It is February the 2nd 2024 and Belgium has just defeated Portugal under the thundering roar of a feverous partisan Mons crowd. The Diables Noirs had just got one over Portugal - a side who had impressed the world at the Rugby World Cup just a few months before - with prop Charles-Henri Berguet playing the full 80 minutes of a brutal and fierce contest.
The RC Vannes loosehead prop who ascended to the Top14 in 2024, sits down to share his memories of that glorious day for Belgium rugby.
“It was incredible. We are always the underdog, the easy-to-beat team, that one small country that won’t battle those at the top. So, to win against a team like Portugal was amazing. The way I see it, Portugal came here thinking it would be an easy game, not expecting us to fight back and rise to the occasion. We came in fully focused and ready to honour the fans and our families who came to Mons to watch and support us. That game was a stepping stone for us.”
Belgium scored an early try and kept the Lobos away from scoring any five-pointers, showing a remarkable belief throughout the clash.
“We never stopped working or thinking ‘It is done. They can’t possibly comeback from that’. I learned from my personal experience that you can’t underestimate the guy or the team in front of you. We were always on high-alert and expecting Portugal to fight back and find a way to score points. We wanted to impress everyone. If we lost by a few points, everyone would’ve said ‘Oh, Belgium isn’t an easy side to beat anymore!”. But, as we won, everyone is a little bit wary of us right now.”
Having debuted as a Belgian international back in 2019, Charles-Henri Berguet has played in some great fixtures, but was Portugal the most special one?
“Every game is special, but that one against Portugal is in a league of its own. I remember everything from that week. The team was so focused and ready to play. We are all in a good mood! Happy, and we had fun together the whole time.”
Berguet was the only prop playing the full 80 minutes, not wavering or giving up at any point in the game. So where did all that energy come from?
“I’ve always liked to run and sprint. But honestly, I didn’t want to stop running or giving my all because of my teammates. Look, I am a professional rugby player, so I am used to that type of high level of intensity, but most of them have a non-rugby job, families and still they have time to pour their souls and bodies for Belgium. When you have people like them giving 100% next to you, I must double my efforts. If I am not giving my all, then I am letting them down. If I had to play 10, 20 or 30 minutes more, I would have, for them, for my family and the fans.”
Belgium became one of the main highlights of the rugby world in the following days, with fans asking several questions about the why’s and the how’s. But did things change for the Diables Noirs?
“It is possible that after that game the fans started to see us differently, but I still heard some say ‘Ah, maybe Portugal played with a B or C side.’. I don’t know if they came with a B, C or a D squad, what matters is that we won. At the end of the day, we just want to feel proud of ourselves, of our team, of our accomplishments. Winning or losing. We know our strengths, and what we want to accomplish when the Men’s REC starts.”
After some years in the Trophy division, Belgium was added to the Championship in the 2023 expansion and has enjoyed more than a couple of good performances and positive results. With the number of Belgian players increasing in the Top 14 and Pro D2, have the clubs found a hidden special talent in them?
“I don’t know how to answer, as I don’t think there’s a specific physical skill that makes us different. What might make us special is how we are constantly underestimated. Nobody rates us as good players or a country with an interesting rugby landscape. Then, BOOM! We strike.
When an opposition thinks they will easily evade our defence, we rise to the occasion and tackle them to the ground. Even in France, we are underestimated. When a Georgian, Portuguese, Spanish or Romanian player shows up, you can hear someone say ‘Oh, he is going to be someone one day’, which isn’t the same case when it is one of us. That makes us hungry for more. We will go beyond the impossible to do our best. That’s who we are. That’s the core of Belgian rugby.”
For the loosehead prop, even in the biggest defeats, there were glimpses of hope and knowledge gained, and such was the case in his debut as a Test Match international.
“It was in 2019, and we lost 06-46 against Georgia in Brussels. We might’ve lost but we learned valuable lessons from that match. Georgia is a country where rugby has settled as one of the main sports, while in Belgium our national team was not well-known at the time. Things changed since that game in 2019.”
For the reader it might seem that Charles-Henry Berguet was born with an oval ball under his arm, but he only started playing much later in his life.
“I only started playing when I was in my teens. I was thirteen years old. Before that, I did some football and judo. One day a friend of a friend invited me to try rugby out and I stayed. I found a good team and progressed into the Belgian youth sides. I remember my first rugby sessions being difficult. I had a hard time passing the ball or scrummaging. Sometimes I start laughing thinking ‘Why did you have such a hard time learning this or that skill?’. It’s always like that, isn’t it?”
Berguet’s rise was impressive, as he started at 13, making it into the national U16s a couple of years after, and moving abroad when he was 16,
“I moved to France two and half years after I started playing. I joined USA Perpignan until the U21s and then moved to Stade Montois for a couple of months, before settling in RC Vannes. I played a couple of finals with the Mont-de-Marsan and Vannes, and last year we won the Pro D2. It has been a remarkable journey.”
And how did his family deal with his decision to move to France?
“I was never into school and studies. My mother wanted me to finish school, but I had to go to France. And if I went to France, it wasn’t to have a good time and experiment. I wanted to be the best and play against the best. I wanted to show that I could learn and get stronger. If I had to fall down to learn something new, then good, because I would lift myself and learn even more. I am still learning, and I hope I can continue on that road, as it is never finished. I don’t want to be just a guy who’s playing in the Top 14, I want to fight my way to the top.”
Berguet was one of the cogs of the well-oiled Vannes machine that won the 2024 Pro D2, a feat that allowed the Bretagne region to have a team in the Top 14 for the first time.
“Vannes, like Belgium, were the underdogs of the Pro D2. I’ve met people asking me ‘There’s rugby in Vannes?’. I know it might have come as a shock when we won the Pro D2, but we weren’t, as we know how hard we worked to achieve that goal. We knew we were going to be champions. The stadium was packed with Bretagne fans, it was a sight to behold.”
Now, the blockbuster question: can Belgium do the impossible again and fight for the right to be in the next Men’s World Cup?
“The first goal is to win. We are a capable team. We can impress fans and make a difference. I feel this is a good moment for us, with a lot of experienced guys and a good staff guiding us. We have a desire to bring victories to our fans and, at the same time, to show that we aren’t the small rugby country that we used to be.”
And how great a World Cup qualifying would be for Belgium?
“Oh, it would be amazing! Maybe I am talking too much or too early, but if we get there, maybe people will stop underestimating us. Maybe there will be more opportunities for Belgian players to play in the best leagues in the World. We can make an impact on future generations, changing the way people think about us. I want to be part of that change.”
Now, the flash questions! First… what team would he love for Belgium to play against?
“France. We have a historical rivalry. They are the country that would respect us the most, as they are our neighbours and have given a chance to Belgian rugby. Yes, we would surely lose, but if we had a good performance, I do think it would make some noise and turn some heads."
For the Rugby Europe fans travelling to Mons in February, what meal should they try?
“Definitely, carbon(n)ade flamande with French fries! And for dessert, frangipane which is a sweet almond-flavoured custard.”
The one who made it all possible for Charles-Henri Berguet to be here?
“Me. If I didn’t believe in myself, I wouldn’t be here”
And a last message for the fans?
“We want to do the impossible, to do things we haven’t done before, to surprise our fans in a way they’ve never been surprised before.”
By Francisco Isaac
Photos: Pedro Pinheiro, Vannes (DK Prod)
