Rugby – Carcassonne Dam in National: “This time, for sure, it’s my last”, announces Andrei Ursache, the pillar of USC

This time, I swear, it’s the right one! At almost forty years old, he will celebrate them on May 10, “Dédé” will walk on the Domec lawn on Saturday wearing the “yellow and black” tunic for the last time. Eleven seasons of loyalty, 240 matches played, fights, sweat, a few stitches too, joy, pain too, but above all a lot of pleasure. And a busy career for the Carpathian lumberjack, who arrived at the foot of the City in October 2012 through a combination of circumstances. “It happened overnight. A phone call from Ovidiu Tonita. Props Martin Gady and Momo Ben Bouhout were injured. I arrived here. I came from Cardiff where I was doing a trial. I took the I flew at 9 a.m. not far from Cardiff, I arrived at 5 p.m. in Toulouse and at 6 p.m., I started training with Christian Labit and Franck Tournaire. We did an hour and a half of scrimmages! To the right, to the left, I couldn’t take it anymore, I was dead tired from the day, from the journey, from the training… It worked and I stayed.”.

And it’s been going on for twelve years! It must be said that the boy is needy and tough. “I worked, worked and worked again to continue the adventure”. In June 2022, while USC made history by participating in a Pro D2 play-off match in Nevers (lost 24-12), and while he has a knee and a shoulder in the glove box , he decided at 38 to take a well-deserved retirement.

A false start after all!

And for good reason since for the needs of his favorite club relegated to the National, and which has just lost a pillar before the season begins due to injury (Nika Neparidze, editor’s note), Andrei Ursache is back after a sabbatical year. And he is still one of the best in his position. “The National is a difficult championship. Rugby-wise, it’s strong, it’s not bad. On the other hand, in terms of organization, refereeing without video, it’s very complicated. It remains amateur. When there is no video, the players do anything: it pulls hair, there are forks, forbidden clearances, hands in the rucks…”

If he swears this time that we won’t play him again, three or even four matches at most before the end of his career, the USC pillar regrets nothing. “When I started in August, I was involved in scrums. I had a very united group, with a good state of mind. During the preparation match in Béziers, I told myself that it was going to be huge. We started well, then we slowed down. Injuries, an empty passage in January-February, and for a few weeks, we have found ourselves again. But this 3rd.^e place disappoints me a little. We lost points along the way like in Suresnes, in Massy, ​​in Narbonne too. I wanted to be 1^er. It’s like that. We accept. We have one more match this Saturday, I hope we will win it to go to the semi-final in Narbonne.”

I tried to avoid playing against my brother as much as possible.

Still this competitive soul, despite his age. Grandpa resists. And when we ask him to give us the best memory of his career, he hesitates. “There are so many !” He searches, searches, then launches… “My first match played with Carcassonne and won in Béziers (success 10-14 on November 17, 2012)“before justifying his long hesitation. “But there are plenty of others! My first Pro D2 derby against Narbonne at Domec during my first season. I’ve never seen Domec so full. The barrage at Nevers… the famous match against La Rochelle at La Pépinière replayed for a siren problem. Our victories in Lyon, Brive, Pau. It stays in your head.”

But point of reference to the matches played against Oyonnax, the club where his younger brother Valentin played, for a simple and good reason, for which there is a statute of limitations today. “I tried to avoid playing against my brother as much as possible so as not to cross paths on the pitch. On the other hand, our association under the colors of Romania for the 2015 World Cup in England and Wales had a great impact on me. This is different!”

An XXL course

From there to imagining such a journey punctuated by 36 international capes, Andréi Ursache does not hide his pride: “I never imagined a career like this. And if I left my mark on the club as you say, it’s something that touches me a lot. Carcassonne is my home today. In Romania, I I only go there once a year. The rest of the time I’m here. My son was born here twelve years ago, I didn’t think I’d make it this far. people talk about me, it touches me a lot, for me, it’s a lot of respect above all.”

Before ending the exchange with competitive words: “I will take a lot of pleasure from this season. I hope that we will finish it with the gold medal around our necks. My crowning glory would be a title with Carcassonne. I came back for that, for a title of champion of France that I have never won. I hope that it will do it, even if we know that it will be very complicated. But I have confidence in my teammates, our supporters who push us and who we need. On the evening of June 30, the end date of the professional rugby player’s contract, what will be next for Andréi Ursache? “My future is my electricity company in Carcassonne. I have a week left before I turn 40. I will only regret my return if we do not end up champion of France. I hope we finish on a high note.” And to finish in style, Andrei Ursache and USC must win against Chambéry this Saturday evening at Domec. To make the party even more beautiful.