With his usual frankness, the scrum-half agreed to return to the news from Toulon, a few days before a difficult trip to Perpignan, and from the XV of France, with whom he experienced affairs during the tour in Argentina. At the end of his remarks, the kid from Parentis also gave an update on his personal situation while his contract with Toulon runs until 2026.
Your collective performance against Bayonne impressed observers. How do you explain this sudden progression in your offensive game?
For several weeks, we had been looking for a more open game. We didn't want to play in the hallways anymore. We managed to do it, and obviously everyone is getting up to speed in terms of repositioning. We also had more freedom in our game because we went into the corridors. We played less with the forwards. In our game plan, the positioning of the guys is very specific. We saw that it worked, and again, we could have made it much easier. That's what bothers me a little.
The players all noted this last point at the end of the game… Isn't that too harsh a judgment?
Everyone had a great time, but there was still the turning point of the match with the interception of Smile (Mathieu Smaili, Editor's note). After that, the group let loose again. We must still remember our very average twenty minutes, where we left the game to Bayonne. We fell back into indiscipline. From this match, personally, I came away a little disappointed with these twenty minutes. I also take responsibility for it. I think I'm part of why it went wrong. There's a kick over the top that I shouldn't play, a touch I didn't find. The team's pace dropped, and I'm responsible for that. I had to pick up the pace even more to stifle Bayonne. We still have work to do. There is improvement, it can be seen, but we can say that there is real progress once we have passed the Perpignan test. We will have to be better.
For several years, Toulon has been traveling to Perpignan with ambitions and each time, there is a defeat with a face below expectations…
I join you. Since I have been here, I have the feeling that there are two fields where we never play matches that resemble us. There is Bayonne, where we gave that lie a little last year with a great victory, and Perpignan. There are always little things missing during these trips. We were never strong at Aimé-Giral. We know where we are going, the environment is very hot. Perpignan never leaves anything to chance when playing at home. It's a very enterprising team, that's part of the very difficult travel. The fans are incredible. It’s a club that’s very similar to us. There is this Mediterranean character that comes into play. There will be no secret: we will have to stay in the match for 80 minutes.
It’s also a trip just before the Champions Cup…
It's not really special. This time, it's Perpignan. If it had been another team, we would have had to concentrate on another team before switching. We have to try to do better than last weekend. Obviously, to come back to it, there is this context. In Perpignan, you don't set foot anywhere. You have to go there with humility. It will be very hard. For afterwards, we will think about the European Cup, even if it is not a European Cup since we are going to South Africa (he makes a face)…
What do you think?
It excites me to play the Stormers, but to go there, we're going to do 1000 hours of flight (sic) and take three planes… In a schedule that is what it is… The schedule is too hard! We're only going to practice once next week. The context is tough. It's going to be tough in difficult conditions, since we won't be in the same season. Since the restart, we've been preparing for this, and I can tell you that it's tough in training. I think we may have had the hardest weeks in a long time. We finish washing. We prepare accordingly.
To come back to that, for several weeks, training has been very different compared to the start of the season. Is it only a desire of the coaches to prepare for the Champions Cup or also a request from the group?
The staff has taken matters into their own hands, but we also operate with a group that delivers the feelings of the players. We have a group of guys who pass on each other's messages. We follow the training model, but we give feedback. When you're a player, you sometimes have expectations or questions about certain things. We have a very open staff, but yes, we have changed small details, particularly in the warm-up phase before matches in order to better attack our matches. The staff is very attentive, and is never closed to discussion. We are in the best conditions, even if it is really hard on a daily basis on the ground (laughs). It’s even too hard at the moment in training (he laughs). It's longer, more intense, with contact… Everyone wants it! It's great. There is no secret: you are in a match what you are in training.
We feel like a group that is much more confident in its strengths…
One thing has changed in Toulon, it’s the state of mind. The state of mind is incredible. We never give up, never anything. We are not particularly more conquering, and for example, we were not at all in La Rochelle, during the first day. We defended the whole match, but we were able to get a defense in La Rochelle, in a stadium where it is difficult to take a point. That laid the foundations. In Toulouse, nothing smiled but we never gave up. For me, we never failed in the fight this year. It has to continue.
When you came to a press conference, you often insisted on the psychological fatigue you felt in recent months. How are you personally at the start of the season?
It's okay, but I'm not going to lie to you: the group has me, the staff has me. The club is finally working. This year may be the hardest I have ever faced. It's hard mentally and physically. I have to look at myself in the mirror, be honest with who I am, and above all be honest with the guys who make this group. I try not to give up, even if I am not satisfied with my start to the season. Within matches, I am too irregular. I can be very good, then suddenly not so good… Physically, I'm in a bit of a rough patch, but I'm hanging on. I know it will come back. The main thing is not me. It's the club. And for now, the band is holding me and getting the job done!
Why do you have this wear?
It's a whole, a sequence of everything. I also have events happening in my personal life (he's going to be a dad, Editor's note). It's something that takes energy from me. I think it's normal. I have to take care of myself, but the guys are there to support me. In this group, we take care of each other.
Do the events of the summer still have an impact on you? The president of the FFR also highlighted you in these matters, because you had been designated captain of the XV of France during this tour.
(He thinks) I remain a Rugby player. I'm focused on being a rugby player. Everything that happened there touched me deeply. It has more importance than my personal case, and everything else in fact. All these stories touched me, deeply, but I took refuge in silence. The rest… It's politics! I'm not interested. I don't want to waste energy on this. I have no say in all that, I'm a rugby player. Here as in the French team, I work with the aim of ensuring that the groups are well on the pitch. That's the most important thing, that's it.
You are at the end of your contract in 2026 with the RCT. You are an executive of the club and one of the oldest. Is your future, now 30 years old, part of this nervous fatigue?
It's part of a whole. I'm starting to get old, too, which makes me think it must take time. (He thinks) Everything depends on here, everything also depends on elsewhere. For the moment, I have an event that will happen in my life and which will take up a lot of my time (smile). I have more important things in my life, and they are imminent. I'm not spending too much energy at the moment. After becoming a father, I will think about it. For the moment, I cannot answer you. To be honest, there is nothing.
In your mind, do you still want to stay?
You know, I'm not going to be the sole decision maker. In these situations, you should not make plans wildly. I have seen so many cases in rugby. Sometimes guys want to go somewhere, but the club isn't interested, and you end up somewhere else. When you want to stay, you also have to see if your club wants it. Rugby is like that. I know him very well, and I have a lot of friends in this industry. Player stories… there are so many! For now I'm sticking to this: I don't want to make any plans on the comet.
