The Lourdes rugby club would have had to descend to the 5th division if the French Rugby Federation had not decided to freeze the amateur championships, due to the confinement put in place during the coronavirus epidemic.
It is a miracle of which only Lourdes has the secret. His rugby club, eight times champion of France, last in his pool of Federal 2, was to descend into Federal 3, the fifth division of French rugby. But it was without counting on the decision of the French Rugby Federation to freeze all amateur championships following the coronavirus epidemic. There will therefore be neither ascent nor descent.
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If a few decades ago, beating Lourdes was equivalent to beating the All Blacks – FC Lourdes even remained unbeaten at home for 12 years between 1948 and 1960 – in recent times, the club has chained the galleys seasons until finding itself at the edge of the precipice. Before it was interrupted, the 2019-2020 season was hell for the Bigourdans: 16 matches, 16 losses, 500 points conceded.
So this support obtained on the green carpet is a relief for the team. “We’ve been hanging on our phones for the past few days, relate the back Mathieu Pouey. OYou think it’s cool to stay in Federal 2. When you’re a competitor, you always try to play at the best level possible. Even if we don’t deserve it, we are still happy, among friends, to be able to say that next year we will leave where we were this year “.
It is not the first time that Lourdes has been drafted. In 2016-2017, the club had taken advantage of a reform of the championship to avoid the descent. This spring, the circumstances are very different, but the next season is already preparing for the leaders of FC Lourdes.
If the season starts again in mid-September, we will be the happiest to be in the stands or on the edge of the talanquère.at franceinfo
President Jean-Pierre Armengaud explains that this season, the club has notably been penalized by a reduced workforce, 45 players to form two senior teams. “When you add a few injuries, a few players who have a bit of character and who no longer wanted to come to train, the preparation for the matches was reduced to its simplest expression. It’s a whole bunch of little ones problems that made the results not live up to expectations “, abstract Jean-Pierre Armengaud. The leader still retains “solidarity among the players “ which, according to him, allowed the team “don’t explode”.
To prepare for next season, a videoconference was organized with the new coaches, players and managers, a meeting that ended with a third half, each at home.
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