A rugby glutton? Certainly. Committed and inspiring? Without a doubt. Erwan Le Coadou, a life of rugby. Breton, inevitably Breton.

A path between passion and professional commitment

Erwan started looking for his first professional posts in the youth activities sector and moved to Finistère. It was love that brought him to the Morbihan: “I joined my partner in October 2024, and so this season I have thrown myself completely into the Rhuys club while still being involved with the one in Douarnenez.” A coach, a player (lock) and a referee, but also the director of the leisure centre and the man behind the Douarnenez club’s summer camp project, he also mentors young people on civic service placements!

A view on Breton dynamism

Living in Sarzeau, on the Rhuys peninsula in the Gulf of Morbihan, Erwan is well aware of the dynamism of rugby in Brittany in general and in the Morbihan in particular: “A lot of clubs have been growing for the past ten years or so, they are really structuring themselves properly. RC Vannes are not unconnected to all that, ever since their policy shifted from “building, absorbing and swallowing up plenty of players” to a policy of supporting the clubs around them. In other words, young players stay registered at the clubs they came from and hold a dual licence with RCV.”

Protecting the small clubs’ talent pool

The problem inherent to U14, U16 and even U19 rugby is well known: this approach avoids “stripping” the small clubs and is handled rather intelligently. Erwan picks up the ball again: “I say it all the more because I do not think it was their initial policy, which was rather destructive for the small clubs around them.” For Erwan, it is Douarnenez or Rhuys. “The club closest to my heart,” he smiles, “the one where I played the most and where I was the most involved, is still Douarnenez. Rhuys welcomed me with open arms a year and a half ago and I am very happy to be playing there.” In the end, the only role this multi-tasker has not (yet?) held is that of president.

Involvement in the regional bodies

And then there is the Ligue de Bretagne: “I am still officially in charge of the regional youth committee, even if things have calmed down a lot. As a result, I have never sat on the Comité 56. Thinking about youth issues but also about the development pathways for women’s rugby, which is interesting.” And the development of Breton rugby? The level is rising: 17 youngsters were in Fréjus for a review of the national youth elite, and only UBB provided more players than Vannes! When you look at the paths of Nolan Le Garrec, Jean Cotarmanac’h, Enzo Benmegal, Lénaïg Corson, Sandrine Agricole…

A national game in good health

And how does he judge the state of the game nationally? “We are finding that we have more and more registered players, a game that is doing well. And even if we have our family arguments, as any family can, I think that generally speaking you can always go into schools and offer rugby sessions. It will always be well received.”