Sébastien Calvet requested the return of Rémi Vaquin to SU Agen this summer. Since then, the former third line has been unanimous within the group. However, seeing him coach at Armandie was an aberration just a few months ago.
It is November 1, 2020. At the end of the day, SU Agen announces on its social networks the “suspension of collaboration” with Christophe Laussucq and Rémi Vaquin. In other words, he ousts his two coaches the day after a shipwreck in Gironde (71-5 defeat against UBB). A real turning point in the recent history of the club. From the information we gathered at the time, the players had a bad time with the departure of the former third row. The same one who had made Sporting the best team in the Top 14 for two seasons. On the side of the supporters too, the incomprehension was then total. The man, for his part, was inevitably bruised by this period. To our colleagues at Actu Rugby, he confided two years ago to having been “swept away and almost banned overnight” of a club for which he spent a lot of energy.
What happened in 4 years?
As at the time on the field, Rémi Vaquin is not the type to remain inactive. So he quickly bounced back. “There were three and a half years precisely. Three and a half years during which I played rugby, but differently. I went through amateur clubs where I tried to help more than anything else because I didn’t couldn’t be there all the time”he notes. Colayrac-Saint-Cirq and Sainte-Livrade were able to benefit from its expertise, in the same way as the French youth teams. It was there that his relationship with Sébastien Calvet developed. “This period was a monumental breath of fresh air. It was great, really. Everything I learned helped me a lot.”
Also read:
Pro D2 – Agen: SUA captain Arnaud Duputs absent for at least two months
Aside from rugby, the former Racing 92 player became director of B-Time, a start-up presenting a revolutionary system specialized for large crowds and allowing easier and faster drink dispensing. In short, Rémi Vaquin has not been idle but these few years have made him evolve. “I can’t really say what has changed in me. But what is certain is that amateur rugby has brought me a lot”he assures. And to continue: “This rugby has given even more meaning to what I know how to do. It has helped me reconnect with local values. In the professional world, it’s true that we live in a bubble, cut off from the world Having this reconnection with the amateur world was essential for me.”
Today, the 41-year-old’s view of his passion has changed somewhat: “I’ve made rugby my life. I’ve been into it since I was 4 years old. But this parenthesis allowed me to remember that I have to take it with the banana. Only have fun and do everything to still be better. Above all, in the middle of all this, we have to bring life into rugby.”
His return to Agen, a story of men
Four years almost to the day after his departure from the SUA, Rémi Vaquin has once again become an essential part of the club. As if nothing had happened. Internally, it seems that the players completely agree with the former flanker’s speech. However, no one would have put a coin on this return a few months ago. So why this turnaround? Above all, there are the men who weighed in the balance. “When Seb Calvet arrived at the club, I was a player. So we had connections. When I stopped playing, he offered me to train with them at Académia. Basically, I was planned to coaching the sidelines with Mauricio Reggiardo among the pros and therefore the young people at the same time This gave rise to a strong connection with Sébastien, like me, we sincerely believe that the future of the club is embodied by our young people. always.”
The two men then found themselves in the French youth teams. “We think about rugby in the same way. We know that when things go well or when things go less well, we will know who we have next to us to face the challenges. This fact is very important for me”confirms Vaquin. Calvet is not the only man who played a role in this decision: “There is also Dave Ryan who I really like. I played with him, I trained him and I am now delighted to coach with him. I also knew Adel Fellah well with whom I had worked with the U20s Development We really have a balanced and complementary staff pole if we add Barry Maddocks.
The last reason is the choice of the heart. Rémi Vaquin likes the SUA. “I have had other interesting offers in other clubs. But the fact of starting again with a professional club, moreover in Agen, is very special in my eyes. Perhaps it is the time to finish the work that had been started.” And when we see the progress made in recent months by the Agen touch, we say to ourselves that this project has already evolved well. Without hard feelings, Rémi Vaquin simply found his place on the Armandie side.
