For him, matches against Toulon are never like any other. Gaël Fickou, a current player for Ciel et Blanc, is somewhat like an eaglet that left the nest a long time ago to spread his majestic wings.
Toulouse, Stade Français, Racing 92: the player who may one day reach a hundred caps for the French national team (currently at 98 caps) has certainly flown far from his native Var. But this Saturday, facing his former club RCT (which he ironically never represented at a professional level) will undoubtedly have a special taste.
Although nothing is officially signed yet, the 32-year-old center should return to wearing the red and black jersey next season, completing a full circle fourteen years after his hasty departure to Stade Toulousain, much to the delight of those who saw him blossom here, on the waterfront.
“It was in La Seyne that his talent immediately shone. Having fallen in love with rugby during a discovery camp organized by RCT, young Gaël followed in the footsteps of his brother Jérémie alongside Marquet. Didier Bonnabel, one of his first coaches in the under-13 team in La Seyne, remembers a boy ‘like one that comes along once in a decade.'”
“He came from a football background (and had actually been in contact with the academies of Monaco and Sochaux). He had so many sporting qualities that he could have excelled in anything. Skateboarding, basketball… In any case, he would have shone. He made the right choice in choosing rugby. ‘He had abandoned football. He felt at home in the club. With his brother and his colleagues, they spent more time at the field than at home.”
“He was clearly outstanding,” recalls Corentin Braendlin, a longtime friend and former teammate in La Seyne and Toulon. “From his first training sessions with us, we could see that Gaël was physically superior. He was tall, athletic, fast, and already skilled. We thought, ‘It’s impossible, this guy didn’t just start playing rugby!'”
“A panther with a well-made head. Behind his big smile, his star reputation in high school in Hyères, and his cocky demeanor that Guy Novès had him shave in Toulouse, ‘Chipo’ (a nickname given by some of his friends from back then, the origin of which remains a secret) is above all an enormous ‘hard worker.’ ‘He has always been quite mature,’ says the coach. ‘Even when he was in the youth center in Hyères and his colleagues went to eat at McDonald’s, he stuck to his diet.'”
“I have always known him as determined,” adds his friend. “When he wants something, he gives his all to achieve it.”
However mature and successful he may be, the boy from the waterfront of La Seyne remains a teenager at heart. “I remember a rugby 7 tournament in Annonay,” Coco recounts with a smile. “Gaël didn’t have a driver’s license, but he took the club minibus keys and we went drifting in the stadium parking lot.”
With countless anecdotes at La Seyne and RCT, the French international has not forgotten his roots – his name continues to inspire at the clubs of his youth. “When the kids here see him, their eyes light up,” says a Swiss international player. “The young players look up to him. And we, his friends, admire him.”
“He remembers where he comes from,” Bonnabel continues. “He and his brother took over USS for a while when nobody else wanted to. They also started the educational project ‘Môle à crampons’ for the youth in the neighborhood. Gaël is a figure in La Seyne.”
In short, he is the ‘little prince of the waterfront.’ Will he return to his kingdom soon? Before that, there are still battles to win, and above all, a crucial match to play.
