from Top 14 to amateur rugby, Arthur Joly looks back on his career

Although he is no longer very young – for a professional player that is – he is still Joly. The 36-year-old right pillar ended his 16-year professional career in the 2024 off-season. Arthur Joly will no longer set foot on the pitches of Top 14 or Pro D2 but continues to carry around his beard and show his power on the pitch amateurs in a player-coach role within the Lot-et-Garonnais club of AS Layrac (Fédérale 1).

How do we go from Perpignan in Top 14 to AS Layrac in Federal 1?

We are leaving the Top 14 because we are no longer old enough and we all have an expiration date, especially at this level. It was going too fast. I was overwhelmed by the speed and the mental load it required. I consider that I have had a sufficiently large and rich career. It’s over, that’s fine.

We say to ourselves that after 16 years at the highest level, you might want to take a breather?

It’s the love of rugby! We all start by being passionate, it takes guts. For me in any case, this passion never left. Obviously, Federal 1 requires other things than the Top 14. There are much fewer demands on a daily basis. It seemed normal to continue. I’m not farting all over the place, so it’s still okay.

You take on the dual role of player and coach, which one brings you the most?

I was a pro for “X” years, and as a result, I learned a lot of things. I find it logical to be able to pass it on to boys who haven’t had the chance to be pros, or who simply haven’t wanted to. I find it interesting to be able to show them a couple of things.

“Wine [Atonio, NLDR]I think I’m not wrong in saying that he has become a friend. We had different backgrounds, but apart from that, we had a lot in common”

AS Layrac is renowned for welcoming a number of former pros, did you know any of them?

There is Viliamu Afatia with whom I played in Agen (2013-2016) or even against him when he was at Racing, UBB and Bayonne. Afterwards, I knew Opeti Fonua a little bit, with whom I had played a season (2013) at the SUA. Lysiate (Fa’aoso), I didn’t know him, but this world is so small…

You took your first steps in Federal 1 during the victory at Lourdes (17-23), what changes the most compared to the professional level?

There is less pressure than among the pros, but I am still a competitor and I want to win all the time. On the other hand, I was obviously very happy to return to the field after my ankle injury. It is mainly physically that there is a gap. In Top 14, all the pillars are very strong physically. The first difference I saw was that visually, the pillars are not the same.

During the first scrimmages, is a former pro always above his opponents?

In terms of pure strength, these are boys who are less trained. So obviously, when you train less, you can develop your strength less, it’s natural.

“If we can add a little “cuteness”, a little brotherhood with the referees, I find that normal, they are an integral part of the game”

What do you remember about your career, from Stade Français (2008-2011) to Perpignan (2021-2024), via SU Agen (2013-2018) and Stade Rochelais (2018-2021)?

There have been several periods in my career. Agen was super important for me. Fighting for the maintenance and survival of a club in the Top 14, frankly, it pissed me off several times. I really thrived there. And then, playing the leading roles in Pro D2, that is to say aiming for the title and promotion, is really interesting.

When you arrive in La Rochelle, do you change your objectives?

This is the second phase of my career. La Rochelle made me grow up wanting to win all the time. The objectives for the club are not at all the same. The guys are fighting for the title. And there, in my way of analyzing things, it was different. There were no more “away” matches, for example, where things were difficult due to a lack of squad. They fought everywhere, all the time, to win as much as possible.

You had tough competition for the position with Uini Atonio, how did you deal with it?

I don’t think I’m wrong in saying that he became a friend. We had different backgrounds, but apart from that, we had a lot in common in our lifestyle habits in general, in the family context. And we got a lot closer. Uini is a reference to the position. The proof, when he wanted to stop the France team, Fabien Galthié and his staff did everything for him to come back. It proves the importance of the boy and his qualities,

You are also a “customer” of TV zapping, you talk a lot on the pitch, especially with the referees…

If we can add a little… I don’t know how to say it, a little “cuteness”, a little brotherhood, I find that normal, they are an integral part of the game. I have always spoken to the referees, but not at all in a way of trying to direct them. I’m not in there, the referee is always right. But in fact, before, there was no microphone and I was already speaking.

We think of this famous exchange with Romain Poite where you called each other “naughty”…

We talked about it again afterwards, we even remembered each other. I told him it was funny today. He told me I shouldn’t change. I told him I had no intention of doing so at all!