Not really number one on the starting line, the young scrum half has asserted himself in recent weeks in the Biarritz collective.
The trajectory is astonishing, the story is about to be beautiful. Arriving at the BO four years ago, Imanol Biscay is in the process of finding a place in the Olympic Biarritz squad, after having made the big leap, left his native Béarn and discovered the professional world, he who had only worn than Josbaig’s jersey so far. “It was in this small village between Navarrenx and Oloron that I started rugby. I did all my classes there up to the senior team, before the BO called me when I was 20”he recalls.
To be honest, it took a certain combination of circumstances for the native of Pale to land on Aguilera’s side. It was first the Olympic Saint-Jean-de-Luz (National 2) who wanted to enlist the young scrum half. There, we heard that a little young man who had just reached the age of majority was starting to show up in the Honor championship. “But I told them that I was not interested, because it was complicated in terms of studies, he justifies. You know, when I was younger, Oloron or Mauléon were also interested in me, but I didn’t want to move. After refusing Saint-Jean-de-Luz, it spoke a little, my name reached the ears of the leaders of Olympic Biarritz. When this opportunity fell into my lap, I told myself that I had to go for it, that it was a challenge. I had never left Josbaig, the opportunity was interesting… I was leaving for a real project and I decided to give 100%.”
-Member of the training center and the Espoirs team, Biscay played his first match with the professionals in October 2023, at the heart of a season which will prove terribly complicated for the BOPB. “I came across a first year with the professionals where we played for maintenance. It doesn’t put you in good conditions, but it’s part of the process. You had to go through that to grow afterwards. Casually, it builds, it’s is a trainer for the future”he thinks. It was with a little more bottle and 18 matches played (6 starts), that number 9 launched into the 2024-2025 season, but for him, the start of the championship was complicated.
He has been tenured since November
Number three in the hierarchy at the start of the year, he had to wait until the 6th day to start a match in Brive, during an evening where his team had taken on water (31-13), before another delicate entry in Angoulême (33-22). “It’s annoying. When collectively the team isn’t there, you can’t express yourself too much”recalls the 23-year-old boy. Since November, on the other hand, the number nine seems more serene in his decision-making, his left foot sometimes feels good and the BO staff has decided to start him in four of the last five matches. He will also be in the starting XV again on Friday against Angoulême. “I’m happy to be able to continue, he admits. I take this role to heart, because I want to grow in this club.” His contract, which runs until 2026, and the arrival of Yann Lesgourgues next season will allow him to continue his apprenticeship.
