ASBH: “He loves to play, it makes him hate the game plans where we have to occupy”, “mad dog”… Samuel Marques, key element in the success of Béziers

Avec son compère Raffaele Storti, le Gersois d'origine a changé le jeu de l'ASBH. Midi Libre – Michael Esdourrubailh

Sur le devant de la scène depuis son arrivée à Béziers, après une Coupe du monde réussie avec le Portugal, Samuel Marques disséqué par ses coéquipiers ou anciens coaches/partenaires, avant d'affronter Brive, ce jeudi 29 février, à 21h au stade Raoul-Barrière.

He was one of the stars of the last World Cup, he is from Gers, number 9, and has greatly influenced the play of one of the flagship teams in his division since his return from the World Cup. We are not talking to you about a certain scrum half from Stade Toulousain and the XV of France, but about Samuel Marques. At 35 years old, the native of Condom has never seemed so strong.  

"I brought him to Carca for the same reasons that Béziers recruited him this season… it’ the compass of our team", says Christian Labit, his coach in Carcassonne from 2021 to 2023, now in charge of rucks and contact attitudes at MHR.
Arriving during the season, “Sam” brought all his confidence, after a successful World Cup with his selection of Portugal. "With “Rafa” (Storti) and him, we brought freshness, the guys were waiting for us to come back and it had a snowball effect on our results", describes Francisco Fernandes, emblematic pillar of the ASBH and the Portuguese selection.

"The more the years pass, the stronger he gets"

A World Cup where the Portuguese surprised the rugby world by winning, notably against Fiji (23-24). "Sam had a huge World Cup, notes Clément Doumenc, former teammate of Marques in Carcassonne, now third row in Montpellier. We have the impression that the more the years pass, the stronger he is."

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Fifteen years of professional career in the paws for the man who is described as "mad dog" by his teammates and former partners, among the Pro D2 (Pau, Albi, Carcassonne) and the Top 14 (Pau, Brive, Toulouse).

"It’it’s a choice he made to play in Pro D2, he has more than the level to play above, me he's the best scrum half I've played with", specifies Doumenc. Technical qualities, vision of the game, leader of men but also a player with human qualities. "For me he was an essential player, especially on a human level. Sportingly, he likes to be the boss of a group and to have the reins of the game", describes Christian Labit, with whom Samuel Marques managed to reach the Pro D2 play-offs in 2021 -2022.

Also read: ASBH: "We have a slogan in the locker room, it's: write our history", a wind of renewal is blowing over Béziers before the reception in Brive

"Excited", "at 200%", "loud", the Béziers scrum half, associated with Charly Malié at the opening this season, is doing wonders at the controls of the best attack in Pro D2. "Sam he loves to play, it pisses him off the game plans where we have to occupy…", says Clément Doumenc. "He brings us this madness, to play penalties quickly, but he knows exactly what he is doing with his experience", praises & ldquo;Chico” Fernandes.

Thursday evening against Brive, Samuel Marques will be back at the wheel of the ASBH car, to get back on track and continue to dream of a semi-final at home.

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