Growing up, without the shadow of basketball

In Limoges, it’s not just about CSP and basketball. The USAL Rugby Club is developing this season in the National 2.4ᵉ Division of French Rugby, the waiting room for professional rugby. Rugby School is also coming back to life after some complicated years.

Beaublanc is in the background and like spring air on USAL grounds basking in the sun. At the beginning of the afternoon, the children arrive at the playground already ready, sometimes with sports bags the size of them on their backs.

In the country of basketball, they are from 6 to 14 years old and have chosen rugby. “Here, we have families where the father, mother and three children are laid off,” He tells us, amused, that Fluffy Genest is in charge of communications.

Rugby is about respecting the rules, and in the USAL the message gets through from receiving kids. At the same time, teams are formed by age group, and Giles, one of the many volunteers who give lessons, does not need to raise his voice.

The workshops follow one another and the drills are already becoming more technical, with ball releases, tackle sessions… On the legs it is easy to bring down an opponent.

On one of the training grounds, the heads stand out from the rest of the courts, as they are the heads of the first team players. Among my teachers that day was Kori Wakatihi, the third New Zealander from Osal. He got to the club thanks to his coach Adrien Buononato, whom he had already met in Agen. “From New Zealand, we know clubs like Toulouse or Bordeaux, but here, it’s a training club, it’s a family club where you fall in love with rugby.”

Questions from journalists, who knows where Corrie is from? And Haka? One of the young rugby players leaves the group and begins to imitate this traditional dance, which has become a testament to the strength and pride of the All Blacks.

“The club relies heavily on training and youth,” explains Thierry Deliac, one of the vice-presidents of the USAL. “Every year, we organize the Porcelaine Tournament that brings together the best youth teams in France and next year this tournament will be international”

In Limoges, the goal is to keep young people as long as possible in the structure. This season, many have joined the first team. Maintenance almost in the pocket at National 2, it is essential to win this Saturday against Lannemezan to keep hope of qualifying for the final stages. “The goal is to go up to National in the near future,” said Thierry Deliac, vice president of the USAL