“I leave without regret”, Maxime Médard explains why he is retiring
Excluded RMC Sport – This eighteenth season at the highest level will be the last. At 35, the international rear (63 selections) Maxime Médard has decided to stop there. After having won everything with Stade Toulousain, the one who remains the man of one club chose RMC Sport to talk about this very special moment, but also to take the time to look back on his long journey.
Maxime, after 18 seasons in the Toulouse jersey and when you are at the end of your contract, the question of your future has been on the table for a while. Judgement ?
I decided to end my career at the end of the season. It is a considered decision. There was, at one point in the season, the idea of possibly continuing for an additional year. But you have to know when to stop. I think I still have one more season in my legs, but there’s the aftermath, the second chapter of my life, which also attracts me. I also thought for a long time, with my wife and my family. And now is the right time.
It’s not an easy decision to make, to draw the line on a life of rugby?
A rugby life, for the moment dedicated only to that, even if I’ve been working for the “after” for a few years. Since I was born, I was five years old, I live rugby, I eat rugby, I sleep rugby. After all, there is a time for everything. We are only passing through, at the Stade Toulousain or in other clubs. I had a great career. I’m quite happy and proud of that. So I think I’m ready.
Were you afraid of this moment?
I’ve been thinking about it for a while now. Even in the middle of my career, I wondered how I was going to end up. What actually happens afterwards? But I trained last year with TBS (Toulouse Business School, he obtained the Business Unit Manager diploma, editor’s note), I prepared my “after” in the sports sector (he invested in several globally integrated companies in the sports field). So I stay in my DNA and I’ll be able to have fun.
It is not without emotion that we announce this?
After, today, it’s quite easy to talk, we are not yet in the last game, the season is not over. It is sure that at the end of the season, in the morning, when I get up, it will be weird to me to say to myself: “where am I going?” Because I’ve been getting up and going to the stadium for more than twenty years. After… (he pauses) in the middle of the season, I wanted to continue for one last goal, but you have to face the facts: there are young people arriving and it’s growing a lot. Of course, there are a lot of emotions, because I am integrated as a man, as an athlete thanks to Stade Toulousain. I experienced extraordinary things with this club, I met fabulous players, I rubbed shoulders with some of the best players. It’s a chance for me to have spent my entire career at the Stadium because it’s rare. And it’s rare to still be at the back, in this club, at 35. I am very lucky. And I stop on a season where things are going well, where we have a lot of fun. We came out of this somewhat delicate period of the club. I’m leaving without regret and I’m happy.
What makes you most proud?
The people I met, that I rubbed shoulders with. The way I evolved too. I often questioned myself and I evolved as a man. I’m also proud that my daughter saw me play at Stade Toulousain, it was important to me. It’s a set of things. I am someone thanks to Stade Toulousain. When you belong to this club, when you win titles, it stays, it’s engraved in history. This is exceptional.
“I had the chance to realize my dream, to play at Stade Toulousain”
Not everything was linear…
No, no (he smiles)…in accordance! Yes, it’s true, not everything was linear, but in any case I worked to be more regular. I had a difficult period but it was the most rewarding in any case. Because I’m questioned, because I went looking for other things, physical level, mental level. I think those were the seasons where I degraded the most.
And what have been the strongest moments during these 18 seasons?
There are many ! When I left Blagnac, it was to be French champion at least once in my career… I was with the young people and I was lucky enough to be one several times with team one ( five Shields of Brennus and three European Cups, editor’s note). 2008 was the year I exploded, 2019 the year we came back to the fore. Two strong years for me. Because the game was there, the fun was there. The consecration of a title at the end too and sharing it with people. It was exceptional.
One can hardly dream of a better track record?
Yes, that’s for sure (smile)! Once again I had the chance to play with great players. And titles are a set of elements that will allow you to succeed. There was the karma, the team, the staff, and as we say the fireworks around. Personally, I’m happy with all these titles and frankly, I realize. Because it’s long, it’s hard to win a title. So it’s above all to thank my teammates, the people with whom I bicker from time to time on the ground (smile). That’s how it is, it’s huge.
At the stage of a Rougerie in Clermont, of an Ouedraogo in Montpellier, does your career in a single club make you proud?
There were times when I could possibly have gone elsewhere. I tried to imagine myself with other colors, but I had a hard time. The Stadium, when I was a kid, when I watched matches with the family, it vibrated. I had the chance to realize my dream, to play at Stade Toulousain. And to have done so many years, it’s just huge.
“I always gave everything to win”
People counted in this course?
My family already. Because it is not easy to live with a top athlete. It is above all the people who accompany us every day. All the people who work for the good functioning of this club. Because we often see the first team playing, but behind there is a lot of work! From volunteers to supporters. Afterwards, the educators I had, who allowed me to give myself this passion and these values of this sport. There was a turning point, it was Robert Labatut, who unfortunately passed away, who was the person who believed in me and who recruited me as a Cadet. Emile Ntamack too, who put me back on track at a time when I was a bit lost in my career. Everyone gave, everyone left a mark on me in their own way. It is a whole.
What do you want them to look like in the last few weeks?
Bah, then I would like us to go all the way. If we can delay it as much as possible, that would be nice (he laughs)! Because even if we say we’re ready, we’re never ready enough, we don’t really know what awaits us behind. Well, I try to have fun, to train, to perform well during the week to be there at the weekend. So if we can end with something nice, it can be good for me.
After this announcement, the match at the Stadium against La Rochelle will be a special moment for you. Won’t it be obvious?
No, but already I’m relieved. Beyond my family, the first to know was President Didier Lacroix. Afterwards, I told Ugo Mola. Then I wanted to announce it to my teammates. But the president and the coach have known it for two or three weeks. It actually relieves me. I hadn’t really known what Stade Toulousain wanted for two or three months. Even though there were big names, big backs coming out in the media as rookies. So inevitably, we say to ourselves: “well, they don’t count too much on me”. But that’s normal, that’s life. So having made the decision to stop, I repeat, it relieves me.
What do you want the Toulouse supporters to remember from you?
That I am a competitor? Otherwise, I think I have always been smiling and friendly with people. Afterwards, they will remember what they want to remember. I have always respected them. I’ve been here for 18 years, it’s not for nothing, because we know the requirements of this club. Well, if they hold back a badly hit kick or a candle not caught, too bad, that’s how it is (laughs)! No, I think they will remember that I have been faithful to this club and that I have always given everything to win.