Mathieu Giudicelli, the general director of Provale, agreed to comment on the case of the young player from La Rochelle, Oscar Jegou, who tested positive for cocaine, after a Top 14 match. It was August 20. Two days before, during an evening with friends, he consumed this drug, which is very present in the world of rugby.
“To err is human, even more so when you are young. It fell on him. It is a profound evil in our society which also affects rugby, and rugby at all levels. We must not overwhelm him but help him, support him. I saw that the La Rochelle club had decided to lay him off. I don’t know if it’s the right decision, the ideal sanction. Is it necessary to beat him? The institutions must take up the subject, the Federation, the League, the unions must take this problem very seriously.
“Everyone needs to take responsibility”
Mathieu Giudicelli, the general manager of Provale
I have repeatedly asked for the establishment of an addiction prevention program; everyone must take responsibility. There is a psychological support program, it’s good but it’s not enough. It’s a dangerous substance and when you take it when you’re playful, young, and everything is fine, you’re fine. But when you find yourself retired, when you have to deal with this little death, this end of your career and in addition, there is an addiction to cocaine, the situation can become dramatic with divorces, bankruptcies… A few days ago, a former French international called me to ask me to be interned in a psychiatric hospital because of this addiction. And it’s not the only one. It’s a reality. »
“This is not trivial, and it will have consequences on the image of French rugby”
Sébastien Calvet, coach of the under-20s
Sébastien Calvet, the coach of the under-20s, also answered our questions about the positive test of a player he knows well and appreciates very much.
“For the moment, I do not have official confirmation but if it is true… Cocaine is a scourge which affects French rugby, sport in general and society too. The problem is that young people have too easy access to this drug. There may be a danger for a young person who joins a professional group if “dads” have certain practices. Without any ambiguity, I condemn this act, and I hope, as I read in your article, that it is a youthful error. This is not trivial, and it will have consequences on the image of French rugby, of French sport in general, because our sport is not the only one to be affected.
Again, I strongly condemn the act, but not the man. Oscar is a good boy, must take responsibility for his action, and understand that it is not excusable. There is a body of sports teachers in the Federations, I am one of them, and we guarantee a certain ethics. And there is a desire on the part of the Federation to propose these subjects in its programs. When a player enters a pole, he is aware of these subjects, we talk to him about them every season, all the time, the discourse is continuous. Oscar was part of it, and I don’t think he must have understood the seriousness of his act, and that it was more stupid than evil.
I hope it’s an isolated act, a first time, an act which is only festive. Because we are also in false representations about this substance which would facilitate recovery, that is what we hear. A young person, if he has good hygiene, if he doesn’t go to bed too late, if he doesn’t drink, he doesn’t need that. Frankly, I’m surprised, I know him well, he’s a good boy, he was leader of our team, he was our captain. I condemn, the Federation too, what he did but we must support the man who must be in distress. We are heading straight into the wall because today we have the impression that this is the norm. It’s illegal and very dangerous for your health, and young people don’t seem to realize it…”
