Files are being sorted, old junk cleared out. It is the start of August at the Rugby Club Baulois, once a Fédérale 2 side in the Ligue des Pays de la Loire, now in Régionale 2. But with smiles back, reasonable ambition and plenty of plans. The preserve of youth and experience together, in the end.
Did you turn up any oddities, curiosities, museum pieces? Vice-president Gaël Robert answers: “We found the whole sprinkler system from the old pitch! No skeleton of the groundsman or anything like that, all is well (laughs).”
Superb facilities that hosted Argentina during the 2023 World Cup, the sea breeze of a town where “you work on holiday”, 250 registered members, a brand new committee but one without experience. Gaël, the vice-president with a damaged leg (the flanker hopes to be back in January 2027), and Anthony Picaud, 26, president and merchant navy sailor now based ashore. Boots on, like Gaël, with the Saint-Nazaire shipyards on the flanker’s CV.
With the trauma of relegation from Fédérale 2 to Régionale 2 dealt with (a second team was needed to stay in Régionale 1), La Baule did not sign Boris Cyrulnik to learn resilience, it rolled up its sleeves with the help of the old guard, who passed the ball on to the newcomers.
On 11 August, the new committee will go and meet the town hall, the deputy mayor for sport and the sports office to introduce itself, light-hearted and full of hope.
President at 26, isn’t the load too heavy? “It’s a rugby club with every age group from baby rugby up to senior, so the workload is pretty heavy, and there are things that don’t come up every month either, like replacing a bus. We also have to move the registered office, there will be new apprentices…”
Anthony, a merchant sailor at the helm: the nautical metaphor comes easily, especially with Gaël at the Saint-Nazaire shipyards, fertile ground for partnerships like the one with the other neighbour, Trignac.
Gaël is starting his 20th season at the club. Blame a certain France v All Blacks in 2007: “It was mad. We watched it as a family, and at the end of the match, ‘yeah, that’s what I want to do!’, so it goes straight through the Rugby Club Baulois.”
Plenty of character, a fair bit of humour, loyal former players and a few reasonable ambitions, that is RCB today: “It’s going pretty well. This morning a guy who played rugby with me years ago called me, he’s at Saint-Nazaire at the moment and he says ‘La Baule looks good, I’d quite like to come back, I can see a few familiar old faces returning, if you’re up for it can you sort me a dual licence?’ No problem, we’ll take him!”
Today there are 250 registered members and a rugby school that runs well, good quality, awarded one star, and this is the first year every section will have two coaches, U14, U16 and U19. And the partnership with Saint-Nazaire has borne fruit: four teams qualified, four teams crowned league champions. Hats off, and a good sign for what comes next.
What comes next is the meeting at the town hall on 11 August and the return to training on 26 August, with at least thirty or so players at the first senior sessions and the return of loosehead prop “Eliott the traveller” (Dublin and New Zealand). Then comes a team-building camp on 13 September, but no warm-up match.
The budget? 120,000 euros, a positive year, no repayments left, healthy.
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