A port in yellow and black… More than 35,000 supporters of Stade Rochelais celebrated Sunday evening their rugby players parading aboard a double-decker bus on the quays of La Rochelle, the day after the European title conquered in Marseille.
Sunglasses on their eyes, beers or bottles of water – rarer – in hand, the new European champions harangued the crowd, under the chants “Ici, ici c’est La Rochelle”, from the top of the terrace of their bus.
“It’s magic, it’s unreal”
The city had not known such fervor since the rise to the Top 14 eight years ago, remembers Mélanie Stégémane, 50 years old and supporter of the Maritimes “since childhood”. “In 2014, it was madness, but this is the pinnacle,” she says. “We have achieved what we have been looking for for a long time,” she said, before a dozen men jumped into the water, to the sound of Santiano of Hugues Aufray spat in the enclosures of the port.
After three finals lost since 2019, Stade Rochelais, a century-old club without a major title so far, has, in the words of its historic third line Romain Sazy, “conjured fate” by beating Leinster (24-21) with a try snatched at the last minute on Saturday.
“It’s magic, it’s unreal”, proclaims, eyes half-closed and voice broken by a night of celebration, Olivier, a supporter “there for twenty years, when the stands were still made of wood”, with three copies of the newspaper The Team under the arm to “help achieve”.
“We are no longer a club of losers”
For Olivier, “the click comes from [Ronan] O’Gara”, the Irish manager appointed in June 2019, who “brought the culture of winning” to the players as well as to the public, because “before, in the final, we were already happy to be there”.
“Psychologically it’s over, we are no longer a club of losers”, summarizes, behind a smile, Amar Ouguerroudj, manager of the 404 Pub in the alleys behind the port, who “did not have a second to breathe” last night to serve his customers.
A historic night for the club, but not for this tenant: out of the quantity of beers sold, “a Euro football match with Irish tourists” represents “three times more sales” because “rugby here is still family”.