France captain laments 'complicated' week after Argentina defeat
NEWS: France captain Baptiste Serin applauded his side’s efforts in their defeat in the second of two tests against Argentina after a ‘complicated’ week for the national team.
France won the first Test in Mendoza last week, but the victory was soon overshadowed by two seperate scandals that affected the camp’s preparations – losing three players in the process.
Forwards Hugo Auradou and Oscar Jegou were arrested on Monday following the first Test and had been formally charged on Friday after being accused of the rape and assault of a 39-year-old Argentine woman at the hotel the French national side stayed at.
The accused duo denied the accusation and claims that the sexual relations with the woman were consensual.
France fullback Melvyn Jaminet were also removed from the squad last Sunday following racist comments made in a video on social media.
“It’s been a very complicated week,” said Serin after the 33-25 defeat which left the series tied at 1-1.
“But it was an international match and there was only one thing that motivated us, only one thing we could control, and that was what we could give on the pitch.
“And we gave it everything we had.”
Coach Fabien Galthie spoke of “a trauma” within the camp but stated that his side worked hard to try and get the win following their defeat in the second Test.
“We had to deal with it, we had to work together,” said Galthie.
“We had to do it for the match, for the group, for the delegation. We put a lot of energy into this work, this commitment, throughout the week.
“We really wanted to win. There are a lot of things to remember from a defeat. We took the knocks, but the players reacted really well in the second half. They can be satisfied.”
Theo Attissogbe, who played with Auradou and Jegou in France’s World Cup winning Under 20 team last year, said the arrests had had an impact on the squad.
“Inevitably, it wasn’t an easy week,” said the 19-year-old Pau wing who made his debut in the series, scoring in both Tests.
“We tried to put up the best front we could, each in our own way because everyone is different. We tried to do the best we could, to stand together, to pull together.
“And that showed in the match. We tried to put in a huge commitment, a huge fight. I’m not saying it was easy but we did our best.”
Emilien Gailleton – who’s a club teammate of Attissogbe admitted that it will take time to get perspective on the events that unfolded this past week.
“Of course it’s complicated. I think we’re still having trouble realising it because we were still in a match week where we were trying to concentrate,” said the 21-year-old centre.
“I hope I’ll manage to make the most of my holidays and not think about it too much, but maybe over the next few weeks we’ll really start to realise it.
“This is my generation. We don’t know how things will turn out, we’ll just have to wait and see.”
The accused duo will remain in custody until a hearing to determine if they will await trial or be placed under house arrest.
Should they be found guilty – they could face anything from eight to 20 years imprisonment.
