INTERVIEW. Rugby: “In Agen, the public knows how to recognize warriors”, remembers Christophe Lamaison, SU Agen player from 2000 to 2002

In the summer of 2000, how did you leave Brive for the SUA?

Your question is well-timed, I wanted to say that I had a big thought for Pierre Montlaur and it is precisely thanks to him that I came to Agen. He trained Brive with Laurent Seigne for the title of European champion and returned to Agen. He felt that there was a kind of dynamic with Dominique Erbani as president, with partners, like the Marty brothers, ready to give too. Everyone was on board and he took me on board his project. It was also my fourth season in Brive and I wanted to get closer to the Basque Country. There you go, it was Pierre Montlaur who brought me here and I really think deeply of him, I’ll say it again.

After remaining in 1998, the arrival of Christian Lanta the previous season marked a renewal for the club…

The 90s had been a bit of a drought for the SUA, after the 80s. Unfortunately, there hadn’t been much to eat and Agen was eating a bit of his black bread until project with Christian Lanta. We must not forget that at that time, we were in the shift towards professionalism which was coming. Some clubs were getting started, others were already there and still others didn’t believe in it. Christian was the detonator of all this. And then as I said, there was the return of the elders, of Domi Erbani with this attractive project on paper. Players like Aubin Hueber arrived and there was always this base of players like Philippe Benetton, Jean-Jacques Crenca or Abdel Benazzi. There was a new lease of life and it looked good on paper… And there, I feel your next question coming…

Indeed, during this 2000-2001 season, the club went through an unprecedented financial crisis and almost disappeared. How did the group experience this episode?

In this kind of situation, either you suffer the extra-sporty, or you create rebellion. Especially since sportingly, things were going well. We left the extra-sporting to those who had to manage it. But… We still had three presidencies during the season. It was a crisis and money, the sinews of war, was not arriving, especially in an environment without too many industries. We read every day in the local press about the problems there might be. It was imperative that the SUA could exist. Sportingly, we did the job. We turned our backs in the collective interest, we accepted salary cuts. Looking back, I would say that we had “cojones”. In another city, in another club, it would have exploded. But here, the SUA was an institution and must remain so. There were meetings between four eyes where we said things to each other and I believe that, subsequently, these difficulties helped us on the ground.

“The financial crisis? In a city other than Agen, a club other than the SUA, it would have exploded”

With a quarter-final lost in Clermont and a semi-final of the European Challenge, the sporting results of this turbulent season are indeed very honorable…

You are present with a group that lives well. There is a trust that is established. You have to learn to live with others to know them better and that’s what happened. Philippe Benetton for example, and a few others, were no longer alone in carrying the club.

A page also turned in 2001 with the departure of players such as Régis Sonnes, Abdel Benazzi and Cédric Heymans…

Cédric leaves for Toulouse. Well, when Toulouse calls you… Régis must certainly have had another project and Abdel had been approached by a foreign club, as was starting to happen, like Philippe Sella before him. But there was enough quality at the club to replace them. This was not too detrimental in terms of performance. We cannot say that the group had exploded with these three departures.

In 2002, for your second year at the club, the group reached the final. A goal set at the start of the season?

No, it comes little by little. At the beginning we didn’t know where we were going and people were still talking more about extra-sporting problems than about the field. But the public is there and we absolutely must involve them in this. There were 6,000, 8,000, 10,000 spectators and it was up to us to make them happy. I think there was hope. And we did the job. To come back to the question, I remember a somewhat heated meeting during the season with the staff and the game leaders where we said: “What are we doing? Are we capable of believing in ourselves? » This had engendered confidence. There was an awareness. It was the launch of a second season within the season.

In 2002, for your second year at the club, the group reached the final. A goal set at the start of the season?

No, it comes little by little. At the beginning we didn’t know where we were going and people were still talking more about extra-sporting problems than about the field. But the public is there and we absolutely must involve them in this. There were 6,000, 8,000, 10,000 spectators and it was up to us to make them happy. I think there was hope. And we did the job. To come back to the question, I remember a somewhat heated meeting during the season with the staff and the game leaders where we said: “What are we doing? Are we capable of believing in ourselves? » This had engendered confidence. There was an awareness. It was the launch of a second season within the season.

Until this final lost against Biarritz, of which some veterans have bitter memories while others want to remember a wonderful adventure…

Already, I haven’t seen her again. It’s always a regret to lose a final. The adventure ended a bit on the rocks, especially in view of the half against Toulouse. Seeing all this change in blue and white at the Stade de France, seeing the town hall in blue and white the next day, yes, but what interested me was the Shield. Looking back, I don’t have the impression that we are second. Is it due to overtime? This one drop makes the difference? If it works for us it’s the same but there you go, it works for Biarritz. Good for them. Afterwards… Did the SUA deserve this shield? The group deserved it, yes, but the club?

You mentioned the semi-final against Toulouse. Was it the masterpiece of this group?

There was an exceptional context and poster with Christophe Deylaud, the former Stade player, the best Toulouse players on the territory. It was a step that we had to take in front of a healthy club, with more internationals than us… At all levels they were good. We had prepared this match as a final. We had also left some juice there… I remember the chats, the looks, I remember everything.

“Guys like Christophe Porcu, David Couzinet or Philippe Benetton were adored in Agen”

Christophe Deylaud, precisely, who left his mark on all the players who were around him…

I would rather talk about the Lanta-Deylaud pair. It is difficult to have two coaches who get along and listen to each other. And yet it was the case. And then there was Henri Cazaubon, the free electron, who managed to make the mayonnaise rise. It was Christian’s support. The strength of the SUA was a very competent staff. We started talking about strategy, tactics, things that are trivial today. It was an avant-garde staff in the approach to matches. Through their experience, their management of strong characters.

This final will be your last match with Agen…

I was old (laughs)! We felt it was the time for the group. Some had already announced their departure like Porcu or Couzinet. It had to be done. I joined Aviron Bayonnais, my favorite club, which was in pro D2. I was going home.

Did a teammate particularly impact you during your seasons at Armandie?

(He thinks) When I was a kid, the SUA was the big stars: Berbizier, Erbani, Sella… Through us, we allowed these players to relive these moments. We satisfied them and it is especially them that I would like to talk about. The elders were proud to come back to Armandie and that is priceless. When we see, the day after the final, Domi Erbani, this “big guy”, crying at the town hall we say to ourselves that that’s it, we are part of the family.

Could you share a significant anecdote of group life from this period?

There, like that, I don’t really know and then the stories must stay in the locker room. But I can tell you about this audience who responds to Agen every time. We still see it in Pro D2. In Bayonne for example, the public likes the wing ball and in Agen, the public knows how to recognize warriors. He identifies with that. Guys like Porcu, Couzinet or Benetton were adored.

Traditionally, however, Agen is rather associated with its three-quarters and very offensive play.

There, you tell me about a player: Philippe Sella. I’m going to tell you about Dubroca, Erbani and others. We had managed to get this audience on board who had suffered for ten years. All this in a particular context where subscriptions, for example, had increased. He came to see warriors ready to give everything. This blue and white turn at the Stade de France was a party… And as a Bayonne resident, I know something about it (laughs)!