“Perpetuate the club in Federal 2”
Arrived in the off-season from Provence Rugby to succeed Raphaël Roggi, the new general manager of AS Monco Rugby has appointed himself for Monaco-Tribune on his role, his career and his objectives.
Former professional player trained at CS Bougoin-Jallieu, Walter Argoud arrives on the Rock with solid experience. Sports manager of the Provence Rugby team training center and coach of hope last season, this former three-quarter center will have the mission of advancing a group which remains on a historic season with a first climb in Federal 2.
Why did you agree to take up this new challenge within AS Monaco Rugby?
I was looking for an attractive and ambitious project. The speeches of the presidents immediately seduced me. The foundations are solid, but there is still everything to build here. We feel that the club is ambitious but that it keeps its feet on the ground. The club is growing fast, it is now up to us to structure it all together.
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How do you view the current squad?
The main objective was to maintain the current workforce at 95%. I have full confidence in this group, which went to seek the rise in Fédérale 2. The group in place is competitive. I watched all the games in the final stages and with what I saw during the first training sessions, I am satisfied with the current squad.
The success of our youngsters in the first team last season gave ideas for other players to join us
Walter Argoud
What recruitment are you targeting?
It’s not always easy to compete with the clubs in the division, which have much greater means. The group is already made up of players who have experience in higher divisions but we will still have to adapt to the level. We are going to recruit a dozen players in all, including some hopefuls from Stade Niçois and a pillar who played in Fédérale 1 last season. The success of our youngsters in the first team last season gave ideas to other players to join us.
How will the staff organize itself?
We will form a pair with Robin Duvergé, who is very steeped in the life of the group and who has already coached young people. He is also a physical trainer in parallel. Robin will be in charge of the conquest and I will be in charge of the back lines.
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What are the ambitions this season?
The main objective is to perpetuate the club in Federal 2. Personally, I hope that we will be able to get a little more. Above all, we want to build with the hopes, the training of the club and the MR7, which we can all pull in the same direction. We will take stock mid-season to talk about ambitions. A qualification for the play-offs would already be a nice surprise. Today, the rise in Federal 1 is still premature.