Rugby - The Barracudas in a video game!

Released a few weeks ago in its definitive version on the main multimedia platforms, Nacon's "Rugby 25" video game lets you play with over a hundred teams and selections, including the Barracudas of Saint-Barthélemy!
Contacted several years ago by Big Ant, the company in charge of the game's development, the Barracudas, and in particular its then president David Lestas, decided to take part in the project.David Lestas, were very keen to see the senior team appear in a video game, and an international one at that!
"Back in 2022, Big Ant contacted us to ask us to be one of the playable teams in their next Rugby game. I think they'd heard about us via our social networks, during the Antilles - Guyane tournaments and when we'd gone on tour to play in Canada a few years earlier," explains David Lestas, former president of the Barracudas. Once an agreement had been reached, the company developing the game co-signed a contract with the Barracudas, and the partnership could begin. David Lestas explains: "We had to choose from a list of 30 players to send them. We decided to take players who were emblematic of the club, both historic and more contemporary. They asked us to send them as much information as possible about the players' statistics, which we worked out together, and also their photos so that they could reproduce them identically on screen, as well as the team jersey and club emblem. "The same goes for the colors, which will be scrupulously respected.... This is not the case for the physical profiles and qualities of the players, much to the surprise of the main players concerned, such as current Barracudas 3rd row Valentin Lalo, who judges his avatar in the game: "While the statistics and player characteristics part is pretty consistent, physically, our avatars don't look like us at all [laughs]. "Of course, as in real life, we're a long way from the major selections of the oval world, and that's normal, but in terms of stats, we can compete with other Caribbean teams, such as Saint Lucia and Trinidad & Tobago. With our friends at the club, we can finally make our own line-up and decide who is the best Barras, in his position, of all time", says Baptiste Malval, a club player who spent several hours, controller in hand, playing "Rugby 25".
Like many Rugby video games, "Rugby 25" is struggling to find success with gamers, but for the Barracudas, this appearance in the video game world is a source of pride, for all those who have worn the jersey and for the club's fans. "In a way, it's a reward for the decade of sporting success we've just had. Appearing in a rugby video game remains engraved forever," concludes David Lestas. And challenging the All Blacks or the XV de France with the Barras jersey on your back, even virtually, is an experience that any fan of the Barracudas de Saint-Barthélemy will never forget.