Imagine a club that embodies a badge of honour, a community commitment that is inclusive and generous. RC Pontivyen is that club, with more than 200 members and volunteers. And with a driving force, Eric Guillermic, “three times 21 years old”

The 33rd club created in the history of rugby in Brittany stands out for its community commitment, a trademark. Imagine one of Eric’s sons, François, elected co-president of the club at the age of just  22, who has since become captain of the first XV and who finished last season as the second-highest try-scorer in Régionale 3 in France with 31 tries! But while RC Pontivien chases performance, it is no obsession, far from it. It is more a certain idea of rugby’s place in the town and an all-round community commitment. Nobody speaks better about that son, François, a doctor of pharmacy now aged 28, than his father, a member of the club’s board and as committed as ever on every field, whether of play, of engagement, of inclusion, of development or of fulfilment. Eric Guillermic: “For him, for me, for the club’s officials, the development of people, children or adults, is at the centre of what we do. And we need everyone, from every walk of life.” 

Inclusion oozes out of the association, a commitment that has never wavered. Doing everything to build self-confidence and personal development, and then to share that with others. With a third of the rugby school made up of girls, RCP continues its work, with the construction of the maison du rugby to come (“Not the clubhouse, mind, the rugby house”, Eric Guillermic points out, “welcome, sharing, education and inclusion”), while five-a-side rugby has doubled its numbers in a single season (40 participants).

And the virtuous circle of competition is there too: two months before the first match in Régionale 2, more than 20 of them turned up for the return to fitness work, on 15 July! In no particular order: a partnership with France Travail, the French employment agency, in the Pontivy area to help people in difficulty learn or relearn how to live together, play together and find work; the “Pink October and Blue November” campaign with screening, prevention and of course treatment, sport as health in all its glory and its benefits. Pontivy and its rugby school can also count on partnerships with the clubs of Grandchamps and RC Vannes, with the idea of developing rugby in central Brittany, among the under-16s in particular, with fine development prospects on the horizon..

The conclusion goes to Eric Guillermic: “Three words share the same root: Humus the land, Human and humility”. We knew about the three “P”s from New Zealand (pace, position, placement) and the three “B”s of Jacques Fouroux (b……., b……., b…….), now we have the three “H”s of Pontivy, “it’s true that I devote a lot of time to this rugby, but it’s what keeps me alive.”