At Pontivy there are dreams already fulfilled and others still to come true. Read: the club generates hope, happiness and a fine breeze for the future. Rugby in central Brittany grows on you.

Are there any dreams left at RC Pontivyen? Up in three seasons from Régionale 3 to Régionale 1, last-16 finalists in the French championship, an accredited rugby school, up from 60 to 180 registered members, a brand-new 151-square-metre rugby house.

Éric Guillermic’h, the chairman, picks up the ball: “A generator of dreams? When I go and speak to students, I ask them their name, their first name, where they are from and what their dreams are. Again this morning.” What is the difference between a dream and making it happen? Just a space in time.

The rugby house, the first dream to come true

 

Back to the rugby: four years ago Pontivy had giant dreams, and they came true. The chairman again: “Four years ago, first of all, it was about having our rugby house right next to the pitches on that beautiful, wonderfully green playing field. A huge administrative file and a huge job to build, but through sheer stubbornness we got the paperwork over the line. And thanks to the skills of the club’s members, either self-employed tradesmen or their employees, we finished this collective project.”

The rugby house is 151 m², with a 100 m² reception room fully equipped for videos, sound systems, events and training courses for members, but also events for and with partners. And, of course, for good company. Thanks to these new facilities, RC Pontivyen were able to watch RCV win the Pro D2 final.

Add the office, the storage room, the space for meetings, the technical rooms, the catering area, the washing facilities…

Growing rugby in central Brittany

Second project, second dream fulfilled: growing the game of rugby and its values in central Brittany. In four years the club has gone from 60 to 180 registered members.

Third dream, raising the standard of play: in two years the RCP has gone from Régionale 3 to Régionale 1, with a very interesting level of conditioning thanks to strength and conditioning coach Flavien Cotten, 25. And then came the arrival of Didier Bonnet, who played in Pro D2 and brought rigour and high standards, a game plan that took the club on this fine run.

The rugby school and women’s five-a-side rugby

And then there is player development, the rugby school. Guillermic’h: “The five-a-side rugby school finished fourth out of 16 Breton teams in the non-competitive category, fabulous.” And the girls… Five-a-side rugby at Pontivy is 45% female, with plenty of smiles and plenty of commitment.

Once you have fulfilled your dreams, you keep dreaming

Once you have fulfilled your dreams, you either fall asleep or you keep dreaming. The chairman’s answer: “Keep raising our level of expertise, raise the game plan, raise the physical level, and we have a dream of actually setting up a strength and conditioning hub.”

The club dreams of putting together a women’s ten-a-side team, a first in central Brittany. And the other major dream would be growing the rugby school: from 60 to 100 children. A rugby school freshly awarded one star by the FFR and, why not, one day, an academy.

Pontivy, let it be known, are recruiting: players, male and female, volunteers and above all coaches. At youth level the club is part of a combined set-up with the RCV and Grandchamp.

Today Pontivy can count on a superb grass main pitch reserved for rugby and an artificial pitch shared with football. One more pitch is missing to make the dreams to come a reality.

A laboratory for Breton rugby

Pontivy, a laboratory for the development of rugby in Brittany? The chairman’s answer: “I talk a lot with my colleagues at other Breton clubs and in other regions. Everyone builds their own story in their own territory. My challenge is to surround myself with good people, to raise their skills and their responsibility, with a smile from the young and the not so young. We are fully in the business of passing things on.”

The oval ball, but not only

The oval ball at Pontivy, but not only that: inclusion and giving to others. On 7 April a “from the stadium to a job” day was a real success. There will also be the Pink October and Blue November campaigns, which will be run again this year.

The chairman, to conclude: “We have set up a health rugby section with a health professional, Yannick Coulon. We are in partnership with the Gros Chêne school for a rugby section: kids from all over Brittany come to the agricultural and food-industry college for training, but also for general education. The brilliant thing is that these youngsters will get coaching qualifications in partnership on Wednesdays with Rugby Club Pontivyen, and at weekends they will go back to their own clubs where they will be able to run the rugby school.”