Aubin Hueber returns to professional rugby as sports manager of Grenoble: Interview with Actu Rugby.

12 years after coaching Toulon, Aubin Hueber will return to the rugby professional clubs in France as Grenoble manager. U20 world champion as assistant coach, the former international scrum half (23 caps), returns with determination. “I’m not afraid at all”, loose Aubin Hueber withAt the time of Rugby. Interview.

Actu : Aubin, you are going to be sports manager of Grenoble next year. Who will you be teaming up with regarding the FCG staff?

Aubin Huber: For the forwards, the choice fell on Patrick Pézery. He went through Narbonne, Provence Rugby, and currently he is on the side of Hyères-Carqueiranne in National. Patrick experienced several rises in all these clubs. He is someone I know and appreciate. I know his seriousness, his involvement, and his qualities. The post being vacant, he was the man I wanted to surround myself with. And for 3/4, Nicolas Nadau, who is still under contract, remains. I found the work he was doing interesting.

Sports manager, this is a first for you in your career. How do you approach this role that you will discover at 56?

A.H : Yes, I will find out. But at my age, I think I have some experience. And I coached for many years in Toulon, just like the French youth teams. I have some hindsight. I also want to point out that I have a Master 2 degree in Management (business economics), and I worked on the question of men, the way and the method to manage the individual on the sporting level. I will rely on an experienced staff. We cannot arrive in a club saying that we know everything, that we know how to do everything. It is above all an exchange. Even if it is professionalism, the human link and exchange are very important.

Tell us more…

A.H : Yes, rugby has evolved in every way. But relying on what has already been done well at the FCG, on the good work done by the people in place, it is essential. Me, I’m going to bring my outside eye. Just like Patrick Pezery. Our goal will not be to revolutionize anything, but to bring added value to a staff that is already doing a very good job. We will also give our experience, to allow the best possible synergy internally. Without forgetting to bring new things to the players, and anticipate the decisions that will have to be taken.

You realize that when you leave the rugby world, the doors have trouble reopening afterwards.

You opted for the federal bosom between 2015 and 2021. But you have not been in a club since 2011. For a time, did you think that the train would not pass again for you?

A.H : I had a moment indeed when it crossed my mind. But I didn’t realize that…

Explain to us?

A.H : In 2011, when I stopped working in Toulon, I had health problems for a year and a half, including an operation. This put me on hold. Behind, I branched off with opportunities, as a consultant for Canal + and Sud Radio. I had occupations around rugby. In 2015, Didier Retière asked me to take care of the youth teams. So I didn’t have too much time to ask myself questions during that time. But in 2020, there was the Covid, and that’s when I asked myself the question of whether it was not the right time to try something again in a club.

Finally, in vain…

A.H : You realize that when you leave the rugby world, even if I was close to our sport, the doors have trouble reopening afterwards. So you wonder. At one point I tried to push open those doors, but they wouldn’t open. But I believe a lot in destiny, and the fact of having made certain encounters at the right time helped me. As a good scrum half, I rushed into the breach and I was able to convince people to give me a chance and that I was capable of coming back. But beware: nothing is done, I still have everything to prove. It’s a great challenge, and I like it. I’ve always loved competition, even as a player. It has always boosted me, I am determined and I want to do something with passion.

Finding the mode of operation of a pro club twelve years after your last experience, isn’t there a certain form of apprehension?

A.H : Some are quick to say that they travel, visit clubs left and right. For my part, I have been going to clubs for a year to see how things are going, whether in Pau, Lyon, Toulon. Of course this has evolved, as rugby has become excessively professional. We have staffs of 20-30 people in some clubs, before there were 3 or 4 of us. And I’ve been reminding you of one thing for a few days now: I’m going to be a manager, not train in the primary sense of the term. They are two totally different things. I will be out on the pitch a bit, but the assistants also have their job and I have total confidence in them.

Having worked with managers like Philippe Saint-André or Sébastien Piqueronies, I know what I have to do. I’m not afraid at all.

We follow you…

A.H : I knew the job of assistant coach, I know what the guys in place will have to do and produce with the players. And having worked with managers like Philippe Saint-André or Sébastien Piqueronies, I know what I have to do. I’m not afraid at all. I am very excited.

Lately, you have been with the Juniors of La Seyne-sur-Mer, and the women of Toulon. What have you learned from these two experiences?

A.H : We just play rugby. We practice the same sport. Of course, the level is different, we train in different ways. The means are not the same, it is clear. But what I learned from it is that it’s still rugby first and foremost. But also…

Yes, tell us?

A.H : I once knew the physical trainer. Today, we are talking about performance director. But that remains only a physical trainer, who has two or three other bodybuilding or rehab trainers under his orders. We like to put words and names to simple things that we like to complicate today (he smiles). Rugby remains the same. You have to give players the means to be strong and efficient, that’s all. We adapt to the evolution of this game, but we do not revolutionize it.

Did you receive any messages after the announcement of your return to the pro circuit?

A.H : Yes of course. Sébastien Piqueronies and Philippe Saint-André notably sent me a message of congratulations. During the Hall Of Fame evening in Toulon, I met several technicians who said to me: “welcome back to the cruel world” (he laughs). Jonny Wilkinson, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Sonny Bill Williams also congratulated me. It doesn’t scare me. I signed for two years, with an optional year: but I know that everything can stop after only 6 months. It is the law of the trade. I don’t plan on the comet. I return with great pleasure and determination.

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