After winning 26-19 at Évreux last Saturday on their debut in Fédérale 2, La Roche-sur-Yon have entered a different world this season: their pool will take them as far as Roubaix and Amiens, whom they host on Sunday 20 September. Their president, David Decoux, takes stock of a club that has gone past 500 registered players for the first time. Interview conducted before the first round.

“Roubaix, Amiens, that’s another world for us”

La Roche-sur-Yon, the new season is fast approaching. Fédérale 2…

Yes, Fédérale 2 for the first team, with the championship starting this Saturday. It’s getting close, we can’t wait for it to start. We’re all very excited about this new season.

Have you seen the pool? Have you known it for long?

We’ve known it since July. This year we’re in the Paris pool, and unfortunately we’ll have longer trips, since we’re going up to the north of France, as far as Roubaix and Amiens. A thousand kilometres there and back, even more. I’ll admit these trips aren’t ideal for clubs like ours: they take huge budgets and a huge amount of time for amateur clubs. The train is impossible, we’d have to change three times. So we’ll go by coach. But the budgets are huge. Developing rugby in areas where there isn’t any is a good thing, but not at the expense of others. Take my colleagues in Bordeaux: a few weeks ago I saw a president, a friend, who told me his longest trip would be an hour… Last year we were in the South-West pool. There were long trips, but it was still manageable. Now, Roubaix, Amiens, that’s another world for us.

Almost 90% of the squad kept, average age 24

Where are you with the squad? Happy with the extensions, the signings, your first-team group?

Yes, we’re very, very happy with our group. Our proudest achievement is keeping almost 90% of our players. We kept the ones we wanted, which is a good thing. And we have a very young group, with an average age of around 24. We have a lot of young players who came through our academy. This year we’re bringing in three players straight up from the Crabos, which is great.

A rugby school with a 3-star rating

Anyone to highlight in your academy?

One of the things we’re proudest of is getting a 3-star rating for our rugby school. We’re incredibly proud. I believe only 80 clubs out of 2,000 in France can say that. It’s a source of pride. If I have to single someone out, it’s our coach, Arthur Jeudy. He’s the one who drove the whole effort for the rugby school. I don’t like naming just one or two people, but our general manager, Jérémy Luçon, whom I think you’ve already interviewed, also does an extraordinary job. I know very few sports managers today, if any, who coach the first team and run the baby rugby sessions on Saturday mornings. He’s a kid who started at our rugby school and who is now taking on more and more influence and responsibility.

Five women’s finals hosted in June

President, a quick review of the five national women’s rugby finals you hosted…

Quite a shake-up! We had some great times, it was a big operation. I found the atmosphere among the women very friendly, the players really cheerful. It all went very well. We were also pleased that La Rochelle finally won promotion: they’re our partner club and our neighbours, we work with them a lot. It was a great moment.

530 registered players, a budget above 700,000 euros

Today, with registrations still coming in, how many registered players do you have?

530 registered players. We’ve gone past 500 for the first time. We have positive momentum, especially among young players: the rugby school is becoming more and more important for us.

Is it indiscreet to ask the size of your projected budget?

I’m fairly open about it: this year we’ll go over 700,000 euros. It’s a sensible budget for our division. But as I was saying, we don’t have anything like the same transport budgets as some clubs…

You have a real economy. Who are your main partners?

It’s hard to name just a few. Last Thursday we presented the first team to our partners: more than 100 of them were there. I’ll mention the city and the department, without them we wouldn’t exist.

“The first team is the shop window, the academy remains the foundation”

What is the ambition for your club?

It’s a balance between two things that are hard to achieve. I’m starting my fifth year as president and the project and ambitions have always been clear: the first team is the club’s shop window, but the academy remains the foundation. Today, most of the players in that first team came through our academy. That’s what makes the club shine, what inspires the kids, the supporters, everyone. All those emotions we have at the weekend… Our ambition is to keep growing through the academy and our first team. I think it’s a club where life is good, that’s one of our strengths. La Roche wins you over.