Three weeks after he was appointed coach of Portugal, to compensate for the departure of Patrice Lagesque, historic World Cup captain of this small country with a population of 7,000 licensed (victory over Fiji, draw with Georgia), Sebastian Bertranc, 53 years old, resigned. .
“Last August, during initial discussions with the Portuguese leaders, we identified a workload that, although very heavy, was compatible with my job if I went part-time.“, explains Brive and Clermont’s previous editorial. However, the team’s results at the World Cup sparked a lot of requests from other federations and I could no longer take this position. »
The job he doesn’t want to leave
Three matches have already been added to the programme, one against England this winter, two against Ireland next summer, with the others still being validated. He added: “This means additional weeks of preparation and it is no longer viable for me or for the Portuguese.” Because in the initial project of Sébastien Bertranc, a government agent and training coordinator at CREPS in Montpellier, there was no question of leaving his job.
“I have a great job, I train rugby coaches, which means I tour the clubs, I monitor them, and in my opinion, this was a real added value compared to the job of a coach. It is one of the elements that convinced the Portuguese Federation, which seeks to develop rugby in its broadest sense, With someone who will build with the clubs. My vision for the job was to integrate my position and not be closed off to the performance “tube” where the focus is only on the team and the matches. »
After several discussions, both parties preferred to terminate the contract quickly, to allow Portugal to find a new coach. “There is no shortage of candidatesBertrand thought, I received over twenty resumes from coaches who wanted to join my staff; Others who wanted to intervene sometimes. » It remains for the Portuguese Federation to find the right person among all those who will present themselves.
