Alain Rey is delighted to once again bring together the Tarn rugby “family” as part of the Amateur Rugby Trophies, in collaboration with La Dépêche du Midi. The chairman of committee 81 also recalls the development axes for the oval of the Tarn.
the 2nde edition of the Amateur Rugby Trophies, in collaboration with La Dépêche du Midi, takes place this year. What do you remember about the 1st?
It was done in the same spirit as the trophies we organized on our side, in committee. That is, have a family reunion. However, with these expedition trophies, we have gone one step further.
What feedback did the clubs give you?
They were unanimous. Before, we did it in a very amateur environment. But there, the participants discovered a certain brilliance. Nominees and winners alike enjoyed seeing an event of this value. Because even if it’s a departmental reward, everything is well presented. This also explains the success of this year with 29 clubs out of 31 who wanted to participate (Alban and Lisle-sur-Tarn refused the invitation, ed). And they were left with the idea we asked for. These Trophies do not reward the best player, the one who will cross the entire field. Rather the one that is the most representative of the spirit of the club, which will help for example at the rugby school or at the bar.
For this 2nd edition, there is something new as Castres Olympique has joined as a partner of the event, from start to finish. What does it bring?
Already, last year, their presence had been important. Especially for the future, because the winners were invited to spend a day at the Levézou training center and the winning rugby school was invited to a CO match. The fact of having the number 1 club in the department, and professional, on an operation of this type, pulls everyone. The CO serves as a kind of beacon. He has implemented a policy of proximity with the Tarn clubs and others (100% regional program, ed), he is a bit of a big brother. Having Castres marks the seriousness of the event and brings out the identity of the Tarn on which we continue to work.
You mentioned this work on identity. Do you think it is insufficient?
I think we can do better. Today, in terms of licensees, we are the third department in Occitania (5,563 at the beginning of the season). We are on a good dynamic but until now the results of the Tarn selections have not reflected this trend. However, a big step was taken the previous season with Occitanie des Cadets’ champion title, which hadn’t happened for 20 years. And we succeeded because the clubs played the game of the department, sending their best players. Everyone worked together. My wish, tomorrow, is to transpose this success with the Cadets to other categories such as Juniors or Women, where we have good hopes.
You talk a lot about young people. Is training the main development axis of the committee?
This is undoubtedly our number 1 goal. Because now we have all the cards in hand. Which ones are they ? Yes, the participation of the clubs, quite convinced of the approach; our educators and technicians from the committees who are doing a good job; the three technical advisors of the Lega clubs from whom we benefited for two years; and finally we will add the link with the technicians of Castres Olympique, who will be involved in this set. In terms of structure, it is difficult to do better. Then you have to have the players. We worked on it for three or four years and something cohesive came out.
How did you get the clubs to join this approach?
It is a daily job carried out by our technical team, integrating the educators of the clubs in the selections. We also organize meetings between educators, presidents. In fact, the more people you meet, the more they know each other and the more they want to work together.
These trophies also greet the referees. The Tarn is also a dynamic department in this area. We have around 70 officials, which makes us Ligue d’Occitanie’s biggest supplier with Toulouse. But beyond that, there is the quality. This season we have had hikes at all levels: Pro D2, Federal 1 … Even though the changes in the divisions have allowed for a lot of hikes, there are still a lot of Tarnais in the lot.
Is it essential, in the eyes of the committee, to invest in arbitration?
I will say this perhaps out of atavism (Alain Rey is a former referee, ed), but I was shocked when I got here to see that the referees were separated. Of course, today, they still operate independently. But now they are always invited to any committee meetings or events. We also have a budget dedicated to them, in particular to pay for their travel. In return, they voluntarily come to officiate our events, such as the Boucliers de terroir or the Pavois. Honestly, once again, I am fascinated by the quality of our referees.
