Amateur rugby: Marguerittes, Vauvert, Bagnols, Saint-Gilles… first titles at stake this weekend, with the local shields in Gard

Les Bagnolais vont devoir déjouer les pronostics. RCBM

Boucliers des terroirs. Pour la deuxième édition, les clubs gardois reviennent à Nîmes et son mythique stade Kaufmann pour se disputer les titres de “Champions du Gard “en R2 et en R3.

You don't change a winning team. If the adage is confirmed in the sporting environment, it is also used in the organization.

After great popular success, in April  2023, for the first edition, the departmental committee of Gard did it again by organizing, again, the shields of the terroirs, this year. No Gard teams in Regional 1, the trophies will concern the Regional 2 and Regional 3 categories.

R2 : Bagnols – Saint-Gilles, to save the season

Guaranteed at the start of the season to play in this final, Bagnols and Saint-Gilles, the only two clubs in the 30th in this division, had an eventful regular season.
"We are in a period of reconstruction, confesses Hugues Solau, third line and captain of RC Saint-Gillois. The season has been complicated."

In Honor, 3-4 years ago, the RCSG finished this season in penultimate place in its group, and should go down to the lower level this season next. "We have a record of four victories for ten defeats, but tough matches, remembers the one who has played at the club for 17 years. It's true that against Bagnols, it's going to be a bit like “the final of the last”."< /p>

Difficult to contradict Saint-Gillois, when we also look at the final ranking of RC Bagnols at the end of the season (8th out of 8)
"We had difficulty this season, paying for our lack of experience, points out Yohann Denis. We wanted to qualify at the start of the season but we realized that the Ligue Occitanie is another level compared to the Provence committee at the time.&quot ;

The pillar, back at the club after a stint with Avignon-Le Pontet for the last two seasons, hopes that the club will retain its title, already obtained at the expense of Saint-Gilles, in 2023 (22-15) . "The challenge will be to keep it, in a match that is always interesting", he adds, counting on surfing the only victory for his team this season, last week, against Murviel-Thézan (20-10).

"It’is a team that is catchy, we know them well", specifies Hugues Solau, player emblematic of the RCSG, which, for the record, has beaten Bagnols twice this season, and will aim for three, this Sunday at 4 p.m.

R3: Vauvert – Daisies, shock at the top

Pool 1 of Regional 3 included six Gard clubs. Among the latter, two particularly stood out: Vauvert and Marguerittes.
Respectively second and third, behind Beaulieu, Marguerittes and Vauvert have been struggling over the last six months.

"We lost by two points at home in the first leg, in a match within our reach (10-8), remembers the captain of the RCM, Maxime Lesot. On the way back, we were able to overcome difficult conditions to win (18-6)."

Title holder in this R3 category, Marguerittes knows that he will have a hard time facing the RCV, "a solid team in front and hard to move& quot;, continues number 8.

"It feels good to start a season like that again", concedes Alexandre Sirvent, half of’ opening of RC Vauvert.

A confrontation which promises to be balanced this Sunday, with a Vauverdoise team "in final phase mode for three weeks, with matches against Marguerittes and Beaulieu, he describes. But be careful, we have a group where several of our young people will discover this type of high-stakes matches."

To make this great regular season a reality and before throwing themselves into the battle of Occitanie, Marguerittes and Vauvert will do battle this Sunday, from 2 p.m.