XV of France – Journey, inspirations, music: Who is Noah Néné, the surprise guest on Fabien Galthié’s list?

This is the big surprise on Fabien Galthié's list. While he is playing in Pro D2, center three-quarter Noah Nene (20 years old) is one of the 42 players called up to prepare for the reception of Wales (01/31, 9:15 p.m.). Amazing with the ball in hand in Pro D2 since the start of the season, he caught the eye of the coach, in his first real season with a professional group. In mid-September, he gave us an interview to look back on his first steps in Dax.

• Football and judo, younger

It was in the capital, at the age of 12, that Noah Nene started rugby. Before that? “I did judo and football. My mother wanted me to change my sport a little. I was focused on football all the time. I did a year of rugby, I returned to football, but ultimately, I missed rugby”, he explained to us four months ago. “He played football at a good level, in Cachan, near Bagneux, his agent Antoine Ratinaud told us this Wednesday morning. He even had to take the tests for the National Football Institute (INF) in Clairefontaine”.

• Paris didn't keep him in Crabos' first year

It was within RC Val de Bièvre, the club from Villejuif (94), that Noah Néné had his first license. “It's a club that's near my house. I played there up to the Alamercery category, then I moved to a dual license with Stade français Paris. However, I didn't play much with Stade français Paris, but I often trained with them. Paris didn't keep me for my first Crabos year. So I went back to RCVB, I worked and I returned to Stade Français in the second year of Crabos. At the beginning of the season I didn't play much and in the middle of the year they started me and then I played all the games that were left. After that, I signed my first contract at the training center.”

• A shoulder injury that slows everything down

In Paris, where he is gaining momentum, and while the selections of the French U18 team have spotted him, a physical problem slows down his progress. “In my first year with the hopefuls, I played three games, then I got injured for the rest of the season. There, everything is going very quickly… I have just signed my first contract, Clermont and Racing had called me, I am doing the three stages of the Supersevens and the shoulder injury comes a bit like a sledgehammer. I was disappointed. I didn't tell myself that it was over, but that it was going to be very complicated to come back. The club still chose to extend my contract after my injury. For my part, I didn't feel very deserving, because I was pitiful. I really wasn't in my right mood, and when I returned from my injury, I had to start from scratch.”

• The underside of a loan to Dax

It was in Toulon, on December 30, 2023, that the three-quarter center discovered the Top 14. He will then play two additional matches, against Clermont and Leinster, before joining Dax, in the form of a loan. “For the year 2023-2024, I wanted to be loaned. A few clubs wanted me to come, but Stade Français didn't really want me to. For the following season, the option of a loan was obvious. Jeff Dubois contacted my agent, Antoine Ratinaud, who told me about it. Basically, it wasn't supposed to happen, the staff wanted me to stay in Paris, but we pushed a little, and it happened. As Laurent Labit and Jeff Dubois know each other, that made it easier.” Antoine Ratinaud continues: “Dax was looking for a twelve to be able to blow Jale Vatubua and Jeff likes to try shots with the young people. There, we see that Noah is the starter in all the big matches.”

• A gifted attacker, expected progress in defense

Very quickly, in Pro D2, Noah Néné showed his speed and power with ball in hand, to offer some spectacular actions. “I don't like to talk about myself too much, but I had some not too bad matcheshe told us in September. Afterwards, it is certain that there are things to improve”. Starting with his defense. “I wish I was a little harsher on the man. I would also like to be cleaner on offloads and improve my vision of the game in front of the defense.” “In the game without the ball, he is like a young man of 20… He is a little lazy in certain phases, smiled Jeff Dubois on the evening of the victory against Mont-de-Marsan. On the other hand, with the ball, he is extraordinary.” “Todaycontinues Ratinaud, Noah weighs 108 kilos, he runs at almost 36 km/h and has a huge left foot. He has progress to make in defense, it's true, but he has a monstrous athletic dimension and these days, there are very few prototypes like that..”

• Ambitions et inspirations

Number twelve tall (1.92 m) and powerful, capable of easily breaking tackles and difficult to stop when thrown, Noah Néné has ambition. Jeff Dubois says of him that he “enormous potential”. He was also selected for the French U20 team. When the speech is intended to be cautious, and Dax is assured that maintenance is the priority, he dreams big. “I think we have the capabilities and the group to make the final phase”, he said this fall. On a personal level? “I want to have a big season and then my goal is to spend my entire career in Paris and to break through when I return there.”, he assures. Among the players who inspire him, he cites, pell-mell, Wesley Fofana, Ma'a Nonu, Sonny Bill Williams and Semi Radradra.

When he's not on the rugby field, Nene plays video games and enjoys cooking. “He has culinary skillsconfirms Ratinaud. He gets that from his mom. He makes very good Ivorian dishes.” On a daily basis, the young man enjoys the calm of the city of Dax, even if he goes less unnoticed there than in the capital. “The people here are friendly, they come to you. It's a small town, everyone knows each other. It's very, very different from Paris. There, people didn't necessarily know me. With football and PSG, they don't care too much about rugby”. Outside of rugby, Nene enjoys music and piano. “I make a lot of them, I have one at home. I studied music theory for five or six years, then piano for seven or eight years. I did small concerts. I stopped when I got into rugby”.

It was at the end of the day, Tuesday, that Noah Nene learned that he was going to be called up to the French team. “When he called me to tell meconfides Antoine Ratinaud, It took me five minutes to believe him, because he's a little comedian who likes to make jokes. There ? He's on cloud nine. Nobody expected it, it happened very, very quickly. It’s a huge pleasure and a huge source of pride for all of us. He doesn't realize too much and he is very impatient to be in Marcoussis.”