Mesnel proves there can be life after ‘the little death’

Dubai: ‘La petite morte’ or ‘the little death’ is how many sport stars euphemise retirement. But former French fly-half Franck Mesnel’s story is unique, given that he managed the unlikeliest of transitions from rugby to fashion for his life after sport.

Having run on to the pitch donning pink bow-ties, blazers and berets during his playing days for Racing Club de France in the mid-1980s, Mesnel was unaware that he had already begun marketing the Eden Park brand. What had started as a joke between teammates turned into today’s high-end fashion label and consequently ‘saved’ the 51-year-old from the sudden vacuum that usually consumes ex-professionals.

Marc Cecillon, Mesnel’s teammate at two World Cups, was an extreme example of such decline, fatally shooting his wife at a garden party in 2004 after a battle with depression. He was handed a 14-year prison sentence and served half.

In light of the difficulties facing former players, Mesnel is now an advocate for diversification and support for his contemporaries from a generation that left the game without today’s focus on reinvention.

“Since my first cap the company was already created,” Mesnel told Gulf News. “When I retired in 1995 the brand was strong enough to continue. There wasn’t any question of what players call ‘the little death’.

“You have to compensate. You’re losing time when you’re a sportsman. If you stop your career at 30 years old without any knowledge or education, you’re lost. It’s impossible to imagine your next life while stile playing, but you cannot stay on your image of being a star. Knowing some players sometimes it’s really difficult to come down.

“I’m from a generation that had to move its backside. We had enough to eat but not live seriously. It was necessary to consider that moment was exceptional, that the privilege would stop, that you had to look to your future, keep an eye on money and use that for your next life.

“Studying while playing was an excellent balance and it’s crucial to have another passion for a balanced life. I honestly found a life of just rugby boring.”

Most of Mesnel’s teammates have found a way to “jump again”, as he puts it, but Cecillon’s story stands out as a warning. “It was very hard for him. He concentrated on rugby thinking everyone would help,” Mesnel said.

“We know where he is, he’s trying to rebuild his life, and we 15 guys are never far away from him. If he really needs help we will be there because this is the way we are in this collective sport.

“It was hard for me. I know Marc and meet him quite often. But I understood, really understood, why this occurred.”