A very sad sight. The Var derby, between La Seyne-sur-Mer (USS) and Hyères-Carqueiranne-La Crau (RCHCC), was very hot this Sunday. On the ground of Hyères, undefeated leader of his group in Federal 1, the neighbors of La Seyne lost (22-6). But it is unfortunately on the extra-sporting level that this traditionally heated match between these two rival clubs has made more headlines.
David Smith, former Castres and Toulon winger, who plays at RCHCC, posted a video of a fight that went viral on social media. The player evokes no less than three general fights in this match. “Welcome to rugby in the south of France. It reminds me of our village games in Samoa. Come on, let’s play rugby. If you want to fight, go boxing,” the player commented.
“It was a derby, I don’t want to talk about the fights”, eludes Grégory Le Corvec, coach of Hyères, who confirms that four red cards, two on each side, were distributed in this match.
On the videos, we see some players literally jump on opponents, in front of an audience visibly delighted with these tussles. The rivalry is strong between these two clubs in the Toulon suburbs. In the shadow of RC Toulon, the RCHCC and the USS are vying for dominance over amateur rugby in the Var. The two teams have recently been reinforced by a few former pro players and are both aiming for the rise in National.
Hyères, who prances at the head of his group, is trained by the former third line of Toulon and Perpignan Grégory Le Corvec and has recruited David Smith. La Seyne, for its part, is chaired by the international center Gaël Fickou and his brother Jérémie and has in its ranks the winger Marc Andreu, who passed through Racing, Toulon or Castres.
