Homecoming King
J18: Vannes @ Grenoble
Steeve Blanc-Mappaz has now worn the captain’s armband for three different clubs.
Born at altitude in Albertville, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes, most of his hometown’s heroes are skiers, not rugbymen. A claim he could make too. When he began playing semi-professionally for SO Chambéry, he supplemented his income with part-time work on the slopes.
In order to sign his first contract, he had to turn down steady full-time employment, which didn’t go down well with his father: “He was very angry with me at first. He couldn’t imagine I could make a living this way,” he told Le Dauphine in 2016.
Luckily for Les Éléphants, he stuck around, and it proved to be a purple patch for them. During his time there he became a star, stalwart and eventually captain. They were promoted into Fédérale 1 and reached the final for promotion to Pro D2, losing 35-9 to Nevers.
But Mappaz earned his promotion another way. He left to join RC Vannes for the 2017 season, before moving to FC Grenoble, where he really made an impact.
For six seasons he served the Alpine club, becoming captain in 2021 and leading them to two finals and multiple playoff runs. In the 2023 season he played over 2,600 minutes and scored nine tries, featuring in 34 matches for Grenoble. That season they reached the playoff final, but were beaten by Vannes, whose fairytale run carried them into the Top 14.
Again, Mappaz found his way in France’s top division by transfer. His standout year caught the eye of Lyon in 2024, but, despite a promising start, a mid-season coaching change saw him fall out of favour.
Which meant that in September, he was loaned to the Brittany side, after the loss of Francisco Gorrissen to a broken arm.
Such is his reputation among the Breton fans that when he was announced as a medical joker the response was overwhelmingly positive. Since then he has become one of the most reliable veterans in the squad. He’s started 12 of 14 possible matches, become a target in the lineout, tackled his heart out, and now been given the official title that he had already earned through his performances.
On Friday night, under a deluge of rain in the familiar cold of the mountains, he ran out of the Stade des Alpes as captain, but for the first time, wearing the colours of the opposition.
The teams started with two near-identical excursions in each other’s half.
The first points went Grenoble’s way, taking the three after a penalty. Vannes, the more confident side, tapped quickly, took on the contact, and scored a few phases later.
RCV were determined to play into the elements. They went with a lot more up-and-unders than usual, the combination of thin air and driving rain bringing the ball down even wetter and weightier than usual. And it paid off.
The FCG back three felt the pressure, especially after they lost their starting fullback. The repeated kicks led to big gains from unforced errors and Vannes soon added three more points to extend the lead to 10-7.
The commentators kept reminding everyone just how much it was raining. The ball was glissant, humide, and difficile. And as well as the open play taking a hit, the set piece suffered too. Penalties went either way at scrum, and the hookers would have been better off playing Chifoumi to see who got possession at the lineout.
But both teams stuck to their kicking plan. The reliance on the boot felt apt considering the faint outline of the centre circle and six-yard-box from Saturday’s Grenoble Foot 38 match.
Eventually Elliot Roudill made a solo break through the rain, moving so fast he stopped the drops in their tracks, like driving through a tunnel in a downpour: momentary silence, then a sudden rush of sound. Richard Judd ran a superb supporting line, scoring on his first start (and continuing the tradition of Vannes scrum-halves looking like back rowers.)
When Maxime Lafage failed with a Ronaldinho-esque backheel to keep the ball alive, he only succeeded in giving Grenoble an attacking lineout. Several phases later, they scored to close the lead to four points. The home side’s big hooker, Bastien Soury, who looks like the second-stage Pokémon evolution of Dave Cherry, was unstoppable at that range and narrowed the visitors lead to 17-13.
The rain eased in the second half but the temperature dropped. The Grenoble fans were all huddled in one end of the stand for shelter, giving the stadium an oddly empty feel from certain angles.
Early on Vannes’ penalty count kept climbing. In response, Romain Trouilloud continued his perfect kicking streak, and Grenoble went ahead for the first time all game.
The visitors seemed tired, cold, and disinterested. And the home side were patient and hitting a rhythm, so Jean-Noël made the necessary substitutions. For the first time this season the replacements were expected to reclaim the lead, usually they’re closing games out at this stage.
But Vannes just couldn’t stop committing penalties. The 12th came at the 62-minute mark. The whistles kept killing any chance of momentum. You were left with the sense that, with twenty minutes to go, Vannes had no idea which lever to pull to win the game.
Their only hope was that one of the umpteenth up-and-unders would finally be dropped. Other than that, the counter-attack plan was simply to run into a wall of FCG defenders and lose five metres.
In this hopeless scene, came a saviour. When searching for someone to pull a lever, Michael Ruru found one hidden in the floor. He stayed low, moved fast, and snapped the ball away from every ruck, helping organise a sustained attack for the first time all game. Then, though Grenoble fought everything off, his speed was too much. A subsequent penalty for offside gave Ruru the chance to take a quick tap and dive over.
Vannes wanted to make it hard for themselves. Off the restart, they gave away three penalties, which turned into three lineouts, and ended in 30 metres lost up the pitch. There, Vannes not only conceded the try that cost them the lead, but lost a player with it too. Juan Bautista Pedemonte was sent for ten and Grenoble took a 26-24 lead with just four minutes to go.
The best teams find ways to win anyway. Even when it seems they don’t deserve it. Even when the home crowd are against them. Even when there’s only two minutes to go and you’re searching for a turnover. Luck was on their side, but la chance, ça se provoque.
Grenoble took the ball inside their own 22 and looked to set a few easy phases before exiting. But the ball came loose after a lightning fast jackal from Hugo Djehi. Then, rather than spill out normally, the slickness sent it spiralling away. It was scooped up, moved through two quick passes, and finished in the corner by Pierre Boudehent.
It was a try that felt too easy for the situation, considering the huge effort that Grenoble had just made to get the slightest sliver of a lead. The kind of bad luck that leaves an even worse taste in the mouth of the spectators.
The whistle blew and Vannes had come away with the points, despite a defensive bonus for the home side, with a final score of 29-26.
A win is a win. They all count. No matter how ugly. And although Vannes have been difficult to assess this year, there is one consistent thing about every performance. The result. And the head coach agrees.
“We’re very happy with our home record but we also know that some teams didn’t come to our ground with their full squad ,” Jean-Noël Spitzer said after the game. “So we don’t know how to properly assess these wins. Away matches are where we need to be most motivated.”
Vannes will be glad, but a little surprised, to get out of Grenoble with a W, a place where only one other team has won this season. One man in particular said so afterwards, Blanc-Mappaz:
I’m truly lucky to experience moments like these. I never thought I’d come back to play here. That’s how things go. I really enjoyed seeing familiar faces, people I have a lot of affection for. All while staying focused on the match. Because today, I’m a Vannes player, and we came here to win…That was important.
A bittersweet result for Blanc-Mappaz, but one that he earned and won’t rue for too long. Grenoble still have a chance to get into the playoffs this year, and Vannes have to focus on what they’ve done best, winning games, week in and week out.