Thomas Roques, Millau hooker on the verge of the Mister Rugby amateur final

Thomas Roques est arrivé à Millau à l'été 2023. Midi libre – Maxime Cohen

Thomas Roques est arrivé à Millau à l’été 2023. Cette année, le Millavois s’est illustré au rugby à 7 mais aussi sur le concours insolite de Miss et Mister rugby Amateur.

Hookers are used to dirty work. In the rucks, putting your head where a normal person wouldn't put their hands, in the scrums, forgetting yourself for your teammates… In short, unflattering tasks that don't encourage you to put yourself forward above the team.

So it's elsewhere that Thomas Roques, the SOM hooker, puts himself forward. On the Mister rugby amateur competition, launched by the Facebook page “Rugby amateur”. On the principle of volunteering, players from the Fédérale teams apply, are selected before being announced on social networks for participation in the competition.

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Prompted by a teammate

The Millavois gave in under the influence of Léo-Paul Fournier. “It's another one of his good ideas, he smiles. I was coming back from Dubai and I thought it could be fun.” So the application was launched and the notoriety was on its way. “When my profile was selected, the whole team supported me and against Fréjus, on the first ball I caught, a player opposite said “watch out, the star has the ball”, it was good-natured!” This unique adventure quickly ended, the Millavois did not have enough votes to qualify for the final.

A medal in rugby sevens

Another surprising face for a hooker, Thomas Roques is also part of Esprit Sud, a rugby sevens team. “I always did Seven when I was in Montpellier, since 2014, when no one wanted to participate.” Then in 2018, he joined Esprit Sud. “It's true that I don't have the typical profile of a great athlete who runs fast, but I'm enjoying it more and more.”

Last year, he participated in a tournament in Portugal and this year, he was in Dubai for a new experience. “It's been three years since I was taken, but it was a success, he is satisfied. So it's sure that it's a small medal, I call it the medal of the useless, but we're still very happy.”

Well at SOM, his tenth club

Arriving from Vichy in the summer of 2023, he finds a little stability in Millau. In addition to playing under the Millau tunic, he works at the Marc & Jeny butcher's shop. “It's still my tenth club and I'm not even talking about moving anymore, I was immediately won over by SOM. We feel that there is a real expectation around the club.” And this despite a 2024-2025 season that is much more complicated than the previous one. “This summer we saw that it was going to be a year of transition. But I didn't see a single impregnable team, if we do the job, we should ensure survival in January.” No reason to be discouraged, however, the Millavois is ready to lead the fight with his teammates.