This is called a rapid, even meteoric rise. Evan Urruzmendi will start the next season in command of a Pro D2 match, ten years after debuting whistle in mouth. It was on June 15, at the end of the National and Federal 1 seasons, that the young man, from Saint-Jean-de-Luz and aged 26, learned the news. “It was then that I realized how lucky I was to be able to discover the professional world and inevitably, you look in the retro, back, on the path you have traveled to get there. ”
A half-surprise since he was already doing part of the referees of Federal 1 to officiate in National. “Twenty games for last seasonhe says, plus five on the edge of the pitch, on the sidelines, in Pro D2.” But at 26, Evan Urruzmendi expects to be “tested” by the veterans of the second division. “It’s normal, they do it at the start of each match. It’s up to me to show them that they can’t do anything. It’s a balance to be found: be uncompromising, put enough of distance while excelling in the exercise of pedagogue. Then avoid being too present too, we are still there to serve the game.”
“A huge change”
He who started rugby at the age of five, in the Saint-Jean-de-Luz club, will continue to lead his double life, between the whistle and the family seafood import/export business. “It’s a chance that I have, and which fortunately allows me to have time for refereeing.” And time to prepare to put on the outfit in the second division. Physical preparation first, “because at this level, everything goes (much) faster. The rhythm, the shocks, the intensity. Errors also pay cash. As for the referee, the work of placement and decision-making should be more specific.” But also on the other novelties for Evan Urruzmendi. “There are additional tools that will appear compared to what I had before. If only television, communication also during meetings. This is work that I will do with my coach and on the first matches. the video is a huge change. A fabulous tool, but you have to use it wisely at risk and it’s a habit to get into, a way of doing things that I have to learn as quickly as possible to be efficient.”
– Stephane Garcia
In order to perfect his preparation, Evan Urruzmendi is supported by a trainer, “Jean-Luc Rebollal, video referee in Top 14”. But he also has another sponsor in the middle: Vivien Praderie. “We know each other well from the time he was here. (trainer at the Biarritz Olympique Rugby association, editor’s note), he has seen me evolve and even if today he is part of the Occitanie committee, we have kept ties and it is interesting to be able to rely on several opinions to continue to grow.” Without forgetting the example of Thomas Charabas, another Basque referee to evolve among professionals and who, in a way, also experienced an early rise to this level with the Pro D2 at 24 years old and the Top 14 two years later. “He’s another role model, especially when you see the way he reconciles his work as an emergency doctor at Bayonne hospital and his passion for refereeing.”
In Federal 2 to 21 years old
From a “rugby family”the youngest of the siblings (he has a sister, editor’s note) launches in the arbitration on an idea of his mother. “Like all kids, I wanted to become a professional rugby player. I was rather technically gifted, but physically a little more frail. But when I tasted arbitration, then at the Bayonne hope center, I went to realize that I had more ability to progress in refereeing and that it could become interesting to continue in this way at 100%. A season in Federal 3, he was then 20 years old. Then three years in Federal 2 and three in Federal 1 and National. Place now at the first professional level, with the first weekend of competition, August 26th. Waiting for the Top 14 one day? “It’s still a goal, as a source of motivation to always do well, always do better, but I don’t want to burn my wings. We’ll see in a few years… I’m already going to try to meet expectations that were placed in me in Pro D2.”
Evan Urruzmendi began his summer preparation with the Rouen – Vannes match on Saturday August 6 (Vannes 33-7 victory, editor’s note). “A taste, but also a confirmation that this is what I want to do!” Next week, he will find the other first and second division referees on training in Lot-et-Garonne. Before discovering what will be his first poster. The beginning of a new chapter for the one who has been dismissed for five years at Stade Hendayais.
– US