On Tuesday 13th October 2015, we met 2 foreign professional rugby players who play for the SCT (Sporting Club Tulliste) Nicholas Dodgen and Ionut Florea, in order to interview them and ask them some questions about their lives here in France and their careers.
Ionut Florea et Nicholas Dodgen
Ionut Florea is Romanian and he is 27 years old. He began rugby in a small town in Romania. He played number 10 in the Bucarest team with which he did the Challenge cup. He likes stability. That is why he doesn’t often change club. He has caps in the Romanian national team, at rugby 15 and rugby 7. He has already played against Japan, Tonga, the Wallabies of Australia and it was a really rewarding experience.
On the pitch, he plays number 10 (fly-half).
He came to France for competitions and he stayed there.
His favourite French team is Biarritz. He would like Australia or Wales to win the World Cup.
He has 2 favourite players: Johnny Wilkinson for his discipline and Brian O’Driscoll from Ireland.
He loves rugby in general: the “team spirit”, the supporters and especially the vibes and the “third half time”.
His best memories are his first game in the national team when he sang the Romanian anthem and also when he won a trophy in 2010. But better than that, he saw the Haka of Tonga, at this moment he had goosebumps.
He thinks there are official rules in rugby but also non-official rules of education: “if you want to be respected, you have to respect the other”. When the coach speaks nobody speaks at the same time and when the referee speaks you can’t speak and you must respect him.
He dislikes violence. He has never been hurt badly. For him, there is no sport in which you can’t be hurt. In the statistics there are more injuries in football than in rugby.
InTulle, he trains 4 times a week. It is important for him to speak French with his coach and teammates in sign of respect.
He felt homesick the first 6 months but for him his team is like his family so he was too sad, even if he missed a lot of things, like his family. “Every time I return to Romania, it is hard to leave” he says. He thinks Tulle is quiet and people are very friendly, and he likes the French culture but he thinks people in France are less easily pleased than in his country.
Nicholas is South African . He is from Durban and he is 24 years old. He started to play at 10. He used to play in the Baby Boks, the South African team for young players. He played one season in Durban for the Sharks. In South Africa, Nicholas didn’t work, he earned money by playing rugby. After a serious injury, because of which he didn’t know if he would be able to play again, he came to France. Here he is training to work as a plumber and playing for Tulle.
He can play a lot of positions on the field, but he doesn’t often score tries because he plays in the forwards.
For him, respect is important because in a team they must work together and talk with their teammates. In his career, he only fought 3 times with opponents, and he respects his opponents.
His favourite players are Richie Mc Caw, the captain of the All Blacks who won the Rugby World Cup this year and Schlake Burger, who plays on the South African national team.
He likes going out on the field and just having fun with friends. He says “People change on the field” but maybe that is one of the best points of this game.
Now in Tulle he trains 3 times a week, on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Fridays. Even if it is just a game, he always feels pressure before a match. “If you are not nervous it is not good (…) I just keep calm and focus on my job.”
He is a happy to live in France because he admires the French spirit of mutual aid, although he misses his homeland especially the sea and the weather.
He felt homesick for his first season in France because he couldn’t speak French.
To conclude, when they talk about the moment when they will retire, they both want to stay in the world of rugby. Nicholas wants to become part of the staff of a club but he doesn’t see himself coaching teams. Ionut would like to work as a professional referee and he began his career by passing the first step.But as Nicholas said “Don’t forget rugby is only a game!”
Nicholas and Ionut were very friendly and we enjoyed this interview because it was very interesting to speak with them.
The European Section Students (602/605/606)
Les professeurs ainsi que les élèves remercient les joueurs ainsi que le staff du SCT pour leur contribution et leur présence amicale.
