At the Stade de la Rabine in Vannes, the party could hardly have been better. Promoted to the first division, the Rugby club vannetais (RCV) is preparing to be the first Breton club to play a Top 14 match, and this in its lair. The RCV concludes the weekend of the resumption of the French championship by hosting, on Sunday September 8 at 9 p.m., Stade toulousain, double title holder and Antoine Dupont’s club.
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Over the summer, the regular captain of the French XV turned into a rugby sevens player and led the Blues to their first Olympic title in their history in a wild Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Seine-Saint-Denis). Although he will not be back for the resumption of the Top 14, the Vannes-Toulouse match seems to be the perfect match to restart the championship after a two-month summer break.
But this summer, sporting interest was swept away by off-field news. On August 7, 17-year-old Medhi Narjissi disappeared at sea in South Africa while taking a recovery swim with the French Under-18 team. An internal investigation was opened within the French Rugby Federation (FFR) to establish responsibilities, but “a mistake has been made [par l’encadrement] »assures Florian Grill, the president of the FFR, questioned by The World. “There was no reason to go to a place where there were signs indicating the danger.” Pending the conclusion of this investigation, the staff has been suspended.
“An electroshock”
The black summer of French rugby had begun in South America, where the Blues played three matches in July. After a victory in Argentina, Melvyn Jaminet was the first to host the “miscellaneous facts” section by posting a video on Instagram in which he made racist remarks. Sent back to France, he was suspended for thirty-four weeks from all competitions. “Melvyn Jaminet has “harmed the best interests of rugby””, justified the FFR in a press release. The future of the full-back seems to be written far from the jersey bearing the rooster. “For me, this kind of talk is not compatible with playing for the French team.”confirme Florian Grill.
Still in Argentina, Oscar Jégou from La Rochelle and Hugo Auradou from Pau were indicted for aggravated rape because they were committed in a group. The two young rugby players – also selected for the French XV this summer – are accused by a 39-year-old woman with whom they had sexual intercourse on the night of 6 to 7 July, in a hotel room in Mendoza. Released under judicial supervision on 12 August, the two 21-year-old players were allowed to return to France on Tuesday 3 September, and set foot in Paris the following day. They are still being pursued by the Argentine justice system.
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