Arcachon Bay: on Pereire beach, rugby hurts the legs of old (and new) glories

Beach Rugby Arcachon, organized by Sud Ouest and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Rugby League, brings together nearly 70 teams on Friday and Saturday. Friday evening, a gala match allowed former great players to catch up. But not all of them played.

This Friday late afternoon, the westerly wind is refreshing the atmosphere on Pereire Beach in Arcachon, and some are very happy about it. The beach is hosting Beach Rugby Arcachon, a tournament organized by Sud Ouest and the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Rugby League. In total, nearly 70 teams are competing this Friday and Saturday on a 30-meter-wide and 50-meter-long field. The field is made of sand, and that changes everything.

It's soft, thin, and therefore necessarily soft. "It's super physical," says Maxime Machenaud, the Bayonne scrum-half. "And you still have to be light on your feet, because of the sand. Usually, it's with my kids on the sand, this one won't be the same!" He's here to play a gala match with former players, UBB rugby players, players from the Bordeaux Lionesses, but also hockey players from the Bordeaux Boxers, and even Miss Aquitaine and Arcachon Bay!

“Usually, it’s with my kids on the sand, this won’t be the same!”

Some cheat. For example, Pierre Berbizier, the former number 9 and coach of the French XV, is on the match sheet but has no intention of playing: "No, let's just say I'm going to coach! It would already be complicated for me on the pitch, let alone on the sand... You have to let others do what you can't do yourself anymore!" However, he's wearing shorts. Not former Toulouse center Denis Charvet, who enters the field in jeans. Well, of course, he won't touch the ball... Neither will former flanker Laurent Cabannes: "Pfff, but no! My body has given up on me. I'd like to, but no. The beach is really not recommended in my condition."

Former heel Vincent Moscato isn't playing either. But he speaks into the microphone: "When I saw the names on the team sheet, Accoceberry, Charvet, Berbizier, all those bike pumps, I told myself I could play!" Yeah...

Others are in shorts and jerseys like Guy Accoceberry, almost 60 years old, but still fit: "It's tough, but there's no contact, it's touch rugby (you drop the ball at the slightest touch), no tackling, so it's okay. We make a few passes, we play a few two against one and that's it! Well, it's tough all the same..." He scores a try in this match where the reds win by a lot of tries against a little less for the blues.

UBB's heel, Connor Sa, demonstrates that he should be moved to the wing: scoping, passing feints, chistera, he can do it all. The Lionesses, no doubt still on cloud nine after winning the shield, put on a show. And then at the end of the first third, the Lionesses present their shield to the crowd in midfield, Connor Sa and Léo, the UBB mascot, the European Cup. The two trophies in real life. Two preteens lift the Cup for the photo. "It's the first time I've touched a European Cup, it's so cool!" He says he supports Stade Toulousain. "Pfff, he's for Stade Français," his friend corrects.

“It’s the first time I’ve won a European Cup, it’s so great!”

Everyone is happy to see each other again. "We're seeing friends, some familiar and some less familiar," says Pierre Berbizier. And without getting hurt or dying on the sand...