Tarbes Rugby Club: New Season Preparations with Roman Terrain’s Overview of Recruits and Departures

Exit Fabien Fortassin, at the head of the Stado-TPR since 2020 and who is committed to Valence / Romans, the club of Tarbes (Nationale) will open a new cycle next season, around Roman Land (41 years old), coach of forwards, and Nicolas Cabanneswho will disembark from Cognac/Saint-Jean-d’Angély to take charge of the bigourdan three-quarters.

Pour At the time of Rugbythe technician Romain Terrain, former professional hooker from Pau, Castres, Biarritz or Perpignan, agreed to take stock of the Tarbes transfer window, presenting the Stado-TPR recruitswhile evoking “the imbroglio” around the third line Mattéo Coustalat, as well as the off-season of the Haut-Pyrenean club.

A mix of experience and youth

Despite limited finances and a tight budget (between 1.7 and 1.9 million euros), the Stado-TPR, historic bastion of French rugby and double champion of France (1920 and 1973), continues to attract National championship, where he tries to play the spoilsports (10^e this season).

Thus, the Tarbes leaders have succeeded in signing 4 well-targeted reinforcements to strengthen the professional team which will also be complemented by many young people from the training center, including several Hopes recruited from Top 14 or Pro D2 clubs.

“Like last year, we enlisted a lot of young people, to have more rotation, rather than looking for players we can’t afford or who could put the club in financial difficulty. The National is an increasingly attractive and observed championship, so players can show themselves. »

4 registered recruits, including 2 from Pro D2

– The first big hit is the return to the club from the third line Alexis Armary (28), trained in Argelès-Gazost and son of ex-international Louison. After playing at the club from 2012 to 2019, he joined the TPR from Valence-Romans where he was the captain: “He is a local player who spent 4 seasons at Valence / Romans, notably tasting the Pro D2 and playing at the top of the National table, ”explains the Tarbes forwards coach. “He is coming out of a climb and a title of French National champion, with the VRDR, so he will bring a lot of experience to the group. He is also a touch captain, so it will strengthen me on the touch side and also relieve some players during the season.

– Another reinforcement of experience for the Stado-TPR, the scrum half of Montauban and ex-international U20 Anthony Meric (28), who will seek to relaunch in Bigorre: “He comes to compensate for the departure of Thomas Lhusero to Valence-Romans”, notes Romain Terrain. “He knew the high level and played in rather posh Top 14 clubs (Toulon and Toulouse), where he suffered a lot of competition. Because of this limited playing time, he was hungry, so he went to play in Montauban, where he suffered a serious knee injury. When we met him, we felt a boy full of desire and who wanted to bite the ball and that’s what we’re looking for. I hope he will also bring his experience. »

– Tarbes also enlisted the Fijian centre-winger from Cognac/Saint-Jean-d’Angély, Jon Tuva (27), author of 2 tries in 16 National games this season. Arrived in France in 2015, he had made a sensational debut with Lyon (5 tries in the first 12 games), before roaming between Carcassonne, Bourgoin-Jallieu, Beauvais and therefore Cognac / Saint-Jean-d’Angély: “We had to really find a winger, because Maxime Oltmann signed in Dax and we only found ourselves with Jonathan Duffau and Johan Paulet, who is more of a center. We were in contact with several players, but we bet on him. We felt a very motivated boy who wants to have a big season. Each recruit remains a bet, but it is up to us, the coaches, to make sure to put him in the best conditions so that he can perform as well as possible, ”says Romain Terrain.

– The last professional player who gave his consent to the Stado-TPR is the third row Dorian Bonnin (24 years old), who had been playing for 3 seasons at Provence Rugby (20 Pro D2 games) after going through the Grenoble training center. “He is a youngster who faced a lot of competition in Pro D2. He is therefore looking for playing time and fulfillment on the pitch, and we can offer him this challenge. He is very hungry for game and balls, so I hope he will bring us this freshness and this enthusiasm to carry out the season.

A right pillar under discussion, 7 young people recruited

Romain Terrain adds that the Tarbais recruitment is not finished and that another reinforcement will soon land on the front line: “We are currently discussing with a right pillar of experience, to compensate for the departure of Mariano Filomeno in Argentina. He will complete the position with Alexandre Duny and the young Georgian Aleksi Tchitchiashvili (21 years old) who has extended until 2024. We have also recruited the young Alec Lambert (20 years old) from Colomiers who will enter the rotation. We will try to strengthen our young people with experienced players, juggling between the two, ”explains the Tarbes forwards coach.

In addition to these professional recruits, the Stado-TPR has also signed 7 young players, who will be under agreement with the training center and not under a professional contract, but who will be “integrated into the first team and will be part of the rotation throughout the season,” says Romain Terrain, who lists them one by one:

• Vincent Dolier (22), Mont-de-Marsan hooker (1 game in Pro D2)
• Alec Lambert (20 years old), right pillar of Colomiers
• Francis Rolland (22 years old), second line of Valence / Romans (2 National games)
• Baptiste Peytavi (21 years old), second line of the Espoirs de Perpignan
• Mickael Thebault (22), scrum-half for Valence-Romans (10 National games)
• Clement Latorre (21 years old), Bourg-en-Bresse winger (2 games and 1 try in National)
• John Guicherd (21 ans), 3^e line in double license with Bayonne and Mauléon (20 matches in Federal 1)

However, the Stado-TPR was snatched two young talents, the three-quarter center Fabien Brau-Boirie (17 years old) and the opener Joseph Laharrague (16 years old), son of Julien ex-international back (12 selections), recent champions of France Crabos against Montauban. The first signed in Pau and the second in Bordeaux-Bègles.

“They are among the 100 best players in their category and we intended to integrate them, little by little, into the group. But these young people with great potential preferred to try their luck at the next level. “Hoping that they can quickly match at this level”, wishes Terrain. “The departure of Fabien Brau-Boirie is also part of the partnership with the Paloise Section. There is a bridge between the two clubs, since in exchange, Pau sends us players who have less playing time in the Top 14 to harden up in National (like Alexis Levron or Jimi Maximim this season). »

3 major departures and the Mattéo Coustalat imbroglio

In the departures department, the main starters for TPR are the German international winger Maxime Oltmann (27), recruited by Dax as well as the scrum half Thomas Lhusero (26 years old) and the third row Real loan (23 years old) who followed their manager Fabien Fortassin to Valence-Romans and will discover the Pro D2 next season.

The Tarbes co-coach Romain Terrain also evokes the enormous confusion around the case of the third line Matteo Coustalat (21 years old): “It was a big imbroglio, because he wanted to denounce his optional year at the end of March to look for a club in the upper division, without having a concrete proposal. Despite this, the club and in particular the president Lionel Terré, gave him more time to make his decision, like Loan Réal. Except that at the same time, we made progress on our recruitment, with Army, Bonnin and Guicherd in 3^e line and therefore it was complicated to take someone back to this position, especially since we had reached the end of the budget. Today, I haven’t heard from Mattéo Coustalat and I still don’t know if he has found a club… It’s clumsy. »

The off-season program

The Stado-TPR will return to training on Monday July 3, 2023 to begin its summer preparation. “We have already designed the group that will take part in this off-season. There are professional players and also a lot of young people, on the advice of Stéphane Ducos and Charly Laran, in charge of the training center”.

The Bigourdans will dispute 3 friendly matches this summer. The first will take place after 3 weeks of preparation, on Thursday July 27, 2023 against Soyaux/Angouleme (Pro D2), in Arcachon or Saint-Lary-Soulan. The Tarbes workforce will then enjoy a week off, before a second friendly match, on Friday August 11 or Saturday August 12, against an opponent who remains to be defined (perhaps Albi). The ultimate repetition of scales will be against Blagnac (National), most likely on Saturday August 19 in Maubourguet (Hautes-Pyrénées), before starting a new season in National next September.

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