Through Simon galinier
Published on
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“It is clear that I long to return to Aimé-Giral ! “, The words are signed Quentin Walcker, the left pounder of Castres, particularly excited at the idea of finding a stadium and a club that he knows well, this Sunday, December 26 (4 p.m.), on behalf of the 13e Top 14 day.
“It’s really a very nice stadium where there is lots of atmosphere. The city lives for Usap, so it’s clear that everyone will be meeting up at the stadium on Sunday to party. Personally, I’m sure I can’t wait to find this audience and this team again. “
“I was adopted by Usap, but right now I’m enemy number 1 (laughs)”
It must be said that the French international (25 years old; 2 selections) has known everything at theTalk, during his 15 years spent in Perpignan, before committing to Castres last summer for two seasons. In particular the two titles of champions of France of Pro D2 and the climbs in Top 14, in 2018 and 2021. ” I am very grateful to my training club“, He admits, before continuing:
I had very good times with Usap and others more complicated from a personal point of view, with several injuries. It’s a club where I have always been able to flourish and grow, so as to reach the CO. Of course, and fortunately, this is a club that is dear to me and that will remain in my heart. (…) I was not born in Perpignan, so I don’t consider myself a Catalan, because I respect Catalan enormously, really. I was adopted by Usap, but right now I think I’m enemy number one (laughs).
Quentin Walcker: “I want to taste again at the XV of France”
Native of Creusot (Burgundy), Quentin Walcker started rugby in Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque (Pyrénées-Orientales) then to Agde (Hérault), before joining the Usap en Minimes training center. After attending the Aristide-Maillol high school in Perpignan and the Pôle espoirs de Béziers, he made his professional debut in 2016 in Pro D2, before establishing himself as a member of the Sang et Or workforce and becoming a great craftsman. of the Catalan club’s rise to Elite in spring 2021.
Usap is also the club that allowed it to win its first two selections with the XV of France, during the last summer tour of Australia. “It was a childhood dream that came true last summer against the Wallabies”, underlines Walcker, before continuing:
I realized that I had done something that I dreamed of since I was little and I absolutely want to taste it again, it’s crisp and clear. I don’t know if this has changed anything in my confidence, but now I know the high level. I know what to expect and I know how and why to work more.
“I am still very close to several Usap players”
With Usap, Quentin Walcker also won the French Espoirs 2017 championship, with the 1995-1996 generation of Deghmache, Séguy, Reynaud Where Lucas, in front of…. Castres. “When I signed for the CO, I remembered this title won at Béziers. In the team opposite, there was in particular Baptiste Delaporte and Jeremy Fernandez (current professional players from Castres, Editor’s note), but strangely, they don’t want to talk about this match too much… I think it’s a bad memory for them (laughs) ”, he laughs, before completing his point:
This is all a bit far, because we were young, but it was a great time. When I put down my Castres suitcases, I remembered it, because it is a trophy that marks forever, even if it was only a Hope title, and it was especially funny to find former opponents of this final who have now become very good friends.
Moreover, for the anecdote, it was a former teammate from Perpignan who helped him to settle in the Tarn sub-prefecture, in the person of the third wing Alan Arm, who spent all his childhood on the banks of the Agout. “As soon as I moved to Castres, he came directly to visit me, because he was spending the weekend with his parents. When I found out that I was going to the CO, I immediately talked to him about it and he also gave me a lot of advice on the city. “
Before his long-awaited reunion with Perpignan and the audience of Aimé-Giral, Quentin Walcker did not completely cut the cord with his heart club and his childhood friends. “I’m still in contact with a lot of Usap players, because they are boys with whom I also shared good times outside of rugby. We were very close. When you pass 15 years in a club, it is never harmless, and inevitably, you keep very good friends, with whom I grew up and made my rugby classes ”. Friends to whom he does not intend to give gifts, on Boxing Day, Sunday December 26 (4 p.m.).
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