It's not an insult to you to say that you score little. However, after your double in La Rochelle against Lyon in October, you scored another with the Blues against Japan. A new vocation?
I don't take it badly: it's sure that it was a little unexpected (smile). When you look at the last few seasons, I'm not a great scorer. But when the opportunities present themselves, I take them.
Didn't you surprise yourself when you got up after your second try?
Completely. Afterwards, these were still two “hiccup” attempts: I didn’t make any big flights over 40 meters. Each time, it is the result of two small pick and gos without much pace. But it's still two tries. My parents were there, they were super happy (smile).
In terms of emotions, how did you experience this selection?
It was special since I returned prematurely thanks to, or because of, Thibaud Flament who injured his iliac crest. It almost allowed me to have the same playing time as if I had started as a starter. The two attempts were the icing on the cake.
Is it easy to come home in such a hurry?
Yes and no. We play for the French team, at the Stade de France: we only expect one thing, which is to return. I was prepared to return at any time.
You have often had an understudy role until now in the France team. The competition seems more open on this tour. How do you approach this?
There are a lot of great players on the third line. It's complicated to find your place among all these beautiful people. It's never obvious when we see the guys alongside us, with what they've done in the past and what they continue to produce today. But the dice may have been rerolled this time. Alex (Roumat) started, we were also used to seeing Antho (Jelonch) and Charles (Ollivon) on the sheet: the composition has changed a little. But everyone brings the same positive energy to move the group forward.
You declared during the last Tournament that a simple tenure is not a goal in your eyes. What is it then?
To find your place in the group: that is to say, to become a player you can constantly count on. And not just in a flash, when someone is injured or because another player performs poorly. When you achieve this status, I think it's very rewarding.
“If at the end of my career, all we remember is the fact that I was physically good, that will make me a little sad”
When we talk about your profile, we talk about a physically impressive player. Is it reductive?
If at the end of my career, we only remember the fact that I was physically good, that will make me a little sad (smile). It would be nice if people said that I was also a good rugby player. Otherwise, I might as well only enter bodybuilding competitions (laughs).
Beyond this match against Japan, it is your start to the season which is convincing. What do you attribute it to?
I tried to take a step back from rugby. Without worrying, I just try to have fun on the pitch. It sounds like a broad phrase, but it's nothing more and nothing less: I try to have as many positive thoughts as possible. This is what I have been trying to put in place since the start of this season. So far, it's working pretty well.
You have always presented a form of apparent freshness: was it just a facade?
Let's just say that there were things that could bother me a little. I'm not talking about criticism, which can be constructive, but about the little everyday things: I dwelled on it too much, it took away my energy. My personality has not changed, I remain the same. But I make sure to only focus on the positive. When you are good in your head, you are good on the field.
You will face New Zealand on Saturday who have just won in Ireland and England: what impressions do these Blacks leave on you?
They are in good shape, right (smile)? The Irish had not lost at home for a long time. The challenge is there for us: if we can be the only team in the Northern Hemisphere to beat them, that would be a great message. We can succeed where other nations have failed.
