FACING THE AUDITORS
Since 1979, rugby has changed. At that time, Serge Blanco was still a young player, without any international experience, and worked at Dassault. To go on tour in New Zealand with the XV of France, the former back had to take a month off! Indeed, rugby was then amateur, professionalism was adopted in 1995. Serge Blanco told this anecdote, which seems today out of another time, in the program "Face aux auditeurs" broadcast Saturday November 16 on Europe 1.
"I always worked, even when I was international, the first tour I did in 1979, I worked at Dassault, I took 15 days on my leave and 15 days of leave without pay to leave. six weeks, today it's completely different! "he said. The tour of 1979 remained in the legend of French sport, the XV of France then winning the first victory in its history on the lands of the All Blacks (24-19) at the legendary Eden Park Stadium in Auckland. But Serge Blanco had not played a minute on this tour, the fault of an injury before the tests, as he told in an interview at L'Equipe . The French rugby icon waited until the following year, in 1980, for his first international match.