Oscar Jegou makes his return. Back in training for a little over a month, the La Rochelle third row was recalled by his club for the first time since the Mendoza affair. He will start in the match between La Rochelle and Stade français in the top 14.
With Pau’s second line Hugo Auradou, who returned to the field at the beginning of October, Jegou is still charged with aggravated rape by the Argentine courts for alleged acts which allegedly occurred in Mendoza, the night following their first selection for the French team against Argentina on July 6.
A hearing to study the two players’ request for dismissal, postponed several times and initially scheduled for Friday, has been postponed indefinitely.
Hugo Auradou has already returned to competition
The two players have maintained from the beginning that the sexual relations with the complainant, a 39-year-old Argentinian they met in a nightclub, were consensual and without violence. His lawyer, on the contrary, denounced a rape with “terrible violence”. First placed in pre-trial detention then placed under house arrest in Mendoza, the players were released in mid-August, then authorized to return to France at the beginning of September.
Hugo Auradou returned to the Pau training center five days later and resumed collective training in mid-September, before playing again for the first time in Perpignan, at the beginning of October during the 5th day of the Top 14.
Shortage of third lines
Oscar Jegou resumed training at the end of September, but his return to competition was delayed by his club, which had initially decided to wait for a decision to dismiss the case from the Argentine courts. The various postponements of the hearing, but also the shortage of third lines in the maritime ranks, have changed this position.
La Rochelle captain Grégory Alldritt and flanker Paul Boudehent are currently with the Blues in Marcoussis to prepare for the November test matches, Fijian Levani Botia has not completely recovered from his broken forearm while Judicaël Cancoriet has was suspended for four weeks by the disciplinary committee this Thursday following a yellow card received against Bordeaux-Bègles.
“We are very happy to see him back on the field and to see him playing rugby” commented La Rochelle assistant coach Rémi Talès on Thursday, when asked about Jegou’s presence in training with a starting bib.
