Headphones in his ears and a smile on his face, Lauren Adriaanse responds with a video as he strolls through the bucolic suburbs of Cape Town. Having just recovered from lymphatic cancer, the beloved former Pau Section mainstay agreed to share his experience with the disease. He has not forgotten Béarn and has already marked down the date of December 9 when the Pau section travel to Durban for the Challenge Cup.

A year ago you released a video to announce your cancer. In early August, a message to announce the layoff. But we haven’t heard much from you between the two of you…

I never meant to say this to get credit or anything. The first news was sad, it was amazing. I didn’t really want to make headlines with it. I am happy to talk about it today with better news.

How did you learn…

Headphones in his ears and a smile on his face, Lauren Adriaanse responds with a video as he strolls through the bucolic suburbs of Cape Town. Having just recovered from lymphatic cancer, the beloved former Pau Section mainstay agreed to share his experience with the disease. He has not forgotten Béarn and has already marked down the date of December 9 when the Pau section travel to Durban for the Challenge Cup.

A year ago you released a video to announce your cancer. In early August, a message to announce the layoff. But we haven’t heard much from you between the two of you…

I never meant to say this to get credit or anything. The first news was sad, it was amazing. I didn’t really want to make headlines with it. I am happy to talk about it today with better news.

How did you find out you had cancer?

It happened in 2021-2022. at the end of the season with “Sharks”. The end of the championship was difficult for me, I suddenly felt very tired. During the last two matches, I felt pain in my neck and chest. I had medical tests and a biopsy on August 1, 2022. Two days later I got a call from the doctor who told me about ‘lymphoma’. I was a little shocked at first, but I was relieved to know what was wrong. I don’t know a lot of medical vocabulary, and my wife said to me, “You know it’s cancer? »

It also meant the end of your career…

It took me a while to figure it out because I was also having a bit of a foot problem at the same time. I started chemotherapy at the beginning of September. I was still in Durban for the first two months, then we decided to move to Cape Town to be closer to my family. It was then that I had to make the decision to stop playing rugby. I was 34 going on 35. I needed to focus on healing first.

A tough decision for a player to make, even more so when it’s pushed…

It was not easy, but it is for all players. It is very difficult to end a rugby career as it is a big part of our daily lives. But through these events, I learned that ending your sports career was nothing compared to fighting for your life.

“It’s quite a heavy word, a bit taboo. People often use indirect means to avoid saying it. »

How did you deal with this disease?

What I learned is to stay positive. It’s hard to be sick, endure treatment, chemotherapy… But if you’re fighting and know where you want to go, it’s possible. I told myself, “Okay, I have cancer, but I won’t have it for the rest of my life.” It’s not a matter of denying reality, we have to face it.

How have the last few months been?

I had several PET scans. The first was in December, it was better, you could see that the tumor had shrunk. We did another scan at the end of February. The cancer went away, but we still had to go through radiation. We arranged a new scan in August, a year after the biopsy. My wife and I went there. We waited for the doctor to tell us the result, but he passed a little. I felt it was good news because he talked to me about a lot of things like the Rugby World Cup. I stopped him, I said, “Okay, doctor, but please, where is this cancer? » His answer was a great relief to me and my wife. Also for my two daughters aged 4 and 7.

Did you talk to them about it?

We told them I was sick and needed treatment. It was important to be honest with them, to involve them in this test. Of course, children don’t need to know everything. As a parent, you force yourself to put things in perspective, to smile so you don’t worry them. But it’s amazing how they understand things. It was impossible to hide everything.

And with your loved ones?

Telling someone you have cancer is hard. I don’t know that in France, but in South Africa it’s quite a heavy word, a bit of a taboo. People often use indirect means to avoid saying it. A very good friend explained over the phone, “Lawrence is sick” but he couldn’t say the word “cancer”. It’s hard, but you have to get through it. I didn’t want to be isolated. Waiting six months, a year, at home, then finally coming out saying, “Everything is fine.” I started my new activity, for example, before finishing chemotherapy.

“It was special to see all the messages I got, especially from the Paloise section”

How do you feel today ?

I became myself again… even if I’m not quite the same anymore. I feel truly privileged. I was very tired during chemo but it was still bearable. Not everyone responds to treatment in the same way, I was lucky. In South Africa we are very religious. Faith carried me, it gave me energy, inspiration. I am grateful.

You have received many endorsements in South Africa, France, Pau…

I’m not much on social media, but it’s been special to see all the messages I’ve gotten, especially from the Paloise section. It was also a consolation because along with my illness, it was also the end of my career. Like I said, it’s hard not to be able to say to yourself, “I’m going to play my last match.” The story didn’t end there for me and the messages of support made me feel good.

You no longer play, but is rugby still a part of your life?

Yes, even if I don’t play anymore, I keep the rugby “state of mind” (in French). This is one of the things I really understood in France, where everyone talks about it all the time. At first you wonder what it is, it’s hard to explain. This determination, this desire served me well in my trial. Even though I’ve moved away from rugby a bit now. I helped the local under 16 team, it was fun but the season is over. Today I’m busy with internships and accounting studies, we’ll see what happens next…

What do you think of Section Paloise’s start to the season?

Unfortunately, we don’t see all the Top 14 matches here, but I took a look at how the team looked this season, with a lot of new faces. I hope they continue like this, I always look at the ratings. The last few seasons have been tough with this battle for retention. I hope we can aim for the top 6 for as long as possible this year. Mentally, it is difficult for players to always play steady. Seeing the above creates another energy and with the World Cup it will shake things up for clubs that are heavily affected and others like the Section a little less.

Do you always say “we” when referring to a section?

(He smiles) I have a feeling that I will always be part of the Section. I spent 4 years at the club and I think it was there, in France, that I played my best rugby. It’s a shame that my friends and society at home couldn’t really see it. But it is clear that the section will always be a part of me and Pau will always be my home in France. When I left, the supporters of the 16th man gave me a cowbell, it touched me, it was very nice.

World Cup, Boxing, Blues…

Lauren Adriaanse did not miss the start of the World Cup and even enjoyed the much-maligned opening ceremony. “I know, of course, that it was an image of a very traditional France, but it reminded me of what I miss in you: the atmosphere, the art of living. » While he sees France, his South Africa and Ireland as favourites, he also notes “that neither team really played at their best in the first match”. “With France and New Zealand now having to play three matches without too much danger before a huge quarter-final, it may not be easy to manage,” he notes. He ranks the Springboks as slight favourites, “even if we’re not like the English, when the team is strong, we’re not shouting from every street corner that we’re going to be world champions! » If we had to find a weak point, “probably the lack of connection between the forward and the three-quarters, sometimes” and the inconsistency of the opener Manny Libock. “I think that France, if Cyril Bale returns to form, is one of the teams that can give us a counterattack. »