Former pillar of the FCG, French international, president of the Association Rouge & Bleu - former players; Jean-Marc Romand shares his memories and passion for the oval ball and his attachment with the Grenoble club
Hello Jean- Marc, tell us a little bit about your rugby career:
I started rugby at the age of 8 in Tarn-et-Garonne in the Caussade club. From the age of 10/11, I moved to Valencia d'Agen until 1978. Under these colours, at the age of 18, I played in a semi-final in the second division. I then joined FC Auch for the 1978/1979 season before joining the US Montauban for 6 months. In 1980, I arrived in Isère at FC Grenoble where I stayed for 12 years. With this club, I won the Yves du Manoir Challenge in 1987 against the SU Agen. From 1989, I was a player/coach with Michel Ringeval until 1992 and the semi-final lost in Bordeaux against the Olympic Biarritz.
I was international B and France A' and played 2 games in 1984 and 1986 with the French Barbarians.
Did you have a pre-game ritual?
My teammates will tell you that I was not only very anxious but also infernal before a meeting. At each game, I told them "Laugh well now because after the game you may not laugh".
Tell us about your best and worst rugby memories:
Both concern matches against the same team: RC Toulon. The worst memory taking us to the best. The matches against the Touloners have always had a special flavour.
On Sunday, January 3, 1988, the RCT came to challenge us in Lesdiguières, they had been undefeated for 15 months. For a game that was going to be played ultra hard where we never managed to cross the test line. On an action, the Toulon furia takes everything in its path, they will not score a try but will leave no less than 6 of us ashore. It was gratuitous violence, but at the time there was nothing in the regulations against this behaviour.
15 days after this match, we found the RCT for a 1/4 final of the Yves du Manoir challenge in Béziers. That day, no one escaped, we showed we had balls. At the end of the regulation time, there was 6/6. In extra time, we showed our values and strength of character, we wanted to take revenge on the previous match. And that was the case, we planted three tries on them and won 24/9. At the time, the rivalry between the 2 clubs was very strong and there was no meeting without chestnuts sending each other. When you took one, you remembered it years later and settled the dispute. These "overflows" never went beyond the field, and we all ended up having a beer after the games. Today, these rivalries are much less present.
How do you view today's CTF?
We see reality on the ground, only this one is true. The FCG is struggling, it's tough. In my time, we used to meet up with friends to play rugby, nowadays guys meet up with co-workers to do a job. The notion of play is no longer the same, players take much less pleasure, they are obliged to make a result in order to satisfy not only the fans, the club in general but also those who invest in it. Maybe if we had a little more fun, if we had more fun on the field, it would end up smiling.
Can you tell us about the "Rouge & Bleu - anciens joueurs" ?
The association was founded in February 1993. During his presidency, it was chaired by Bernard Michou (its creator), he was accompanied by Jean-Marie Ostian and Christophe Rizzi. In 2006, the association was taken over by André Rimet, who was its president for nearly 10 years. Since 2016, I have resumed the presidency with André Rimet as vice-president and Jean-Claude Barthalay and Jacques Sahaguian as its treasurers. The office is composed in addition to the 4 previously mentioned of : Olivier Bicais, Frédéric De Lajudie, Alain Garnier, José Ibanez, Francis Mazars, Yves Menetrier, Françoise Menzildjian, Thierry Merlin, Alain Michel, Thierry Perrin, Marie Reber, Franck Romano and Sandrine Strano. We currently have about 90 members. Anyone can join the association, whether they are part of the CTF or a supporter. The membership fee is 15 euros and is renewable each year.
Photos: O. Bicais
Testimony collected by S. Strano
Auteur : FCG Rugby