It is rumored that you could, in the event of a buyer, hand over and leave the club. What do you answer?
The answer is easy. It is contained in my age. I will be 86 at the end of the year. Even if I am healthy, no one is in control of their life. It is normal, it is my responsibility, to think about the post-Lemaitre era. The conditions I put in place to find a buyer are not at all financial. They could be, considering everything I’ve put into this club. But I did it selflessly and voluntarily.
What are these conditions?
Above all, you have to be a rugby lover. Immerse yourself in what Toulon really is. It’s special. You have to integrate this environment. It took me a long time, even though I have a long experience of rugby. You also have to be able to perpetuate the policy that is now in place. Not only for the management of the first team athlete, but also for training. I absolutely want Toulon to have natural recruitment through the products of its training. With, upstream of all that, the RCT Passion project which works on the minimes and cadets with more than 100 clubs that are already in partnership with us. In two or three years, I hope that we will have natural recruitment like Toulouse can have.
If tomorrow a credible investor comes along, will you pass on or do you want to go as far as possible with the RCT?
No no. It’s not about continuing for the sake of continuing. I’ll hand over. We all have limits and I have one that is becoming more and more evident. It’s hard. I’m there every morning, I leave late at night, I work full days. And during the day, there are countless questions that arise.
Has your thinking evolved over the past few months?
A little. But if circumstances mean that I have to stay two or three more years, I will. Especially since I will be helped by a new general manager [Nous sommes en mesure de confirmer que ce sera Jessica Casanova, jusqu’ici en poste à Montpellier, Ndlr]. He is a professional person in this role in rugby. A real plus. But I repeat, if the conditions arise, I will pass the baton.
