This Wednesday, March 30, at the Isle Verte sports center in Soustons, in a cool wind and a few drops of rain, the Bleues du rugby 7 end their tournament morning with a match against Belgium (victory for France , 7 trials to 1). Like them, the Irish, the Poles and the Brazilians came to the south of the department for a common course (see elsewhere). Manager David Courteix, his staff and his players spent a fortnight on site to prepare for the next two stages of the world tournament, first in Langford (Canada) (April 30 – 1is May), then in Toulouse (20 – 22 May).
The two septists Shannon Izar (in the foreground) and Camille Grassineau, in the recovery phase with a view!
Isabelle Louvier/ “South West”
“Here, you quickly feel at home. The fact of being at the campsite right next to the center, of making trips by bike and being able to do activities that change, in a changing environment, it’s a bit of a camp and it’s very pleasant, “says the usher from Agen, Montserrat Amédée.
“Getting out of everyday life”
Just like the septists, the French fencers are happy to find their Landes landmarks, in Dax, a base that the French team has known “since 1988! “Slips the president of the Landes Fencing Committee, Chantal Mayaux. “In Dax, it’s like family. Since I started, we come here and now that I took over the team, we had to keep coming. It’s especially good to get out of Paris, the infrastructure is great and allows good training sessions. And here, the constraints of everyday life – shopping, studies, work – no longer exist, ”says Hugues Obry, head of the French epee team, which is preparing for the Monal de Paris international challenge (15- April 17), then the European and World Championships (Cairo, July 16-24).
The French fencing team has been sharing the JAD room since 1988.
Isabelle Louvier/ “South West”
Legs in a cold bin for recovery is good. Facing the lake of Soustons, it’s better! “It must be said that the seasons make us get into a kind of routine, with cycles that come back between internships, training, competitions and coming to work in places like here, that breaks it up a bit. The different setting also helps to talk to each other, to share things other than rugby, to get to know each other. For a group, it’s always important,” agree Shannon Izar and Camille Grassineau, two important players in the women’s sevens.
The Force of Habit
Coming and returning to prepare before the Olympic Games, championships or world cups necessarily creates good vibes with the internship sites, especially when hard work is rewarded. “These are very good memories that come back when I arrive in Dax. I was selected to take part in the Games and it was here that we made our final preparations before leaving for the Tokyo Olympics last summer. There was so much adrenaline, desire but also sweat, pain, fatigue and frustration on these tracks that I was very happy to bring home a gold medal”, slips Romain Cannone, Olympic champion in sword and world number one.
Romain Cannone, gold medalist at the Tokyo Olympics and world number one in epee, enjoys coming back to Dax.
Isabelle Louvier/ “South West”
A morning of training for the tricolors had been chosen to welcome classes from the schools of Dax, Tercis and Oeyreluy.
Isabelle Louvier/ “South West”
When Montserrat Amédée started rugby, at 15, his first internship was already in Soustons. “Since then, there is a little something extra every year. Everything has always been super adapted, even the food and as everything is open, we really have a feeling of freedom, ”savors the player. Simple things that appeal to manager David Courteix: “The high level is not a bubble. Athletes are normal people who experience extraordinary things, but they have to keep a normal life and here it’s a bit like that. We also have our benchmarks, a super comfortable unity of place, a staff always attentive and all that allows us to better accept the harshness of the training. »
During their internship, the girls of the France rugby 7s team were not alone since the teams from Belgium, Ireland, Poland and Brazil were also on site.
Isabelle Louvier/ “South West”
