There is Guirado, Ouedraogo, Kockott… and Loïc Jacquet. Four names that we will no longer see on the Top 14 match sheets next season. Loïc Jacquet, who will have enjoyed the good times of ASM then Castres, looks back on years of pleasure and is now thinking of vacations.
Loïc, we can imagine disappointment after this lost final…
“It’s a very big disappointment for the players and the club. For the fans too who made the trip. Besides, they were still wonderful. We are really lucky to have an audience like that. C It’s a shame, but there’s no comparison in the match. Montpellier deserves its victory. They were present from the start of the match, we weren’t. We weren’t there. We made too many hand mistakes. “It was complicated to come back 20 points behind at half-time. The more time passed, the more it played for them. A final is that. You have to be ready, respond present.”
How to explain this failed start?
“We’re not going to lie to each other, it’s mental. We have a young group, with many new players. It’s good for the future. I am leaving but with no fear for the future of the club. It’s a solid group, which will use this experience. Maybe the pressure was too great. Collectively, we weren’t there.”
How do you feel after the last game of your career?
“I am more in a positive feeling. More than a lost final, I want to think back to my whole career. I may be a little less sad than the others. I don’t see it like the others for whom it was the first final. For them, it will be hard. The holidays are going to be tough. I’ve experienced that, you have to digest that, but that’s good. This is how the group will grow.”
What did you say to yourself at the final whistle?
“It’s a source of pride to finish at the Stade de France. It’s huge. Coming here, bringing all my family and friends to the stands, it’s magical. I think back to all those wonderful moments I was able to experience with Clermont, with Castres… This title in 2018. There are a lot of memories that come back and positive memories. The lost finals with Clermont also make you grow. As a player and as a man. We find strength after that to get back to work.”
What are you going to do in the summer?
Two months of vacation! I will enjoy. I have never had two months of vacation for 18 years. I’m going to rest, digest all this a bit. A new life is offered to me, it’s great.”