the essential
He celebrated his 200th match in Vannes, during the first match of the season, with the “red and black” jersey. A milestone far from insignificant for Dorian Aldegheri who agreed to delve back into his Toulouse memories, with the humility that characterizes him.
You were rested during last week’s match in Montpellier, notably because of neck pain. How are you feeling this week?
Yes, I had a little problem with my neck during the match against La Rochelle. I felt better but when I resumed training it was less good, so we didn’t take any risks. For this week, I’m in the circuit and we’ll see if I’ll be called up to play.
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You recently celebrated your 200th match with Stade Toulousain (in Vannes, on the first day). If someone had told you, when you started with the pros in 2013, that you would reach this number of matches, would you have believed it?
No, honestly, you can’t project yourself that much. It’s not possible when you start to say to yourself: “My goal is to play 200 matches”. I gave 100% for this club, for my friends, for the coaches, the directors, the medical staff, the supporters… I live my life as an athlete, there is competition, so you give it your all, the coaches trust you and it makes you want to give back that trust… (smile).
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Did you feel anything special when you were told you were going to compete in the 200th?
To tell you the truth, Cyril (Baille) and Julien (Marchand) and I had been watching for a while… (laughs) And honestly, I don’t care… even if it’s still pretty cool. But I wasn’t counting every match, etc. That said, it had been a while since the different Rugby sites had the right counts (laughs). So several times I asked the club members: “Is it good? It must have been there” (he laughs). And in fact, they told me no, that they had the right counts and not to worry about it.
Were you challenging yourself with Baille and Marchand?
We’re not going to say that we were pushing each other, on the contrary, we’re happy for each other. Cyril, I know it’s not long away, Julien too… But I did it before them (smile). Afterwards, they have a lot more selections than me with the French team, so it balances out very largely. They are far ahead of me in terms of matches played. But it’s something to play 200 matches at home, with the club that trained you. That’s what counts.
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If you had to choose three highlights from your 200 games, what would they be?
I’ll start with the match against Oyonnax in the Top 14 play-off (in 2015). It was the very beginning of my career and at the end of the match, I was told that I would not be loaned to Carcassonne (which was planned by the staff at the time, Editor’s note) and that I would stay with Stade for the following season. It was a very significant moment for me. Then came the titles. Especially my first. Well, it wasn’t exactly my very first in 2018-2019. I was really happy for the team but I had torn my cruciate ligaments that year and I couldn’t play in the last few matches. So when I say the first, I’m thinking of 2021 (against Stade Rochelais, 18-8). I was a substitute but I played the end of the final and it was really huge for me. Because I had in mind this sentence that Ugo Mola had said to me, the year before. I was injured, we were accompanying the group that was going to play the final. At that time, Ugo came to see me and said: “At the next one, you’ll be there.” A sentence like that, without you noticing, it leaves a mark on you. I always had it in mind, telling myself, I have to get there, we have to get there, we have to do it. I always tell myself that playing in finals is a chance, that it might not happen again. And then to come back to memories, it’s difficult to choose but it’s the titles, in the Top 14 or the European Cup, they are unique moments every time. And today, there are also these moments when I see my son (Nino) and my family in the stands, after a match, it’s extraordinary. I can’t choose three in fact. There are far too many.
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What is your view on Joel Merkler and David Ainu’u, the next generation of right pillars at Stade Toulousain?
These are guys who are hungry. They will go far and I am very happy because they are very good guys. As much as they are very good on the field and as much off it, they are great guys. We give them some advice but they are gifted… The future is assured.
