Gonzalo, Scelzo, Corletto… The former coach of the Blues, at the time coach of the RCNM, was a pioneer in this area, even if the story with Narbonne ended badly.
France-Argentina, a classic since the third millennium. A confrontation between Latins who have known each other perfectly since the arrival in Narbonne, in February 2000, of the fly-half Gonzalo Quesada (ex Hindu Club), who opened the door to a real “invasion” of the Pumas in the French championship during the quarter century that followed. This transfer carried out at the time by the former coach of the Blues, Pierre Berbizier, made the RCNM the pioneering club in this area. And from “Berbize” a coach with certain flair, who was several years ahead in the evolution of professional rugby.
Pierre, what did you expect from Quesada, one of the very first Pumas to come and play in France?
He was coming off a rather successful World Cup (in Wales), where he finished top scorer (102 points). We discovered it. I had thought, indeed, that we needed a very effective scorer and reference players, which is why I felt that he had to come with support. So I also signed Mario Ledesma and Ignacio Corletto (who arrived the following season). I thought of them to balance our team and above all to energize it.
Was it obvious or a gamble?
Their levels and their performances with the Argentina team were a guarantee for me. With Alain De Pouzilhac (the president of the RCNM at the time), we wanted to build a competitive team. It was a necessary step to help the team progress, bring it up to speed and make it competitive. Afterwards, these Argentine players had to adapt to the Narbonne context, which is not always easy. But when we began to reap the fruits of this work… With the president, we did not understand the local animosity towards us. It's a shame that we didn't have local support, I think we would have built a very competitive team over time. So I decided to hand over first, him second. The Argentine players demonstrated their sporting qualities on the pitch and, off the pitch, their human qualities. Last month, I went to support Gonzalo Quesada in Italy (the latter is the coach). So there you have it, we kept in sincere contact.
Were you aware of being a pioneer?
It corresponded to the idea of a team that I wanted to be competitive. It also turned out that the Argentinians matched a talented profile and had a certain class. In terms of state of mind, they were the guarantors of our progress. So we needed these people.
Conversely, the French championship made them progress and helped to ease their inhibitions on the international scene.
Argentina has the same problem as Italian rugby that I faced (he was coach of the Transalpine XV from 2005 to 2007): the level of these championships is much lower than in France. All these players do not have the possibility of progressing because they are playing at a level which does not allow them to do so. Which is not the case when they come to play in France.
Has Argentina changed its game in contact with the southern hemisphere of the Championship?
It remains a tough team, rather based on combat. They added movement, but above all they remain a competitive team in the fight. I would say that now they are able to offer a “played fight”.
What is the danger for the French this Friday evening?
I think that the French team is in a phase of success, we saw it during the last match. They will undoubtedly have to take the game into their own hands. The Argentinians do not master the possession game and will not offer themselves, I think, like the New Zealanders or even the Japanese offered themselves. So it will actually depend on the distribution and the taking of initiatives in the game.
