The French Rugby Federation has decided because of the health crisis to definitively stop the amateur championship. No classification will be established and there will be no ascents or descents. For Lionel Heymans, manager of Saint-Girons Sporting Club, the championship is over but not the season.
What are the new goals now?
We will wait until we have the right to meet again to play rugby again and put conviviality back at the center of our group life. We must re-motivate all the players but also the leaders and the volunteers. One of the priorities of this end of the season will be to spend time together because for several months everyone has gone their own way.
When can players expect to return to the field?
The ideal would be to start real training again at the beginning of April and to play matches as early as May. It is a question of organizing challenges between neighboring F2 and F3 teams. We could be in a very local pool with Rieumes, Saint-Gaudens, Saverdun, hoping that the public will be allowed to come to the stadium because playing without spectators is useless.
Will it be possible to recover the entire membership of the club?
Players who have passed their thirties will ask themselves questions, will they put on their crampons again after such a long hiatus? Some will want to stay with their families, others will have found different occupations. It is the same for the leaders. Losing two years of competition is huge for any player in their 30s. Geoffrey Zorzi 33 years old seriously injured at the start of the season, although recovered today, will be in this situation. Damiens Pons, 38, had since last year announced his desire to quit. We must as a priority rediscover the conviviality that characterized our group if we are to overcome this difficult course. A large majority of players really want to relive great moments with the supporters who are the engine of our team.
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