Rugby: for Nîmes revelation Valentin Tonin, “RCN is my club, my family, my friends”

Valentin Tonin : “Comment ne pas s’épanouir ici ?” – PHOTO ARS DESIGN

A pure product of Nîmes, Valentin Tonin, a 23-year-old third row, is one of the revelations of the season of the Nîmes Rugby Club in National 2. Midi Libre lets you discover him.

A shadow player at the start, Valentin Tonin, a young 23-year-old third row, has made a place for himself in the RCN's first team since the start of the season. First as a model teammate in each of his outings, never shirking his task. Before becoming a recognized leader and captain of the first team. “On the field, he sets an example. He was not expected to be an undisputed starter”, recognizes manager Guillaume Aguilar.

From “not an indisputable starter” to captain

Benefiting from regular playing time (11 match sheets including nine starts), he even earned his captain's stripes six times. Several reasons for this express promotion: “The injuries, even the poor performances of the other captains (Barnerias, Phillips and Vialle, Editor's note) . And then Valentin has gained maturity, justifies Aguilar. He has this ability to remain lucid and calm in front of the referee. He is exemplary in the fight. He has made his place with his ability to transcend himself on the field. His love of the jersey does the rest “.

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The flanker has, it is true, known all the categories within the Nîmes club: “I started playing rugby at the age of 10 with Serge Sassolat and Gérard Bantchik. And apart from a few months in Espoirs at Angoulême, I only knew the RCN”. A boon for the president Steeve Calligaro: “He has the DNA of our club in him. In terms of communication, he is a real asset, with our partners but also with the Kaufmann public. He allows you to tell a great story. That of the Nîmes team so dear to our supporters”.

“Here, I live my love of rugby to the full”

A state of mind that matches the player. “This club allows me to be, with my faults and my qualities, what I am. To live my love of rugby to the full, without taking my head, with players like Charles Robbe and Romain Darmon.”But also to be in the lineage of former emblematic players who were his educators, like Nicolas Alcalde or Tim Daniel. “I wanted to experience another type of rugby in Angoulême, to try my luck at a higher level. But it's not my thing. For me, rugby is above all a story of family, of friends. And my club is the RCN“, confides Tonin, selected for the French university team in 2024.

The enlightened opinion of the old hand Michel Bérard, who knights him

Words that can only seduce the old hand Michel Bérard, who has seen players come and go… “He's a big-sided third row. More of a runner, even though he's constantly evolving. He surprises me, for example, with his jumping skills. We see him more and more with the ball in his hands. And then, as captain, he's above all someone who leads by example.” A role that the player fully assumes. “How not to flourish? With the game played and the harmony that reigns in the group, it would be difficult to say otherwise…”

A player who, as a good third row, likes the “chocolate” zones, of combat, the one that fans of Nîmes rugby are crazy about. A captain worthy of the RCN DNA, even if today he is not yet “the team's strategist. Other players take on this task. But if he continues his progression, believes the Gard technician, he can become more and more decisive on this factor of performance with more experience”.

The Nîmes – Bédarrides match: a derby to (re)start

MATCH The Christmas break is over, it's the start of the National 2 season. With a match between RCN and Bédarrides, this Saturday at 7:30 p.m. at Kaufmann (14th day), a “classic” that French rugby is full of. And revels in. A match like no other. A derby with its share of shared stories, rivalries and anecdotes the shovel.

Between Gardois and Vauclusiens, the rivalry is old, and presents all the attributes of a real derby. This season even more, with two teams neck and neck. A small point separates the Nîmois (5th with 42 points) from the Bédarridais (7th, 41 pts). To say that today's match has such an important stake is therefore a gross understatement. In the first leg, the Provençaux s’és were imposed 24-14. It's time for revenge.

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