Pro D2: “The club has changed a lot…” Two former players visited SU Agen before the match against Provence Rugby

We don’t change good habits. As in 2024, the SUA continues to bring its former glories into the Armandie locker rooms in 2025. At the initiative of Pepito Elhorga, Philippe Sella and Sébastien Calvet, Romain Edmond-Samuel and David Lagrange were received this Thursday by the current team. “It’s a very good initiative,” the first person immediately recognized.

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Edmond-Samuel, originally from Villeneuve-sur-Lot, wore the Agenais jersey from the Cadets until 2007, then between 2008 and 2013, accumulating a total of nearly a hundred matches under the “blue and white” tunic. “We are very happy to come here, and to see the people again, the stadium…”, smiles the Villeneuvois, also recognizing that “the club has changed a lot”.

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For his part, David Lagrange, now from La Rochelle, is one of Sébastien Calvet’s great friends. The two men, originally from Valence-d’Agen, obviously know each other well. So, it was a bit obvious to see Lagrange, a brilliant player during the second half of the 90s, in Armandie this Thursday.

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“Do we want a game at Agenaise or to win? »

Edmond-Samuel, due to his proximity and his Lot-et-Garonnais blood, follows “in the press” the evolution of Sporting over the months. He likes the face he sees, even if he wants to see more consistency in the performances in the coming weeks. “The ranking reflects the start of the season. It’s jagged. There are good matches, others where it wins, and others where it doesn’t win… You need regularity to create this dynamic that everyone expects. »

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Invited to go to the locker room after the players of the current squad were put in place, the Villeneuvois was going to give them a speech with “nothing very complicated”. “They have certainly heard these words before, but the idea is that they have confidence for the end of the season,” continues the man, now 38 years old.

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To achieve its objectives, Sébastien Calvet’s SUA is banking in particular on the return of the game to Agenaise. A fine connoisseur of the subject, the former winger, terror of defenses, is quite cautious. “Do we want a game like Agenaise or a game to win? We always want a good game to win, but we also have to know how to win ugly,” remarks Edmond-Samuel, before continuing: “You already have to win to create momentum. It’s not that simple, even if that’s the goal of the coaches. »

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With “a historic club”, Sporting is trying to find a bright future. “Rugby has changed despite everything. Other clubs arrived with other means and other arguments,” notes Edmond-Samuel. To conclude, Villeneuvois has a fairly simple wish. “The players have to create their own story…” It starts this Friday, in Armandie, at 7:30 p.m. against the very good formation of Provence Rugby, brought by a constellation of foreign stars.