Back.
Finally.
In recent weeks, Kevin Gourdon has been talking about him again.
In good.
Praise rains after each of his performances.
The last one, a week ago on Gloucester's lawn in the round of 16 of the Champions Cup, was downright stunning.
The third line multiplied the breaches in the English defense - five defenders beaten, three crossings, two assists after contact, an assist on the first try of the Stade Rochelais at the end of a nice solitary raid - to carry his team to qualification.
A remarkable performance (he was rightfully designated man of the match) for a return to the foreground underlined.
Appreciated.
Relive the first test in the Maritimes in video!
On a superb interval catch from the third row Kevin Gourdon, the back of @staderochelais Dillyn Leyds scores a good try pic.twitter.com/r5QiLnORWC
- Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) April 3, 2021
Under the Guy Novès mandate, Kevin Gourdon was in the spotlight.
Undisputed holder.
To the point of being named by his peers the best international tricolor of the 2016-2017 season.
A 19th and last selection, this time by Jacques Brunel, against New Zealand in 2018 and… a virtual disappearance.
The Rochelais drags its penalty in Top 14, the physique leaving something to be desired and morale at half mast.
With his usual outspokenness, he does not hesitate to put words on his illness: "fed up with rugby".
“
It was just weariness from my job.
I sucked because I no longer had any convictions.
Rugby is still a job…
”
Kevin Gourdon
"A lot of people thought that I was having a depression and did not necessarily understand what was behind it," Kévin Gourdon recently clarified during a long interview with
Midi Olympique
.
It was just weariness from my job.
I sucked because I no longer had any convictions.
Rugby, it's still a job… ”No question of spitting in the soup.
The Maritime then recognized all that it owed to its sport.
But the urge was no longer there.
“We must not believe that everything is beautiful in our world.
Our bodies are worn out.
Lots of things that bother me in rugby… ”Too many matches, too many constraints, too much pressure, especially within a France team which was no longer winning.
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For him, confinement was a boon.
A few months away from the fields, from the routine, to come back to freshness and desire again.
“I managed to get through that phase.
It passed as it came, strangely, confirms the player.
At the moment, I am experiencing extraordinary times thanks to this sport.
You must not spit on it… ”Perked up, he returned to his pre-burn-out level.
To once again impress with its mobility, its sense of play, its power too, despite a “common” physique.
Much to the delight of its coaches.
“
He knows he has maybe three years to play.
He would like to do something with Stade Rochelais.
It's up to him to move
”
Ronan O'Gara, rochalais coach
"Kevin, when he puts the right floppy disk like that, he is very, very dangerous," had appreciated Romain Sazy, the La Rochelle forwards coach after the success (16-27) at Kingsholm Stadium in Gloucester.
“These matches, I love to play them, Kévin Gourdon had extended.
It is apart.
There is really a difference compared to the Top 14. We play teams that are not from our championship, often with different styles.
Arbitration is also completely different.
It's a game that I love to play. ”
As long as you want to.
A bit nonchalant, Kevin Gourdon reacts more than he acts.
He recalls that Patrice Collazo (
his trainer in La Rochelle from 2012 to 2018, Editor's note
) did not let go.
"He gave me I do not know how many kicks in the ass to make me progress."
A supervisory role now devolved to Ronan O'Gara, the head coach of the Maritimes.
“Kevin needs to be stung, confided the Irishman to
Midol
at the
end of 2020. He knows he may have three years left to play.
He would like to do something with Stade Rochelais.
It's up to him to move.
He has the capacity to progress.
He was among the best players in the Six Nations Tournament a few years ago, so the class is there.
But was the constancy of work there?
I do not think so.
Now he made a plan.
He is more "fit" ... "
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Calendar and results Champions Cup 2020/2021
The physique in accordance with the requirements of the high level, the renewed motivation, the third-line of 31 years is even projected.
Under contract until 2022 - for a decade in the Rochelle jersey - he does not rule out extending one more season.
Until the 2023 World Cup. Because Kévin Gourdon is eyeing the blue jersey again.
“It was great, even if we didn't win.
It was a personal accomplishment, a pride.
Because it was the culmination of all my work and it is the consecration of playing for your country.
It's a lot, a lot of pride in that, yes.
So I try to be the best I can to go back someday.
If that doesn't work, either I wouldn't have done enough, or it had to be like this.
There is no resentment to be had.
The 2023 World Cup is still a long way off.
I try to work well with Stade Rochelais to, why not, break the line.
You never know about a misunderstanding, ”laughs the third row in an interview with France Bleu.
A conversion away from the oval balloon
It will then be time to bow out to rugby.
Completely.
“I have a third of my life spent in a particular universe which requires a lot of time and energy.
Once something is finished, why add more?
If some people wanted to offer me a coaching job, you guys can forget about it!
Rugby has been a great chapter in my life, but you shouldn't overdo it either.
For ten years, he will have dictated my family life.
My wife knows my relationship to rugby very well.
She won't be surprised to see me change my mind.
We will look elsewhere. ”
Or ?
He doesn't know yet.
“It's good to see something else.
When I was not doing very well, I did a masonry CAP which I really liked.
But I'm not going to give up such a hard job after such a hard job.
I must find my way.
Honestly, I have no clue.
But you shouldn't scream before you are in pain.
I will find…"
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