On Sunday, March 22, the Lalinde rugby club, in Regional 1, secured their ticket to Federal 3, three years after leaving this level. This Sunday, March 22, 2026, during the penultimate day of Regional 1 rugby, the Lalinde club in Dordogne, punched their ticket to Federal 3 for the upcoming season. A ticket earned in a home victory against Urca/Saint-Yrieix (28-17). A few days after this promotion, the entire Lalinde community expresses its support and attachment to the Yellow and Black team.
At the Café de la Paix in Lalinde, discussions continue about this “promotion match.” “I was on the sidelines, there was a crazy crowd in the stands, I hadn’t seen that in years,” explains Cyril, leaning on the bar counter. “It was a magical moment, an event. It’s like Paris Saint-Germain winning the Champions League, that’s how we experience it,” he says unabashedly.
Next to him, Sylvain, the owner of Café de la Paix, follows USL at every home game, and is “happy to see Lalinde back in Federal 3.” “We are a rugby land, with a former French international [Jefferson Poirot], over a hundred licensed players, and a first team that has excelled this season. It’s only natural to see them back at the federal level.”
Victor Varas, coach and “guru” of the team
A few minutes after this café discussion, the players of US Lalinde are at training with coach Victor Varas. The 67-year-old coach, well known on the pitches of Périgord, arrived in Lalinde last summer with the mission of promoting to Federal 3. “It is clear that he has met all the conditions of the project, in record time, with incredible consistency,” says Jean-Marc Mérillou, the club’s co-president. “Here, he’s a magician, a guru.”
When you observe this famous “magician,” you quickly feel the energy that the manager has managed to transmit to his players. “That’s why I came back to Dordogne, to pass on what I have because I quickly realized there was potential in this team,” explains Victor Varas. “Even though I am older, I quickly understood how a youth locker room works, it needs ‘JUL’ and not ‘Piaf’,” he jokes.
“For me, it is clear that US Lalinde was not in the right place in Regional 1 and that this club needed to be back in Federal 3. I even think that the team and the club should aim to promote to Federal 2 as well, it’s probably the perfect place for USL,” concludes coach Varas before grabbing his whistle to set the tone for training. As US Lalinde still has one more championship day to play, against Cognac, this Sunday, March 29 at 3:30 pm.
