Rugby union: Samuel Roche, Kaufmann's favorite, returns to write a new chapter

Après une saison blanche, Samuel Roche a “faim de rugby”. RCN

Après une saison blanche à Hyères-Carqueiranne (Nationale), l’arrière Samuel Roche effectue son retour au Rugby club nîmois, en Nationale 2. Avec une grande envie et beaucoup d’humilité.

A year ago, Samuel Roche left Nîmes to experience another championship. That of the Nationale, with Hyères-Carqueiranne, under the leadership of Var manager Grégory Le Corvec and ex-international Sébastien Bruno, a former Nîmes player. He wanted to taste this third division that the Rugby Club Nîmois dreams of.

"I learned a lot about myself"

Weary, victim of torn knee ligaments against Nice, future French champion, the 26-year-old full-back had a blank season. He was often seen last season in the aisles of the Kaufmann stadium, supporting his former teammates.

"This is obviously not the season I dreamed of, the experience I came for, says Samuel Roche. But, oddly enough, I learned a lot about myself. I became aware of the demands that this division required. It will be useful to me, without a doubt."

Top scorer in Fédérale 1 in 2021-2022

However, he knows that on the pitch, after so long without playing, "it will surely sting", even if he has resumed training since March with Hyères-Carqueiranne and has "forced himself with the club's physiotherapist, Manu Esteban, to do high-intensity sessions intensity".

The former top scorer in Fédérale 1 with the RCN (359 points scored in 2021-2022) and one of the great architects of the rise to Nationale 2, has "hungry for rugby. I come back with a lot of desire but, above all, a lot of humility. I still have a lot to prove, to prove to myself.

Prove yourself again

Samuel Roche knows it, despite his status as a former RCN player and Kaufmann's favorite, he will have to (re)prove himself. "He will have no choice, he will have to work to get his place, says Nîmes manager Guillaume Aguilar. He is a player who has undoubtedly learned from his experience at Hyères. He has matured and he knows what he wants now, especially after his serious injury. We know his very valuable kicking game."

Where will he be used, Samuel Roche being able to occupy all positions in the back lines with a predilection for that of fullback? & quot;We don't know yet", replies Aguilar.

The player, in any case, can't wait to get back on the ground and rise to this new challenge with the RCN.

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