Pita Godinet : « To pass down a bit of knowledge and my footy experience »
We have met Pita Godinet, Villeneuve-sur-Lot new player from the NRL and the Wests Tigers, he tells us his arrival and his ambitions.
Pita, can you introduce yourself in a few words ?
Pita Godinet, I am Samoan. Born in Christchurch, New Zealand.
Why did you choose to join Villeneuve ?
I heard a lot about the history of this place from coach Julien and wanted to help out and be apart of this culture.
How complicated it was moving from the NRL and the Wests Tigers to Villeneuve ?
Wasn’t too complicated! I was off-contract with the Wests Tigers and didn’t have anything in place for next season. When Julien asked me if I wanted to come over and play, I wasn’t too sure about it because I’ll be leaving my family behind and I am use to having family around especially for my wife who is family orientated person! I guess it was the feeling of taking a leap of faith and exploring this side of the world and experiencing life over here.
For your first season in France, what are your personal goals ?
To learn how to speak the french language and to pass down abit of knowledge (footy experience) to the team. And to win the comp !
Are you planning to stay in villeneuve for more than a season ? As a coach maybe in the future ?
I haven’t thought about coaching a team just yet. We will see how this season goes first ! I like take it one step at a time and don’t like to rush into things. but if I can learn to embrace the culture, and when the time is right, then you might see more of me in the future.
After your first game, what did you think of the team ?
We have very good competitive individuals. There is a lot potential in the team. Even thou we didn’t come away with the win, With abit more training together as a team, try to eliminate the errors, we can put ourselves in a better position to win games.
Julien Castagnet
