"We tell ourselves that once you're a pro, it's a done deal, but that's not true": how rugby clubs in Grasse and Monaco manage to recruit professional players not retained by Nice

Summer isn't exactly a relaxing time in Baie des Anges. Between the change in sporting and graphic identity— exit Stade Niçois, welcome to Nissa Rugby —and the changes in the transfer window, times are more than unstable.

In the midst of this major clean-up desired by president Jean-Baptiste Aldigé, ten players from the ProD2 squad out of the 38 departures recorded have made the, at first glance surprising, choice of moving three divisions below the Nationale.

Only at first glance. For some of the starters, the decision is the result of a certain sporting logic. Gabriel Maréchal ( ^second row, 20 years old), Tom Jouglas (scrum-half, 20 years old) and Louis Brandinelli (center, 21 years old) never had their chance last season in ProD2. The same goes for Mathieu Lacquement (winger, 21 years old) and Jean-Maxim de Laborde de Monpezat (fullback, 22 years old), both trained at RO Grasse, and who are also returning to their roots.

“Reaping the rewards of all the training work”

Newly installed as ROG president in July, Barthélémy Ors justifies these arrivals. " These five youngsters were not kept on by Stade Niçois, while Mathieu and Jean-Max already played a few matches with us on dual licences last year. Their desire was to continue playing locally, and ours was to recover these promising players that we sometimes sent to Nice ourselves and who did not make it. To reap some of the benefits of all the training work done upstream. "

Paid a bonus - which can vary between 300 and 900 euros per month in Grasse depending on the player - these new recruits all have a course of study, or are in the process of finding work outside of rugby, like the entire Fédérale 2 squad, where the club plays a role in helping people find jobs.

And then there's " the second group ," says Barthélémy Ors. Yann Tivoli ( ^second row, 33 years old) is part of it. He also decided to rejoin his training club, after playing four games for the Rouge et Noir in 24-25. " He hasn't played much, and he feels that he may only have two years of rugby left. He wanted to come full circle. "

But ROG's biggest signing is South African, and his name is Christiaan Erasmus. In one season, the 29-year-old winger has scored 7 tries in 15 starts in ProD2 (the club's ^second- highest scorer). He arrives in Grasse from Nice, just like another South African pro two years ago, Kurt Haupt.

" They played and exchanged ideas together. For once in his life, Christiaan didn't put everything into rugby but opted to stay here with a dual professional project. The club is supporting him in his efforts to create a business in import-export with South Africa, as is Yann, who has an entrepreneurial project in sports ," says the Grasse president. "For these two, sport is no longer the priority. But it's not early retirement either. We'll always be at a lower level than Nice, so we act as a satellite club, a fallback with a challenging level."

These high-quality arrivals were made possible by the rare and massive downsizing of Nissa Rugby, where 25 players were declared undesirable.

Choice... or constraint

In the same context, Andrzej Charlat (winger, 30 years old), Nathan Courtade (center, 27 years old) and Luca Cutayar (center, 28 years old) joined the Principality, also in Fédérale 2.

Between them, they have played 41 ProD2 matches and have said goodbye to their professional contracts, now paid in bonuses and supported by AS Monaco in their job search. " These are players who wanted to stay in the region. And there aren't that many clubs. After Nice, you have Grasse and Monaco who are offering a sporting project to move up to Fédérale 1, that's what attracted them ," explains David Bolgashvili, ASM Rugby coach and former key player at Stade Niçois between 2016 and 2022.

Luca Cutayar is a perfect example of the complexity of the situation faced by some transferees.

Informed in May that he would not be retained despite his remaining year of contract, he has since struggled to bounce back. " I didn't want to leave Nice. I had some contacts in the Nationale and N2. But I have a wife and a young child. My unemployment is miserable, and for the moment, I still haven't found a job on the side despite the help of the ASM," worries the man who would also like to go it alone and found his own wooden furniture design company, to " prepare for after my career. "

Because he, like others, is caught up this summer by reality. " We tell ourselves that once we're a pro, it's a done deal. That's not true, you're just an average employee. "