“I’m going to buy my opponents a drink,” apologizes Henri Lacroix at the end of the semi-final he won with his friends Philippe Suchaud and Philippe Quintais. A few minutes later, the generous spearhead of the trio, who does not yet know at this moment that he is going to win his 4th Europetanque, returns to the entrance of the boulodrome. He shares the reasons for this overwhelming domination. Like many athletes, he emphasizes the concept of a team.
You were the star of the semi-final. What spurs you on so much?
Henri Lacroix: (Embarrassed.) “I may have played a very good game in the semi-final, that’s true. But we had a very, very great Philippe Suchaud who shot very, very well. I think if he hadn’t shot as he did, perhaps we wouldn’t be here” (sic). We also have a phenomenal Philippe Quintais in point. I think we form a quite cohesive team, a team of friends. We enjoy playing together. We compete in one or two tournaments a year, all three of us. So, it’s the motivation of playing together that makes us play well.”
How do you handle the pressure when playing in front of so many people?
H. L.: “It’s not easy! Especially in Nice. I was, after all, licensed for 7 years at the DUC of Nice with Quintais and Suchaud. And it’s not easy because we have a nonchalant audience. They always demand a little more. I don’t know if we are well-regarded here or not… But hey, we have people who are with us. Others are against us. We have to deal with it. It’s not easy to manage. […]”
Since when have you been playing pétanque?
H. L.: “I’ve been playing since 1986, the year I turned eleven. The desire came thanks to my dad, who was a boules player. He used to take me to the pétanque grounds. In a way, I followed in his footsteps, even though he never played at a high level. He was very good, but always had health problems… So, he was content to play in his category. And I am very proud to have followed my dad on the pétanque grounds and to have succeeded today.”
According to you, why is pétanque such a popular sport?
H. L.: “It has evolved a lot. It’s mainly thanks to television, thanks to you, the journalists, who do a good job and allow pétanque to become more and more popular. In the coming years, we can evolve even better.”
