They conceded 118 points and scored only 16, including only one try, in three days of the Elite 1 championship… The players of the Bayonnaise Sports Association refused, Sunday, October 7, to play their Cup match of France against Stade Toulousain, to protest against the lack of resources invested by their club in women’s rugby. In an open letter, they regret not having a staff large enough to train properly and not to be listened to by management.
Last of group B of the first national women’s rugby division, the Bayonnaises wanted to bang their fists on the table on Sunday by refusing to face Stade Toulousain. They deplore in particular a lack of staff due to the departures, not replaced, of several players in the offseason: “Last year, no one in the club asked us if we were staying or not. To prepare for the sequel and the next season, you normally have to know who you can count on. We lost three first lines and the upstream recruitment work was not done. As a result, today we are left with three first lines, including one that is not trained for this position and one that operates at the federal level. Playing in Elite 1 can endanger their physical integrity “, explains Brandy Carzola, one of the leaders of the sling.
The president of the club, Gilles Peynoche, defended himself in the columns of the newspaper Sud Ouest [article payant] : “All the clubs are in difficulty at this level. We do not have a front line, we are not going to invent one”. As for departures, especially those of Pauline Bourdon and Lou Baguette in Toulouse: “We could not hold them back. Stade Toulousain, it shines more”, he explains.
To fill this lack of players at the front line, the Bayonnaises and their staff are developing strategies: “Against Montpellier, we already knew that two of our first lines would simulate injuries to get out. We play with the rules to obtain mock scrums, otherwise we are in too much difficulty “, explains Brandy Cazorla.
Morally it also becomes very complicated, we no longer move in the spirit of winning but to limit damage.
Brandy cazorlato franceinfo: sport
And beyond the matches, this lack of staff is also felt in training, where only 20 players are present on average, according to the open letter: “You can’t even work in opposition to 15 against 15 in training, and it’s more complicated to perform without having training in real conditions “, adds the third wing line.
While the other first division clubs are developing, the “Neskak” feel theirs are treading water: “We’re getting to a point where our club has gone from a semi-final four years ago to playing maintenance now. It is a small local club, which has not reduced its resources, but its competitors have structured themselves. So the gap is widening now “, notes Brandy Cazorla.
After long complaints, they obtained, this season, access to a public weight room and a physical trainer, funded by Aviron Bayonnais, the neighboring professional men’s club. “This is the minimum union to stay at the elite level and we are constantly told that these are the whims of princesses, that we always ask for more “, completes the player passed by the XV of France.
With such an observation, the slingers regret that their club no longer attracts new players: “Now all the clubs are offering money. We didn’t come to Bayonne for that, but two years ago, we still asked for a match bonus of 20 euros, to mark the occasion and to show the investment in women’s rugby, but we laughed at us. We explained to our leaders that they would have no choice but to put this in place, otherwise, nobody will come to play with us “. In the newspaper Sud Ouest, Gilles Peynoche defends himself: “With the rise in gasoline prices, mileage allowances have been extended. We did not remain inactive “.
Brandy Colazo believes that the ASB no longer has the shoulders to maintain itself at the highest level: “We now think that for the future of women’s rugby, we will have no other choice but to approach the professional structures for boys. It starts with Aviron Bayonnais, but not quickly enough “. While their president judged in the local press that the action of his players was “not respectful”, they hope for their part to be able to shake things up and do not consider renewing their strike so as not to jeopardize their season.