“To fall into depression, into addictions, there are a million paths. There is only one way out: ask for help. » Rodrigo Capo Ortega gave valuable advice to the Aviron Bayonnais players he met in front of the Canal + cameras and its “La Clinique des Sports” section.
The emblematic ex-Castres Olympique player gave a speech to make these Top 14 players aware of the difficulties that can appear once retirement arrives. He suddenly had to remove his crampons when Covid-19 stopped the country and the French Rugby Championship.
“I didn’t want to believe it,” described the Uruguayan international. I started to be in total denial. What I felt when I had my depression was someone entering your body without asking your permission and starting to eat away at you little by little. »
“I hit the walls, my wife was scared and I understood that I had crossed the line”
Rodrigo Capó Ortega’s poignant speech to the players of the@rowingrugbypro on his depression 😞
Excerpt from La Clinique des Sports, available in replay on the CANAL+ app 📺 pic.twitter.com/6JX5VbN5rt
— CANAL+ Rugby (@CanalplusRugby) October 29, 2025
“I crossed the line”
“Falling into a very big depression”, the man who played in the 2003 World Cup in Australia recounted painful moments during which his behavior became problematic for those close to him. All in front of the moved looks of the Bayonne players.
“It was a day where I crossed the line, really,” he said. In alcohol and other things. I became very aggressive. Where I hit the walls, I made holes like that. Where at one point, my wife was scared. She went upstairs with the children. When I see it rising, I begin to realize that I had gone very, very far. It clicked at that moment, I had to get help. »