Top 14 – Matthias Haddad (Stade Rochelais): “I was fed up with rugby, injuries, disappointments”

Matthias, how are you? We saw you leave the field on October 5 against Lyon, and we feared an injury to your left knee, which has already caused you a lot of problems…

It wasn’t anything bad. It was more as a precaution for my knee, because it fell a little overhang. Third row Steeve Blanc-Mappaz fell on my leg. But it’s nothing serious, I’ll only have a week. It should be fine, the tests are good. There is no problem.

Were you worried about having another relapse after two operations on the same knee?

I didn’t fear the worst, because now with my knee, I have enough experience and I knew it wasn’t very serious. It was just a little painful. The medical profession didn’t want to take any risks, neither did I. There’s no point in playing injured, I’ve done it before and it was detrimental to me. I have learned enough from my mistakes.

How do you analyze your start to the season (5 matches played out of 5, including 3 as a starter) in this La Rochelle collective which is doing well (co-leader of the Top 14 with UBB)?

It’s a continuation of the pre-season where we had a lot of energy and desire to work to achieve something. The development is positive. I’m really enjoying it again. This is what I especially notice at the start of the season. I’ve had a string of matches, but above all, I’m having a blast on the pitch and it makes me feel good to have a good time, whether on or off the pitch.

You talk about pleasure, and we see you enjoying it at the start of the season. Do you feel yourself gaining even more importance in this third line at La Rochelle?

It’s nice to say that I’m gaining importance. What is true is that I had not done a pre-season since 2021, before the season where I played in the European Cup and this final in Marseille where everything went very well for me . Being able to update again, to work hard with everyone, to strengthen my body, and to go in the same direction as the group, it did me a lot of good, both physically and mentally. It brought me freshness and a strong desire to play rugby. I’m here to have fun. It’s something that drives me to be on the field and having fun. I think it shows when I play.

You have been in the professional group for several seasons because you started early. Are you more with the older group or the younger ones?

I get along well with everyone. Honestly, I’m not very complicated to live with. Afterwards, there are necessarily greater affinities with certain people. With Reda (Wardi) for example, we went on vacation together this summer. He’s older than me, but when I arrived in the pro group, I was one of the only “young people”. We have a great group, there are only good guys. The fact that there was only one recruit this summer (the Australian Kane Douglas, Editor’s note) provides continuity in terms of link and connection on the ground. We have many common experiences that have led us to very positive emotions in the past.

Do you recognize yourself in the journey of some people?

I arrived during the Covid period, I couldn’t be with the hopefuls because of the health bubble, etc. It was a somewhat exceptional situation. The elders took us under their wing, whether it was “Doum” (Geoffrey Doumayrou, N.D.L.R.), Sinzelle, but also “Saz” (Romain Sazy, Editor’s note). I was the little one on the team who couldn’t really see his friends as hopefuls because we weren’t allowed to. I don’t know if I recognize myself in the journey of some, but above all I hope that they will not have the same journey as me with all my injuries (he smiles).

You reach the end of your contract at the end of the season. You, born in Rochelais, do you want to continue the adventure at Stade Rochelais?

I feel good here. Afterwards, in terms of timing, it was a little complicated for me to talk about my future, here or elsewhere, because I especially wanted to play and have fun on the pitch. Today, fortunately, what drives me is still rugby. No question, for example, of going to Japan to earn millions (laughs). What I want is to take on great rugby challenges. In La Rochelle, I play in a healthy club that plays on two fronts with strong ambitions. I get along very well with the staff. Afterwards, there is also this side where I might want to look elsewhere.

So your decision is not made?

We haven’t talked about it too much yet. For now, I’m really focused on rugby and playing and playing matches. Then I’ll see what happens.

Have your last two difficult years changed your mentality, your approach to the profession?

It’s interesting to talk about it. Yes, absolutely! Personally, I was able to work on myself to understand what was wrong or what I could improve. As a rugby player or as a man, I realized that there was more to life than just rugby. It may be contradictory, but the fact of not being in the field pushed me to open up to others, because I was more attentive and exchanged. It also allowed me to take an interest in what was being done elsewhere, and to become aware of the privilege that we had, as professionals, but also of the efforts and difficulties that result from our work, because it does not is not easy every day.

Have you understood why you are suffering all these injuries, these blows of fate which have stopped your rise?

There are many very different factors that come into play in this cataclysmic aspect. To enter this vicious circle is to enter a system that is difficult to leave. The spiral is simple: I hurt myself, I’m negative, I’m unconsciously brooding, I’m not feeling well. As a result, I’m in a bad mood, I train poorly and I get injured again.

When we talk about a twist of fate, there is also the bad luck factor that comes into play. Typically, two weeks ago, a Lyonnais fell on my leg. There is also the excitement of reliving the exceptional emotions that I experienced three years ago with the Champions Cup final. I have often said to myself: “I’ll come back soon, anyway, I’m made for that and not just for bodybuilding.” Looking back, I wasn’t physically ready and I relapsed. So I come back to the importance of having been able to complete a complete pre-season this summer. These pre-seasons are not here by chance; It doesn’t particularly please the coaches and trainers to make us do laps of the field. It is an obligatory path to achieving good performance and feeling better and better.

What explains your various head impacts and concussions? We talked about tackling technique, but is it deeper?

It’s the same, I asked myself this question a lot. Against Toulouse (last season, 25th day of Top 14)it was a bit too many times. To put it clearly, I was fed up with rugby, with injuries, with disappointments. I was in denial. I didn’t understand why – despite all the efforts I made – I always found myself in these situations. In fact, the answer came more from the mental domain than the technical domain. I took the approach of the player who wanted to prove, to show that he had the legitimacy to be here. It was deeper than a simple tackling technique of a player who didn’t know how to tackle, but rather the consequences of a player who absolutely wanted to prove his legitimacy, when there was no need to do so. I understood that my accumulated injuries had created frustration and negative energy that I redeployed in clumsy ways.

Did you experience it badly, the fact that some people questioned your tackling technique, an area which has always been one of your great strengths since your younger years?

In the end, it’s good for the ego. It’s all connected, I think. (The discussion wanders onto another subject). What was I originally going to say? Ah yes, the ego! These are the concussions, that… (laughs). No, it does the ego good to say that we are not supermachines that can come back directly after an injury. It’s not because we are strong in defense that we are invincible and that we can avoid getting a knockout every time. Taking this in my face did me harm, but also good, because it allowed me to do this introspection. I realized that I had to have confidence in myself, because I knew how to tackle. The problem wasn’t my technique, but rather the intention with which I was about to tackle. Concretely, if I go at 30 km/h but the player opposite also goes at 30 km/h and in half a second I have to know where he is going to go because of a change of support, I Even though I am the best tackler in the world, I will always tackle with the wrong shoulder.

To conclude, what can we wish you this season individually and collectively?

Being on the field and having fun. Today, the staff can count on me. They know it. I had feedback with them. We are working in the right direction, and then we will see. The club’s ambition pulls us upwards. All. It’s important to feed on that to be able to go further.

Do you dream of the Shield every morning when you get up?

All Rochelais dream of it. This is what we are missing and this is what we hear the most from the supporters. We want to relive the incredible emotions we experienced.