He imposed it on all the lands of France. And it alone summed up the rugby of the past. That of greater Béziers. A team of all records, winner of 95 consecutive matches in its home of Sauclières between 1969 and 1981, eleven times champion of France between 1971 and 1984. Former international second row Alain Estève participated in eight of them. He died at the age of 77 “following a long illness”, announced Tuesday the Béziers club.
“A true legend of French rugby, legendary second row with an extraordinary physique, the man nicknamed Le Grand will have left his mark on French and international rugby,” the ASBH paid tribute to him in a press release. Capped twenty times, he was the first French international to exceed double meter.
A formidable player… and feared
This monument of greater Béziers was an excellent balloon handler, despite its large size. But it is his intransigence on the ground which has forged his reputation beyond borders. On March 12, 2006, the Sunday Times thus classified The Beast of Béziers, one of his nicknames, as the second scariest French player in history.
“It is a legend of French rugby which has passed away,” greeted the French Rugby Federation. “The disappearance of international number 618 will leave a big void in the history of French rugby. » With his extraordinary physique and his emaciated Viking face, Estève was approached to play the role of the ogre in Tom Thumb in 1972, a role ultimately played by Jean-Pierre Marielle.
Troubles with the law
Well after the end of his career, Estève made a name for himself in the middle of the night, as the owner of several nightclubs in Béziers. And in 2004 he was convicted of “aggravated pimping” by the courts, guilty of having exploited the services of young women from Eastern Europe whom he had brought to France.
Alain Estève joins his captain Pierre Lacans, the emblematic Armand Vaquerin and even coach Raoul Barrière, all figures from Grand Béziers who have now disappeared.