There’s a smile in Steevy Cerqueira’s voice. At 28, the Brive player, who passed through Béziers, Stade Français and Lyon, now has a new string to his bow. He now plays for Portugal.
A decision not insignificant for the one who had nevertheless hoped to wear the colors of the XV of France one day. “I had passed the France selections when I was younger, from 17 to 20 years old” tells the colossus of 2 meters 02. “My dream was to play for the France team, but I saw that the years passed, and I didn’t necessarily have playing time at the club, it was difficult to chain matches. …”
So he useda new regulation voted last November by World Rugby. The world rugby body has decided that players who have not played in test matches for three years with their selection can change to wear the colors of their country of origin, whether by place of birth or by an ancestry. This is the case of Steevy Cerqueira. “My father is Portuguese and my mother is French. I had this opportunity. At first, I wasn’t too sure what I wanted to do, but I finally made this decision.”
“Pride when singing the Portuguese anthem”
As you can imagine, Steevy Cerqueira felt a lot of emotion on February 6 in Tbilisi, Georgia, during his first match with the green jersey. “Pride too” completes the slender third line, “It’s my father’s country. He was more of a football fan, he transmitted the football virus to me” surrenders Steevy Cerqueira. “I supported both teams, France and Portugal. Singing the Portuguese anthem that I knew, I had above all pride.”
It’s above all a way to have playing time. With 17 games since his arrival in Corrèze, including only two this year in the Challenge Cup, Steevy Cerqueira is chomping at the bit. _”_When it’s been a year that you’ve been training all the time and you’re not being rewarded and you’re not playing on weekends…well, after a while, I think of myself” explains without language of wood the Brive rugby player, at the end of the contract with the CAB. “The clubs watch the matches, not the training sessions. The fact of having played allows first of all to regain confidence” he believes.
The World Cup as a new goal
And also rhythm, which allows the native Ile-de-France to call on his coach. “If Jérémy (Davidson) counts on me for one of the matches, he will know that I played not long ago” underlines Steevy Cerqueira. It’s a safe bet that these two games have boosted the native of Brétigny-sur-Orge.
From now on, he counts on his selections to allow Portugal to obtain a ticket for the World Cup 2023. _”_That’s the goal, even if it’s going to be complicated” explains the one who was part of the titular XV who lost against Romania on February 13 (37-27). On the other hand, the Portuguese group drew against Georgia (25-25). He also found his club teammates on the other side. “It was funny to see Otar, Tedo or Luka with their national team shirt” smiled Steevy Cerqueira, who was not the only Brive player with Portugal. South African Cody Thomas, who has a Portuguese grandfatheralso had his clause played in front of World-Rugby.