the essential
The scene had the potential to be one of the most beautiful images of the evening, but ultimately came to a halt when the son of the Toulouse hooker refused to wear the medal offered by the Minister of Sports around his neck.
We must give Julien Marchand what belongs to Julien Marchand. Crowned with a 23rd French championship title, this Friday on the Vélodrome pitch against Union Bordeau-Bègles (59-3), Stade Toulousain continues to establish its dominance over the other teams. Ten years after his debut with the “red and black”, the French international hooker has added another line to his list of achievements.
But when it came time to present the medals, and apparently with the hooker’s agreement, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra decided to put the trinket around the neck of Julien Marchand’s little boy. With apparently a lot of humility, the child refused to receive this praise and preferred to decline the Sports Minister’s offer. Coming into play in place of Peato Mauvaka at the start of the second half, Julien Marchand distinguished himself in this final, scoring a try a quarter of an hour later to increase his team’s advantage.
