Rugby. Behind the glitter of its name, Monaco (Federal 2) is being completed step by step
By Remy Messegue
Published on
You have to sneak into the middle of the Rock, in the heart of the Monegasque city to find traces of the Monegasque Rugby. Far from the bling-bling of the yachts, the port, the casino or the reputation of the famous Formula 1 Grand Prix, it is difficult to know that the Principality is home to a resident club of Federal 2 which has just validated its rise last season.
Without fixed ground for a very long time
And for good reason, until recently, the club’s flagship team was wandering from field to field on the French Riviera. A great memory for Sylvain Masson, manager and coordinator between the hopeful and first teams: “We integrated little by little. I am a bit of a witness to past history over the last six seasons, we had no designated ground. One hit was playing at China blow to Pleasant. Today, we have the stadium that has been delivered. A tour of the Mediterranean coast for this team which does not benefit from the same facilities as its foot counterpart, the pride of the Monegasque city. But the project is taking more and more shape: “Now we are waiting the clubhouse and the gym. Little by little, the tool is more and more pleasant. We’re starting to be more and more structured, but we have to manage to develop a real identity and a real group adventure in a context that isn’t always easy. »
Managing Monegasque pressure and that of opponents
This context that must be understood for all the players who arrive and sometimes feel the pressure linked to wearing the flocked jersey with the red and white crest: “The Monegasque context is so particular. Playing with the Monaco shirt is something. We tell ourselves, we have to perform well in every game. There is no not an easy game with the Monaco jersey because it brings a little excitement and we have to be there every time. »
Responding also to opponents who very often want to bring down a big name: “There is no easy match when your name is Monaco. Anyone wants to beat us. Even if sometimes we are not preferred like this season where we will go up with a lot of humility. We know that all the Fédérale 2 teams will want to win against Monaco and we will be expected each time. In fact, there is a perpetual upgrade. You can’t afford to rely on a few achievements from previous matches because each match is a big match and the name Monaco increases that tenfold. »
To deal with this, Sylvain Masson found the solution by proposing to keep the majority of his workforce every year, far from the image of mercenaries who would come for the charm and money of the Rock: “We have a few arrivals but less departures. We really try to create a group. The goal is not each season to have fifteen or twenty new players but really to build on what we have experienced over the years, that is to say the rise of honor at Fédérale 3 and now the rise until Federal 2.”
Because, Monaco did not appear in the French rugby landscape by magic and it was necessary to cross the stages one after the other, contrary to its counterpart of the Monaco Sevens which has participated for two years in the InExtenso SuperSevens (finalist the year past) with players recruited from all over the world: “They were lucky enough to be able to go on a pro circuit right away. It was impossible for us, we started from Series then Promotion Honneur, Honneur, Fédérale 3, Fédérale 2. We have to build little by little and it’s not as if we are being invited tomorrow to play at the professional level. Here we are at the amateur level and we have all the realities of the amateur level. »
Despite everything, the links exist between the two entities: “We work hand in hand and the idea is to develop a bridge between the Seven and the XV. Eventually we would like there to be Seven players who could do a season with us. This is not the case yet but it is something that we would like to do in the future. Jeremy Aicardi (Monaco Sevens coach) also does Seven interventions in training. There is a real bridge that is being put in place. »
And to progress Monaco also wants to prove that it is not a team but indeed a club with its Espoirs, its rugby school and its women. Les Espoirs, who “performed very well last season, there is not just one Senior team in this club. The idea is to make Monaco a training club. And really in the idea we prefer to play a hope that has been a hit the previous weekends than a rookie from elsewhere. We really want to create a Monegasque identity. says Sylvain Masson. An identity found in Antoine ZeghdarMonegasque, trained at the school of rugby, which evolves today in Castres Olympic and returns regularly to watch the Principality’s team play.
An equally important women’s section
This notion of attachment to the Rock, the coach of the women’s team Fabien Camin is just as keen on it for his team which is starting to be a reference on the Côte d’Azur: “We have more seasoned players who arrive without forgetting no more to develop rugby within Monaco. We still have seven players on the team who have Monegasque nationality. For a country of 2 square kilometers and a brand new women’s sport in the Principality, it’s already very good and we want to continue on this axis. »
A women’s section that is just as priority for the club as the senior men, to the delight of their coach: “It’s true that there are a lot of women’s sections that exist alongside the clubs. We are lucky to have a club that includes us in all events, in everything it does, with access to all equipment. We met at the end of the season with the management of the club and we are starting on a real project for the development of women’s rugby. The club does not do women’s rugby to say ‘yes it feels good’. On a real common intention, it was mine and I am very happy that the club follows it. We will do everything we can to develop this section. »
In order to supply these two senior sections, Monaco Rugby also relies on a strong rugby school with 125 members in five categories from under 6 to under 14. The future of oval football is therefore also being written in the Principality. the XV of France even chose it to come and do an internship there in July 2023, just before the World Cup!
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