A prize pool and a documentary for posterity on rugby player Cédric Rosalen, appreciated by all

The emotion aroused by the brutal disappearance of Cédric Rosalen, on January 9, 2024, at the age of 43, from a pulmonary embolism, is still there, palpable through the fundraiser launched to make a film, a documentary which will tell for eternity what beautiful person he was. This fundraiser, created by his friends from Narbonne, mobilized 773 donors for a final revenue of 26,421.45 euros, beyond the objective set at 25,000 euros.

“This prize pool for a film (it would initially be distributed in cinemas in the region), this is the best idea by far. This will allow his spirit to be perpetuated, a sort of immortality of this excellent rugby player, particularly gifted and recognized for his kicking game and obviously a benevolent unifier in life,” believes Gilbert Ysern, former president of the Rugby club. of Narbonne who saw him play under his governance for three seasons before his departure for USAP Perpignan.

A collective emotion during the official tribute

He himself underlines the collective emotion felt at the stadium on February 24 during the official tribute and especially during his funeral in his village of Ouveillan (Aude). Legend has it that that day, January 11, in the pouring rain, they were nearly three miles in an uninterrupted line between the heart of the village and the cemetery and the water from the sky on their faces mixed with their tears.

“We had to reopen the prize pool last week because people did not have time to participate. Children themselves took a few euros out of their piggy bank to give them to their parents and appear in the solidarity credits of this film which will tell the story of the man behind the player and will be filmed from June,” indicates Etienne Garcia, 32 years the director in charge of the work and who remembers with precision the great Narbonnais player that he was, with his famous and endless kicking training sessions after the collective sequence, his smile, his kindness.

“An ability to create emotional bonds”

This player scored points in a match (record holder for the number of points scored, 32, in a game for years) but also the spirits. “Cédric is one of the men who have this generosity and this ability to create emotional bonds such that everyone loves them. On the ground he was a conquistador. In his costume of light, he made the orange and black colors of Narbonne shine. He combined sensitivity, generosity and skills which made him quite unique,” ​​says Gérard Bertrand, president of the Corbières XV amateur club of which Cédric was the coach and who won everything in the regional division last spring.

Because after having worn the jerseys of Narbonne of course, then of Perpignan, of Montauban, of Carcassonne, he had become a remarkable federal coach first of Didier Codorniou’s Aviron de Gruissan then of Corbières XV. At the same time, he was also the coach of the Valence-Romans association for the kicking game.

“We fought so that this prize pool remained an individual and personal experience and that communities did not participate in the financing of this film,” explains Bertrand Malquier, the mayor of Narbonne, while the player’s influence has gone far beyond the framework. from the city.