How did the week go with this multiplication of positive Covid 19 cases in the workforce?
Franck Azéma.
In permanent adaptation with so many cases of Covid.
There are boys who come, who leave… We adapt half-day by half-day.
We try to do the best by respecting, first of all, the health of the players.
Players tested positive for the first time last Friday.
In one week, 25 players tested positive.
Plus 6 staff members.
Not to mention the injured.
So we had very few, if at all, players in training.
It's hard to say that we are preparing for a match under these conditions.
I had not yet experienced having 25 covid and isolated players in a week.
You have to test them, retest them.
We are constantly sailing.
We had a training session with only four forwards!
We can't work.
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What condition are the affected players in?
There is everything. Some have no symptoms one day, then a fever and very tiredness two days later. Others explode completely during cardio sessions. They come back and are immediately in the red. Others, finally, are not at all impacted. It varies enormously… We are all frustrated. We want to play. But play with the safety of the players and our weapons in mind. This morning, one of my players had to go to the hospital for a heart test. This is not trivial. A few months ago, it took 10 days before a player was allowed to resume. Then we went to a week. And now at five days. Last season, we had to do a cardiac ultrasound and, there, it is just s'you don't have to get up the next morning and go prepare for the match. It's complicated for boys who haven't trained for ten days. We must protect the health of the players. Should we also take the risk of aligning 18-year-old boys to preserve the match?
Protecting the health of players is common sense, it seems wise to me
Franck Azéma
Your president, Bernard Lemaitre, called for the postponement of this meeting. Are you in the same position?
The president protects his family, that's normal… When I see the state of the troops, I don't know if we're going to play it. I only have four front row players available, so not even two full front rows available. I support the president's decision. Protecting the health of players is common sense, it seems wise to me. Even if we feel a great frustration. Because we have not played in the league since December 4, we will have three matches to be recased and therefore an extreme, intense schedule. We will have to play matches during the week. It will be embarrassing, it will distort the fairness of the championship. It necessarily has an impact. But better that than playing and having an accident in this game. And with so many cases so little time, I hopewe will have less to worry about the next four months.
Protocol provides that a club can request the postponement if it does not have six front row players. This is your case. Have you officially requested the postponement?
Yes. For the past week, we have been sending all the documents to the various medical commissions hour after hour so that the League can make a decision without delay. We do not want to penalize the championship, La Rochelle, Canal +. There is no interest. This is why we are transparent.
If the League maintains this match, your president has announced that you are withdrawing…
I do not see the point in arriving at this balance of power.
We didn't complain when we postponed our match against UBB as a precaution.
How can we say that with 25 boys positive for Covid, we try not to play this game?
We are not looking for a standoff with the League.
The president took this position because he sees the accumulation of players in the infirmary due to Covid.
With 25 covid boys, it's impossible to play.
Interview by videoconference
