Gueret rugby players showed at the start of the season their ambition to finish in the top quartet to play one or two rounds of the final stages. The defeat of this Sunday, February 6 against Saint-Léger-des-Vignes (12 to 13) mathematically complicates their chances. In this context, how is the RCGC doing? We asked the question to its president Patrick Martin.
“Qualification, we still believe in it, especially since Sunday it was played by little, to one point”, he assures. The RCGC is temporarily fifth in the classification of his hen, out of ten teams.
We are not sure of tomorrow, we are never sure to play on Sunday
Capricious weather and covid contamination
After two years of pandemic, the 2021-2022 season is eventful between coronavirus contaminations and the bad weather conditions which led to the cancellation of two matches. “We are like all the sports associations in France, we are not sure of the next day, we are never sure of playing on Sunday., explains Patrick Martin.
“It’s problematic: when we went to play in Montluçon two weeks ago, we hadn’t played for almost a month. In what state do we find a team after a month without playing? We had fears but in the end it went well because we won.” The president of the RCGC ensures that there has been few contaminations within the team.
End of aid for associative jobs
In the offices, another concern occupies the minds of the leaders of the club: the reduction in subsidies. The RCGC indeed lost on January 1 the precious helpers of the former Limousin region., for associative jobs. His trainer for several years, Nicolas Puydebois, therefore lost his post as coordinator and was accepted in Haute-Corrèze as technical adviser to the clubs of the Ligue Nouvelle-Aquitaine.
“Nicolas Puydebois had the double role of coach and coordinator. His job was supported at around 60% by the former Limousin region. From now on, we can no longer keep this position financially. For the moment, we manage to manage thanks to the secretary of the Creuse Rugby Union who helps us, we will be able to finish the season without problem”, says Patrick Martin. On the other hand, he fears the start of next season, when it will be necessary to start publishing licenses again and seek partnerships.
Club renovation
A little over six months after his election as head of the RCGC, Patrick Martin aims to complete two files. The first concerns the renovation of the club created thirty-five years ago. “It was built by volunteers, it is no longer up to standard, it needs to be rehabilitated: double glazing, the roof… We have started but there is still a big construction site.”
The second goal is sports : “We have a young, healthy group, with a large part of players who come from the Creuse training. We want to keep this young group in the years to come, and that it goes up in quality.”