Arriving with his only suitcase in Argentina at the age of 20 in 2017, the second row of the French XV Thibaud Flament finally had a “fabulous” year in Argentina, crucial for him who did not go through the classic route of professional players.
Seven years later, having become a major player for the Blues with his 28 caps, the Toulouse player returned for AFP on this passage before returning to Argentina on Friday at the Stade de France (9:10 p.m.).
QUESTION: How did you end up in Argentina?
ANSWER: “My parents moved to Belgium when I was three years old. At 18, I left to study in England because I wanted to carry out a dual project of studies and rugby. I had a year of internship to do in my course, which I decided to do in Argentina because I wanted to taste another rugby, to discover another country.”
ANSWER: How was the arrival?
A: “When I arrived in Argentina, I had no internship, no place to sleep. I had a club, however, because I had met Marcos Ayerza (Argentinian international pillar with 66 caps, Editor's note) who was playing for Leicester Tigers at the time. He was from the club I ended up playing for (Club Newman Editor's note), and he was the one who opened the door for me. Before that, I had set up a club. short video of me playing, which I had sent to all the clubs in Buenos Aires so that they could take me. I had 2-3 returns, but not that many. When I arrived, I got. was picked up at the airport by the team manager. It was 6 a.m., he took me straight to play the club match.
Q: What do you remember from this experience?
A: “It’s an important step in my development as a player and a man. To be free for a year and to try to build my dream there, it was fabulous. I was very well surrounded. I also experienced another way of approaching rugby, with much more lightness and 'happiness'. Before, I was perhaps too rigorous on performance, on preparation.”
Q: There are also memories of the asados [barbecue argentin NDLR] post-match?
A: “We had two training sessions per week, one on Tuesday and one on Thursday. After all the lessons on Thursday, there was an asado. After my matches there were third halves a little old-fashioned where all the teams meet. When club A plays against club B, there are the five teams from club A playing against the five teams from club B on the same day. Everyone sat down, ate, etc. , it was leaving in the evening. Nice, I started in the E team and finished the year with the A.”
Q: You notably met the twin brother of Felipe Contepomi, the current Argentinian coach.
A: “Yes, it was his brother, Manuel, who I had as coach of one of the teams. It seems to me that I had met Felipe there, but also when he was in Ireland, at Leinster. “
Q: After the victory against New Zealand, is there a risk of decompression on Friday against the Pumas?
A: “We want to continue the momentum we are on. We don't want to taint these two victories with a defeat at the end of the tour. The motivation is there. We are all aware of the possible danger what would be a relaxation after a good performance Even if we won the match against New Zealand, we could very well have lost it, it was decided by one point (30-29, Editor's note).”
Comments collected by Florian SOENEN
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