Oscar Jégou played again with La Rochelle, the public gave him a standing ovation after a try

RUGBY – He had not played since July 6. That day, it was with the XV of France that Oscar Jégou played a match against the Pumas in Mendoza. Since then, the young French player has been charged with rape in Argentina after a woman accused him and Hugo Auradou of acts which allegedly took place in a hotel after the match.

Initially his La Rochelle club wanted to wait for the legal outcome so that he could return to the field. But, the club argues, the various postponements of the hearing which could result in a dismissal of the case and the absences in the workforce have changed this position. As a result, Oscar Jégou played again this Saturday, November 2 against Stade français.

Oscar Jégou scores a try for his recovery

“We are very happy to see him back on the field and to see him playing rugby” commented his trainer Rémi Talès in the middle of the week. La Rochelle supporters were also delighted with this return, especially after the third row scored a try midway through the second half.

As you can see in the snippet above, the spectators at the Marcel-Deflandre stadium also chanted his name at the end of the match; in return Oscar Jégou thanked the audience with a wave of his hand, visibly moved. For his part, Hugo Auradou resumed competition at the beginning of October.

No date for decisive hearing in Argentina

On the legal side, the two 21-year-old players claim that the sexual relations with the complainant were consensual; the 39-year-old lawyer from Argentina denounces on the contrary a rape with « violence terrible ».

His complaint resulted in Oscar Jégou and David Auradou being placed in pre-trial detention; they were then placed under house arrest in Mendoza before being released in August and allowed to return to France at the beginning of September. Since then, they have been waiting for a hearing which could dismiss the case for them. Scheduled for this Friday, it was postponed again without any date being announced.

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