Holmes, Miquel, Roumat… Crossover between UBB and Toulouse
Following the departure of François Trinh-Duc (retired), Union Bordeaux-Bègles recruited Zack Holmes (32) this summer as Matthieu Jalibert’s understudy at the opening. After five seasons at Stade Toulousain (2017-2022) where he chained the match sheets (92 for 81 starts) as a “luxury convenience store”, sometimes at the opening, sometimes in the center or sometimes even at the behind, the Australian thrives on being able to concentrate now with the Girondin club on the position of 10. His DNA.
“I like to play in the center but my basic training is at the opening, he recalls. I lacked opportunities in Toulouse because there were a lot of people on the job with Romain (Ntamack) and Thomas (Ramos)… At UBB, I have the opportunity to play 10 in a club which also has ambition after two semi-finals over the past two years. For me, it…
Following the departure of François Trinh-Duc (retired), Union Bordeaux-Bègles recruited Zack Holmes (32) this summer as Matthieu Jalibert’s understudy at the opening. After five seasons at Stade Toulousain (2017-2022) where he chained the match sheets (92 for 81 starts) as a “luxury convenience store”, sometimes at the opening, sometimes in the center or sometimes even at the behind, the Australian thrives on being able to concentrate now with the Girondin club on the position of 10. His DNA.
“I like to play in the center but my basic training is at the opening, he recalls. I lacked opportunities in Toulouse because there were a lot of people on the job with Romain (Ntamack) and Thomas (Ramos)… At UBB, I have the opportunity to play 10 in a club which also has ambition after two semi-finals over the last two years. For me, it’s a new challenge. And that’s something very exciting.”
I know my role. Whenever I’m called upon, I’ll try to be at my best
After having supported Romain Ntamack in Toulouse, Zack Holmes will therefore make the same choice at UBB alongside the other French international Matthieu Jalibert. An understudy status which poses no problem for Australia and which does not generate any frustration for him. “It’s just the reality of my situation,” he observes. I know my role. Matthieu (Jalibert) is a very good player, he is one of the top two ten in France, he plays the number one spot with Romain (Ntamack) with the Blues. I am happy to work with him. It’s difficult for me to have the ambition to become number 1 but my objective is to play as much as possible. Every time I’m called upon, I’ll try to be at my best to help the team.”
After 7 seasons of Top 14, Zack Holmes has become an experienced opening half, far from the young player he was when he landed in La Rochelle in 2015. “I arrived at the time of the Super Rugby (Western Force), I only thought of the attack… I have more knowledge of French rugby today. I also speak better French and to assess my position, it is important”.
At 32, Zack Holmes takes this adventure with the UBB as a new challenge in his career and dreams of winning a title with the Girondin club at the end of a full season. Crowned French champion and European champion with Stade Toulousain in 2021, he had missed the two finals due to a hamstring injury. “It was frustrating for me,” he recalls. I played a lot of games during the season but when you miss the last one, the title tastes different”.
If he will start a new adventure with UBB against his former club, the Australian does not care about it personally. “When I arrived in Toulouse, my second match was against La Rochelle. But for me, there is no apprehension. It’s a very important game for the club to get the season off to a good start at home. Nothing more. »
Antoine Miquel smiles again
When the calendar for the season was unveiled, Antoine Miquel was delighted to return to Stade Toulousain, his former club, for his first official match in the colors of Union Bordeaux-Bègles. “It’s a good thing that it happens right away, like that, we move on very quickly to something else,” says the powerful third center line (1.92 m, 109 kg).
After three seasons with the Rouge et noir where he was crowned European champion and French champion (2021) but where he was barred by competition from French internationals Anthony Jelonch and Selevasio Tolofua, the Périgourdin (originally from Bugue) decided to join the Girondin club this summer to relaunch.
I had perhaps lost this flame a little at the end with Toulouse
“I come to have fun, I had perhaps lost this flame a little at the end with Toulouse, he explains. At the end of the season, it’s as much me as them who are at fault. They put me aside a bit and I let go a bit. I no longer had that pleasure of going to training because I knew what was going to happen. The competition was fierce but the cards were played in advance. I could very well make good matches but if there was a big match behind, it was for the internationals”.
In Toulouse, Antoine Miquel nevertheless gained playing time last season (17 games for 11 starts). The Stadium even offered him a contract extension. But at 28, the third line, former captain of SU Agen, wanted to regain weight within a collective. He therefore did not think long before accepting the two-year contract offer from UBB, which was looking for a third-line center following the departures of Louis Picamoles (retired) and Alexandre Roumat (Toulouse).
“Antoine will happen to us a lot through his experience first of all: he is European champion and French champion, we must not forget that, underlines Julien Laïrle, the coach of the Girondin forwards. He is a boy who loves the touch a lot, who is very hardworking. He is someone who has been a leader in the past at Agen. He must bring us his ability to play standing up, he is efficient in that. Physically, he must show what he showed at Stade Toulousain. This is real added value for our workforce this year. »
At UBB, Antoine Miquel will be more expected than at Toulouse. “I know that I’m being asked to take on a bit of leadership and responsibility, that’s for sure, it’s always fun,” he admits. But first, I have to prove myself on the pitch.”
He approaches this first match against Toulouse without a spirit of revenge. “I have no regrets, these three years have been exceptional, I have met some great guys, I have won two titles despite everything. I wouldn’t trade that for anything in the world. It gave me experience”. The UBB will be able to take advantage of this.
The great challenge of Alexandre Roumat
Arrival in Toulouse. “What I don’t discover, already, are the guys. I already knew a lot like Romain (Ntamack), Toto (Dupont), Cyril (Baille), PL (Barassi), Arthur (Retière) and so on… I had the chance to play with them in youth selections . The integration was done quickly. Afterwards, I actually discover a new institution. A different way of thinking and playing. A little before arriving, I had a little apprehension about how to fit in, especially in the game. There is still a lot of binder to be found, but I feel very quickly at ease. There is a gaming culture that is hyper-developed. Not above average, but really put at the center of the project. Everything is based on speed, adaptation and initiative. It’s not that the other clubs don’t know how to do it, but sometimes they are more focused on the bases or the defense”.
To be honest, Stade Toulousain has attracted me since I was young
The choice. “I had been at UBB for 5 years. It wasn’t that I had been around, but I needed to go to a club where there is even more competition, a new discourse. It’s true that over the last year and a half at UBB, I was used less… Well, in terms of play, it was pretty much the same. Above all, I was more often a substitute than a starter. But it is also the result of the arrival of very good players who have taken their place on the pitch. Toulouse was an opportunity. But even if that had gone better in Bordeaux, I don’t know if I would have stayed. To be honest, Stade Toulousain has attracted me since I was young. I had a first opportunity, two years ago, as a designer. It hadn’t happened, but this time it was the right time. I wanted something new. This is the biggest challenge of my young career”.
The balance sheet at UBB. “I left in peace. We played the leading roles, I tasted training with the XV of France, it went very well. When I had been asked for the first year, it was still missing the fact of having marked the history of the club: we had still not qualified for the final stages. But over the last three years, we have played several.