2023-09-12 16:23:38
In the middle of the roundabout which serves the center of the town, a monumental 11-meter pelota glove, the work of a local artist created in 2013, welcomes the visitor. No doubt possible: welcome to the Basque Country. And more precisely in Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle, a small town of 7,000 souls, cradle of this sport which hits every fronton in the region and well beyond. Pelota, pride of local identity, but not the only one.
“At home, there is pelota AND rugbyunderlines Mikel Guerendiain. And the two often go hand in hand. » At 41, this business leader knows something about it. He hit the pelota with his bare hands (French cadet and junior champion) while testing oval leather (French champion in Promotion Honor in 2014 with the Saint-Pée Union Club Rugby, Spuc, which he co-chairs today). today). An all-round sporting passion which pushed him to open Kinka, a complex in 2020 “sporty and gourmet”an association that also suits local hedonism.
A story to perpetuate
And it is within these walls, at the entrance to the town, that on this scorching day at the end of August the entire senior team is getting rid of rust a month before the resumption of the Regional 2 championship (9th division) in which Spuc is scrapping. A good forty valiant people who do not hesitate to exercise even though, that day, Météo France reported a feeling of… 53°C. “We are finding a certain assiduity, because for several months the results have been returning after a more than delicate period”, indicates David Gaillet, the coach of the 2014 title, back in business with Mikel Guerendiain to turn around the club which came very close to the end of the game.
After a few seasons in Federale 3 (7th division) at the end of the 2010s, the retirement of around fifteen good players caused a generational gap. The young guard began to suffer defeats at 50 points, seeing his motivation increasingly eaten away by disillusionment. Put the key under the door ? Unthinkable. Saint-Pée is also the club where the scrum half of the XV of France Maxime Lucu (up to 18 years old) and the third row Charles Ollivon (up to 16 years old), who are currently competing in the World Cup with the Blues, were formed. A story more than half a century old, of which no one imagines writing the last lines.
So the elders mobilized. Ximun Lucu, Maxime’s brother, who had just finished his professional career in Biarritz, came for a few matches to strengthen the team. A cousin, Paskal Borthaire, 2014 champion, put on the jersey again and assumed the role of leader for a while. And the young people hung on, gaining maturity. “It wasn’t easy, but we were a group of friends, and we had to hold onsays Julen Borthaire, another cousin, 24 years old, still in the team today. Because rugby here is obvious. » His teammate Thomas Olabé says nothing else: “The grandparents played here, the parents too, so we want to perpetuate the tradition, and pass it on in our turn. »
A very strong attachment to the territory
“Talking about a big family here is not an empty word, because from near or far we all know someone who participated in the rugby schoolsupports Clément Ozcoïdi, 31, former player and co-president of the club. For me, it was Charles Ollivon’s mother who prepared my snack there. One of Julen’s uncles has been treasurer for twenty years, another was president. Here, the attachment to the club remains, like the attachment to the city, even among young people. It is an essential cultural aspect in the Basque Country, this very strong territorial anchor. » Which is inevitably found at the level of rugby teams, present in many villages. Country rugby in the South-West is not just the Gers or the Hautes-Pyrénées, it is also the Basque Country.
“First there were the big clubs of Bayonne, Hendaye and Biarritz, but from the 1960s the retired players of these teams helped to create clubs almost everywhere on the coast, then in the interior landsexplains Alban David, teacher and former player from Saint-Jean-de-Luz, author of a History of rugby in the Basque Country (1). And the phenomenon continued into the 1990s. The concentration of clubs here is impressive. Everyone’s exploits are recounted during family meals. There is a sort of mythology of the ancients, which young people want to imitate. This is the case at Saint-Pée, French champion at its level in 1984, 1992 and 2014. The results in some way maintain the legend. »
The presence of ex-minots Maxime and Charles in Fabien Galthié’s team today enlivens the flame of the Senpertar kids (the gentile of Saint-Pée). “For recruiting, it helps. At rugby school, they all want to be like them! “, smiles Thomas Olabé. There are a good hundred of them dreaming of the exploits of their elders, testifying to a passion that never fades. “Competition from other sporting activities, surfing in particular, certainly exists, and for certain clubs it is difficult to recruit, but Saint-Pée is fortunate to experience a strong increase in its population in recent years, taking advantage in some way of the housing crisis on the Basque coast”, says Alban David.
Crazy energy and volunteers
The current leaders are banking on this dynamic to relaunch Spuc in a sustainable manner. With a budget of €190,000, resources are still limited, even if only the two coaches of the first team are paid. Beyond the rugby section, the multi-sports club with its seven disciplines receives the support of around sixty local partners. But nothing is certain, far from it. “It’s not a long, quiet riverassured David Gaillet. There we raise our heads. We sometimes attract 200 to 300 spectators, compared to not even 50 at the lowest point. But it’s a huge job. »
Nod from Mikel Guerendiain: “Running a small amateur club like ours remains very fragile. It requires a lot of energy, and obviously wouldn’t exist without the fifty or so volunteers who help us. But we are always looking for even more diligent volunteers. » Clément Ozcoïdi counts on his fingers: “Two or three additional educators for the rugby school would not do us any harm, and as many leaders, from cadets to seniors, to support us and give us some breathing room. »
Do they feel far from this professional universe that the World Cup will highlight for almost two months? “Let’s say that we sometimes wonder if our leaders really realize the weight of the specifications that they also want to impose on amateur rugby.regretted Mikel Guerendiain. The demands are insane on match days, in terms of refereeing for example. We hope for a change with the new federal governance that is being put in place. » Despite everything, the new leaders of Spuc are trying to structure themselves to develop a project and an ambition. Not crazy, no, but consisting of at least playing the final stages this year, and why not moving up to the higher division. Being well aware that, further up, things might get too complicated financially. The passion at Saint-Pée is modest. But the heart is huge.
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A historic amateur rugby club
The Saint-Pée Union Club (Spuc) was born in June 1968, on the initiative of young people practicing pelota, basketball and cross country but wishing to be able to represent their village with an oval ball in hand. Within the multi-sports club, the pelota and rugby sections were the first two created.
French rugby is today structured into ten levels. At the top of the pyramid, the professional competitions (Top 14 and Pro D2) then national (National and National 2), and finally amateur (Federal 1, 2, 3, and Regional 1, 2, 3). Spuc is currently playing in Regional 2, equivalent to the 9th division.
Spuc was French Premiere Series champion in 1984 and 1992, and Promotion Honor in 2014, championships now replaced by the three regional divisions.
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