’m in Bordeaux, I can say thank you to the Pumas. I give 100%, wherever I am.