the essential French junior champion Balandrade with the 4 Cantons in 2008, and Fédérale 2 in 2023 with Layrac, Cédric Duluc will be a shared supporter for this Sunday’s derby at Pénétro. He gives his opinion on this match and what it represents for Lot-et-Garonnais rugby.
You were champion of France with the 4 Cantons and Layrac. What do these two clubs mean to you?
4 Cantons, it remains the blood as the young people say! Even though I refer to Villeréal, my village of origin, I wore the plum and white colors from juniors to juniors. These are my roots. Layrac, like Nérac, is my adopted club. Despite the Covid, I experienced four very decent seasons there. In Pénétro, I also rediscovered the meaning of the word club, with these leaders and volunteers… A bit like in the 4 Cantons in fact.
Precisely, these two clubs claim to be village rugby. Do you share?
Of course. Layrac may be close to Agen, but we are also close to Gers! And then this can also be explained by the history of these two clubs. 15-20 years ago, they were still playing in Promotion or Honor. Since then, they have progressed well thanks to quality players.
Precisely, seven years ago, with US Nérac, you were in the group of Fédérale 3 of Layrac and Monflanquin. If we had told you at the time that they would find themselves in Federale 1 a few seasons later, would you have believed it?
Honestly no. But the facts are there. As for the 4 Cantons, they perfectly knew how to integrate the very good generation of 97-98. These young people are perfectly in line with what Romuald Berthoumieux then Alex Cassang built, with this wide-wide game. Then, this team gained confidence in itself, told itself that it had the level and was less jealous of the others. As for Layrac, we must refer to Mathieu de Carli, although he is not alone. But it is thanks to him that the ASL was able to recover players that no one would have thought could land at Pénétro. He has built a very good, experienced squad, with the flaws of his qualities.
In 2008, Cédric Duluc won the title of French junior champion Balandrade with the agreement of the 4 Cantons. Villeréal Info
Two Lot-et-Garonnais clubs in Federal 1, what do you think?
This is a good signal. Without forgetting Villeneuve and Casteljaloux in Federal 1, and the RCBB unfortunately dropped to Federal 3. This underlines, in my opinion, the good formation of the territory. And that young people stay in their training clubs because they find an interesting level. Hopefully it lasts! I remember that I, when I was young, had to leave Villeréal in Fédérale 3 to find Fédérale 1 in Valence-d’Agen. Whereas playing in your club is much simpler and reassuring.
What match are you expecting this Sunday at Pénétro?
It’s a bit difficult for me because I haven’t seen them play much lately. However, about what I saw and expected, I have a small idea. I am waiting for the ASL with great aggression. They will want to concentrate on the scrum, the weak point of the 4 Cantons, and the touch, the strong point of Layrac, with a strong defense. They will quickly want to widen the gap. The 4 Cantons will therefore have to be patient, letting the storm pass until the hour mark before developing their rugby to overwhelm the Layracais.
