Cultivating team spirit: Loris Zammaretti, rugby player
Tales of sport: a series of testimonies in which EDHEC students – high-level athletes or those engaged in competitive sport – share their passion for their respective sports. They also tell us how their sports activity combines with their studies.
Loris Zammaretti, a first-year student in the Global Economic Transformation & Technology (GETT) programme, has over 15 years' experience in rugby. He has taken part in regional and national competitions. In this interview, he emphasises the importance of team spirit in this sport, as well as the adrenalin felt during competitions.
"I started out in athletics at the age of 7. Rugby came later, at secondary school. It combines running and team spirit, which is what I like best about it. I play full-back (number 15). As the last line of defence and the first to launch an attack, this position requires the ability to observe and anticipate in order to lead the team in both defensive and offensive phases. During a match, I make long runs, create intervals and combine with the ball. I'm always physically involved. For six years, I took part in competitions in France, mainly with a club near Montpellier, and also for a year in Portugal, during my Erasmus stay. I'm currently studying GETT in Paris and have temporarily put rugby on the back burner. I hope to be able to take it up again at Berkeley*."
Through rugby, Loris has gained in determination and self-confidence.
"Sport has given me a rigorous approach to managing my day-to-day life. The regular training sessions, at least three times a week, have forced me to organise the time I devote to sport and studies efficiently. In rugby, your team and your coach become like a second family. When I started out I was afraid of getting hurt. Although rugby is a sport of avoidance, contact is frequent and sometimes violent. What's more, there's a very strong team spirit in this sport. During matches, we fight for the team-mate next to us, so as not to leave him to face the opposing team alone."
A successful match?
"A match with an unexpected scenario. When there is strong collective action. We start with a scrum, then the ball moves from pass to pass ... At one point, one of the players breaks through the scrum, rushes forward at high speed and ... He scores a try!"
*The Global Economic Transformation & Technology (GETT) programme is available on three continents: in Europe, at the EDHEC campus in Paris; in Asia, at the SKK Graduate School of Business at Sungkyunkwan University in Seoul; and in North America, at the Haas School of Business campus at the University of California Berkeley.
Discover the other testimonies in the "Tales of Sport" series" :
Learning to extend your limits: Arthur Morel, Krav Maga world champion
Giving the best of yourself: Éva Bohnenstengel, French parasport 1,500 metres indoor champion
High-altitude sensations: Chiara Pogneaux, French slalom champion
Committed to a sport and a student association: Alexandre Marchegay, Director of the Raid EDHEC trail run
Harnessing the experience of others: Océane Sercien-Ugolin, international handballer
Developing a taste for effort: Philémon Rouault, ice hockey player
