Colomiers. Vice-champion of France in 2000, the Haut-Garonnais club is now an essential face of the French rugby landscape. Fourth in Pro D2 this year, USC has seen many players in recent years pass through its ranks and currently enjoy the heyday of the Top 14. So what has become of the children of Stade Michel Bendichou?
This may be one of the revelations of the season. An inveterate supporter of Castres Olympique, or passionate about Top 14, this name could not escape you. With his helmet well inked on his head and his slightly stocky appearance, Gaëtan Barlot, a young 23-year-old hooker is asserting himself as one of the essential elements of the Tarn team. Born and trained in Clermont, he left his native Auvergne in 2015, when he was only 17 years old to put his luggage in the Toulouse suburbs, in Colomiers therefore. ”I came to Colomiers because I was only fifth in the hierarchy of hookers at ASM and then there was the possibility of starting a course as a laboratory technician.“, he explains to La Dépêche in November 2019. A well-made head for a player who will gradually gain strength in the columérin workforce. In 2017, he made his first professional steps, and experienced a complicated 2018-2019 season with his club, in which he will fight to maintain his training in the antechamber of the Top 14. A beneficial experience for the young player: ”The fight for maintenance is choppy matches where every gesture is important and for a youngster that brings you a lot of rigor ‘‘, he continued in the columns of La Dépêche. With the end of the season in cannonball, Colomiers will maintain his position and surprise during the following year. First off the season in March, he will not experience the joys of playing the finals with the club that saw him hatch. No matter, full holder in the columérin pack, Barlot decides to go into exile a little less than a hundred kilometers away. He signed up with Castres this summer and had a very convincing season. He is the symbol of the resurrection of his club, relegated a few weeks ago and reinvigorated today. Number 1 in the post, he continues the tenure and even scored his first attempt in the Top 14 against Agen. This Saturday, he will meet Clermont and Michelin, his training club. A real beautiful story.
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