He is one of those who made an impression last Saturday, when Aviron Bayonnais won against UBB. The one who knew how to return the Girondine melee after the siren. From his origins in Ardèche, to the banks of the Nive, which he joined this summer from Narbonne, Pascal Cotet recounts his “journey of revenge”. From the hopeful player, international under 20, to the Federal 2 with Montélimar. The sky and white right pillar, guest of 100% Rugby, looks back on this end of the match against Bordeaux-Bègles and talks about the upcoming trip to Brive.
Throwback to the last scrum against UBB
“I was out at the start of the second half. VSIt was starting to get a little complicated on the conquest phases. And on the last scrum, Grégory calls me to the edge of the field. Me, I was not at all concentrated to play this last scrum, but he told me to go home. It was a little bit of pressure. And then in the end, it went well. We say to ourselves that we have to make up for an accident against the Stade Français, that we still have a lot of support behind, the public which gives voice. We have a little pressure, but at the moment, we forget, we clear our minds and it ends well. We are the Tom Thumb of the championship, and little by little, we are starting to show a little to the right, to the left, what we are really worth. The season is very long, but it’s good to start like this.”
The race to maintain with Brive and Perpignan
“Maintenance will already go through home victories, that’s clear. And then, if we could have two or three away victories too, it would not be a luxury. We are ahead of Perpignan and Brive in the standings, but We are only four games away from the championship. For the moment, that does not mean much. Going to do something, bring back a point, or even several in Brive, that would do us good. And I think that it’s achievable, against a direct competitor. History of marking the territory. Afterwards, Brive has already lost two matches at home, they will be waiting for us with the fangs as they say. We know what it gives this kind of very matches difficult, rough, especially in front. In this mini-championship, there is no one who is going to give himself a gift.”
– Philippe LeBlanc
His start to the season
“I didn’t expect that. In fact, I had signed at Rowing Bayonnais thinking they were going to stay in Pro D2. And luckily, the club climbed into the Top 14. I told myself that it was going to be very complicated. In the end, Grégory (Patat, editor’s note) gave me my chance. So far, things are going well. For the moment. I know as a pillar, that it can go very quickly. One day it can go very well in scrum then the next weekend I can get screwed. So you have to stay humble, not take the big head and then continue to work.”
His “atypical”, “battered” career
“I started rugby in Valence, in Drôme. I went to Bourgoin, in cadets / crabos. I went to a training center in Perpignan, four years old. Then a season in Narbonne, in hopes. I made a few appearances first. I signed a two-year contract in Oyonnax, but hey, it didn’t do it, after six months, I left. I’m going home to Montélimar, I’m playing in Fédérale 2. I was lucky enough to be called up by Aubenas, who was in the Federal 1 Elite at the time… before landing in Narbonne, aged four. a little my strength. If I manage to hatch a little now, it’s never too late.
This course forges a little. A while ago I climbed quite high, being younger (12 selections with the XV of France under 20, participation in the 2012 World Cup, editor’s note). I went down very low. They laughed at me, and then finally, I hung on, even though the train was far away. It ended up paying off. Then often, I remember the moment when I find myself in Montélimar, in my city. I had lost my faith in rugby a bit. And then, when I saw my partners coming home from work, dressed in construction, who were going to train in the middle of winter on Wednesdays and Fridays, I said to myself: ‘there are guys who like it’ and it gave me the taste. It made me bounce back, and today in Top 14… I have a lucky star (laughs)”
– CK
Integration within the locker room and in the Basque Country
“It went very well. I think there is a little time to adapt because you arrive as in a club where there was a certain framework of players who stayed. There was a lot changes. They have had their history. They were French Pro D2 champions, so it’s not easy at the very beginning. The Basque has a fairly deep-rooted identity and culture, I think. It’s quite chauvinistic and I like it. I think the door is hard to open, but when it’s open, it’s good!
As for my arrival in the Basque Country, it went very well. Frankly, I didn’t know the area at all. I find it wonderful. At the beginning, I had a car registered 11, in Aude, so it was a bit complicated on the road, it was touristy. But now, with the 64 of the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, things are better (laughs)”
The public, the enthusiasm
“It’s crazy. I just came from Narbonne, it was (and still is) a big bastion of French rugby. But in the end, it was a bit complicated. The results were not there, so fewer people at the stadium. A stadium that can accommodate just over 10,000 people and in the end, there are 1,000. So it’s a bit empty. When you get to Jean-Dauger, it transcends, it completely galvanizes to be pushed by more than 13,000 supporters.
“They have the slab!”
Pascal Cotet, Pierre Huguet, Thomas Ceyte, Manuel Leindekar… players quoted by Grégory Patat, for the level of play and the commitment shown on the field, after the victory against UBB last Saturday:
“They have the slab! When you come into an atmosphere like the one there is at Dauger… the guys, some played in Narbonne in front of Narbonne with 1,000 people and without denigrating the Narbonne public since it was a stronghold French rugby. These guys, they want to prove or give back the perch we’re giving them. For Pascal, I gave him a little hand and he just wants to give it back. For me, they give great satisfaction and I didn’t see them so early. Frankly, I thought it was going to be part of a staff rotation, a little later. There, today, they are seizing the opportunity that presents itself to them . And it’s amazing.”
To which Pascal Cotet responds:
“It’s true that with my partners, we are a lot to come from Pro D2. We were keen to prove and then to return this hand extended by Grégory, who trusted us. In a way, it was a bet for him, because the supporters, the leaders, saw a player from Narbonne, one from Nevers, a third from Carcassonne announced… for the Top 14. They may have said to themselves that it could be complicated Then well, in the end and for the moment, it smiles on us, and I think it animates us, to give everything.
I think the Pro D2 is a formative championship in terms of combat and commitment. And I think it’s Thomas, Pierre, Manu, all these players… we were kind of trained in this mold in there. That’s what we know how to do, so we’re trying to go in that direction.”
To listen to the full interview (13 minutes) with Pascal Cotet, it’s HERE.
Journey
- USAP (2013 – 2015)
- Racing Club Narbonnais (2015 – 2016)
- Oyonnax Rugby (2016 – 2017)
- RC Aubenas Vals (2017 – 2018)
- Racing Club Narbonnais (2018 – 2022)
- Rowing Bayonnais (2022 – …)