The world is small. And that of rugby even more. At the edge of the pitch, in the staff, or in front of the cameras, it is common to find former players. But some, whether they had to cope without the advantages of professionalism (and therefore worked alongside sport) or whether they benefited from them, chose very different paths.
In this series, Var-morning invites you to return to the “other lives” of several former RCT players, between double careers and unusual reconversions. Find a new episode today.
Winning the French rugby championship and the biggest team Tennis competition in just a few years is possible. Jérôme Bianchi is living proof of this. And he owes it to a double career crowned with success.
In 1982, the Béarnais native arrived in Toulon on tiptoe. At the RCT, he then aspired to play with his idol: Jérôme Gallion. Repositioned at the back by André Herrero, the former fly-half quickly achieved this. Because “already” is the type to give himself the means.
Besides rugby, he is in fact preparing for a physiotherapist diploma, dividing his days between the hospital, classes in Marseille and evening training in the Var. “I went back and forth almost every day. And the school was nice enough to let me pick up my lessons”rembobine-t-il.
A diploma… then a selection in blue
Bianchi then shines on both grounds. On the school side, he graduated in 1984. On the sports side, he immediately left for Japan with the French team. And then, in two years, everything came together: military service, first French championship final, opening of a practice in Aix, then national coronation with the RCT. He even began training as an osteopath, which he completed in the early 1990s.
Suffice to say that this atypical profile of Doctor Bianchi and Mister Jérôme does not go unnoticed. From 1989, the adopted Toulon resident returned to one of his first loves: the little yellow ball. Because when the captain of the French Davis Cup team, Patrice Dominguez, contacted him to become a physiotherapist for French tennis players, it clicked. “Tennis has always interested me. I played until I was 18. I even almost made it my job, because I gave lessons every summer. I was never at the level of tennis players that I'm going to deal with, but straight away, it's going to stick well, because they know that I'm a high-level athlete.”
Two Davis Cups in the bag
And this is how the rugby player finds himself, at times, working closely with Noah, Leconte, Forget and company. “I had the office in Aix, and I was doing the Grand Slams, the Davis Cup… Some weekends, I couldn't even play with my club. Daniel (Herrero) granted me the right to be absent.”
In 1991, in Lyon, Jérôme was part of the French squad that won the prestigious Davis Cup. A first silver bowl in almost 60 years for French sport. An unforgettable moment. “However, I stopped in 1995, because I realized that it was hard to do everything.”
Then, once your rugby career is over, do it again. Since 2000, “already” returns to the dance. And, like the first time, a year later, the French won the Davis Cup. Privately, the physiotherapist also began to work with some big names, such as Amélie Mauresmo. Then, from 2013 to 2017, it was the world tennis star Maria Sharapova who hired his services. Jérôme therefore leaves to live in California.
“I loved life there. The experience was huge. Everything was squared with her, a bit like Djokovic now.” And to continue: “I will always remember Roland-Garros 2014. She was sick as a dog the week before. I tried to pump her up as much as possible, and she crashed the tournament. It was monstrous, because she was not normally not in a condition to win it But even in an individual sport, with this whole team, you sometimes have the impression of being in a team sport.
“Bring my stone to the building”
Subsequently, the healthcare professional continues to rub shoulders with the stars. Wawrinka and Tsitsipás follow. It was at the renowned Mouratoglou academy that he met the Greek. “I was in charge of the medical center. It was nice because you really felt like you were helping these players develop.” For a few months, Jérôme even took Jannik Sinner, today world number one, under his wing. Before finally settling down a bit…
“The Federation offered me the position of physiotherapist manager at the national training center, next to Roland-Garros, in February 2022.” There are worse, as a framework. And as a job too… “We take care of the players in the Davis Cup matches, the young people, and the visiting pros. We work in collaboration with the coaches, the physical trainers… It’s a great project to try to revive French tennis. And I'm trying to make my contribution.” With all his experience: “ What I like about my job is staying in contact with high-level sport. And even though it's different from rugby, I also use the values instilled by this sport.”
A discipline that he always follows with attention, despite a slight regret: “The lack of not having been able to transmit something in this environment that makes me vibrate.” Unfortunately, we can't do everything. In this case, Jérôme has already done a lot.
To be continued…
