Between the diapers and the bottles of his daughter, Timoci Nagusa did not think of triggering such trouble by tackling the oval for three weeks. As a young dad, the FC Grenoble partner has become the first rugby player to choose to benefit from a 28-day paternity leave.
A first that divides even within French rugby. Sunday, October 24, it was the turn of Christophe Urios, the manager of the UBB, to react to the controversy over RMC: “I’m obviously talking about team sports and guys because girls are another thing. But I find that he (Nagusa) is taking his staff hostage, that he is taking his club hostage. level, even if he has strong constraints of performance and life on the side, has a lot of free time on the side. He can very well support his family while playing the game with his club. there is a real problem of trust. “
Christophe Urios on the Nagusa paternity leave: “For me, he is taking his staff, his club hostage.” #rmclive pic.twitter.com/4uE75ioY8D
– Les Grandes Gueules du Sport – RMC (@GGsportRMC) October 24, 2021
Timoci Nagusa, already confronted with disparaging comments from Philippe Saint-André, Patrick Arlettaz or Jonathan Wisniewski on his paternity leave, had justified his choice: “Being with a baby is work 24 hours a day. I wake up every two hours, I can’t sleep because my baby is crying for food. It’s a lot of insomnia because we also have a child who is only thirteen months old. My wife is resting, she needs to recover after childbirth. “
If the 34-year-old winger is perfectly within his rights, since French law offers any father the choice of a paternity leave of 28 days, Christophe Urios did not hesitate to point the finger at the reputation of the Fijian .
“He is not his first attempt. He played in Montpellier and systematically, I mean systematically, he arrived two weeks or three weeks or even a month late in his club. It is not only for paternity leave This goes beyond the societal framework. […] In the case of Nagusa, I think he doesn’t give a damn about everyone else. “
The Bordeaux coach, winner of the Top 14 with the Olympic Castres in 2018, is certainly not known to mince words. If he is not Categorically opposed to a break for players at the birth of their child, the UBB manager wondered about the duration of paternity leave. “How can you imagine a player leaving for three weeks? It is possible that the Nagusa case will set a precedent. Now there is the settlement, the contract, the money and there is also the act of looking each other in the eye. ”
Asked about the impact of his physical condition at the end of his leave, the Fijian winger wanted to be confident about the recovery: “JI know what I’m doing to stay in shape despite having stopped. I have been a professional rugby player for fifteen years. […] When I come back, I’ll be ready. ”
Since its announcement on October 11, Nagusa is in turn the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of French rugby. This is because the situation, unprecedented, could multiply if other players take the path opened by the Fijian. Timoci Nagusa says he is aware that his decision imposes difficulties on his new team in Grenoble but claims to have received the encouragement of his teammates.
Let’s go @FCGrugby #Dadlife pic.twitter.com/T3939y4jVQ
– Jim Nagusa (@ NagusaJim14) October 15, 2021
For now, Timoci Nagusa benefits in particular from the support of the Provale players’ union, and its president Robins Tchale-Watchou. His paternity leave, he continues to feed the Pandora’s box of French rugby.