“In 40 years, I will no longer be here, but rugby will be standing more than ever, because it is eternal”. At the start of the 1980s, Roger Couderc thus evoked a sport dear to his heart. The media impact of the World Cup in 2023 confirms his prediction. His three decades of live on television, but also on the radio, are undoubtedly not unrelated to the popularity of the oval ball. The images that Madelen invites you to discover were shot on May 19, 1983, at the Parc des Princes, a few moments before the start of the France – Wales match. The journalist has decided to retire. It is therefore the last time that he provides the commentary of a meeting.
Flashback…We are in the mid-1950s. A young reporter at RTF, Roger Couderc is spotted by Pierre Bellemare, who hires him on emerging television to host the sporting event of his game La tête et les pieds. His passion in his voice, his way of experiencing the event earned him a promotion. He is entrusted with commentary for wrestling matches broadcast in the second half of the evening, twice a month. At the foot of the ring, he is indignant against a masked wrestler who calls himself the White Angel. He also suffered the wrath of Firmin, presented as the valet of Bobby Duranton, and was unleashed against Roger Delaporte. The latter responds with a helping hand that sends him directly into the audience. The exchanges are lively but are essentially comedy. For Roger Couderc, this is not a problem. Upon arriving from his native Lot, after having tried, in vain, to enter the Beaux-Arts to pursue his passion for painting, he took theater lessons. He has become a potential actor whose role will however be limited to playing his own character.
At the beginning of 1959, extracts from matches from the French rugby championship began to be broadcast on Mondays in the 1 p.m. Television News. The idea of entrusting the commentary to Roger Couderc comes quite naturally. He knows perfectly well a sport that he practiced in his younger years, in Souillac, with more or less happiness. A year later, he took the next step with, for the first time, live commentary on international matches. A first test was attempted on February 18, 1961 during a test match between France and South Africa, in Colombes, at the Stade Yves du Manoir. The teams separate with a score of 0 to 0, but the big winner is Couderc. From that day on, he became the “16th man” of the XV.
Thanks to him, the broadcasting of a match on Saturday afternoon on small screens, becomes a family meeting. Men, but also women and children share his way of living each encounter, as well as his vibrant “Allez les petits! to encourage Pierre Albaladejo, André Boniface, Walter Spanghero, Jean Gachassin, Amédée Domenech and so many others. Each time, he never misses an opportunity to put on a show, to put himself in the shoes of the supporter, with all his excesses. Depending on the number of points scored by the France team, he goes from laughter to tears. He is capable of lashing out at a referee’s decision or exclaiming, after an extraordinary try, “Now that I’ve experienced this, I can die!” » . Dismissed, like many others, from the ORTF after the strikes of May 1968, he continued the adventure on the radio, on Europe n°1, before returning, seven years later, to television. Also present in Sports-Dimanche then at the start of Stade 2, he shows other facets of his talents by interviewing Jean-Paul Belmondo and Brigitte Bardot, at the height of his glory, whom he called “madame”, which made you smile.
He also participated, on July 13, 1966, in a Song Awards, during a surrealist sequence: in front of a delirious crowd, he performed a song by Albert Préjean Pense à ta Mère, accompanied by Guy Lux and Claude Francois. Finally, for the Invisible Camera, he played the role of the puncher at Les Lilas station. A few travelers recognized him. It’s quite normal. A locomotive in the metro is noticeable.
