Joris Segonds was the unfortunate hero of Paris’ semi-final defeat on Saturday evening against UBB. The fly-half missed the corner conversion that could have sent his team into extra time, hitting the post for the third time in the match. For Midi Olympique, he agreed to share his feelings on Sunday afternoon. Without any filter, with a lot of lucidity and sincerity.
How do you feel the day after this elimination and after missing the conversion which would have allowed your team to equalize, giving you the possibility of playing extra time?
At the time, it was hard. Very difficult. I had a wave of emotions in my face. I had the opportunity to offer my partners a deserved extension and I failed. I would have liked so much to be able to reward all these guys who had given everything to get this last try. Honestly, the guys had an incredible state of mind. Besides, I saw them all running towards me after my failure. It was strong. Really. I still have chills this afternoon (Sunday). It’s a strong image for me. A goalscorer often bears a heavy responsibility alone. But honestly, yesterday, I never felt alone. Neither at the final whistle, nor during the evening that followed. Everyone, the players, the staff, the managers, the supporters, everyone had words and gestures for me. It is heartwarming.
Do you still feel a feeling of guilt?
I definitely blame myself. It was not an ordinary match, it was a ball to potentially play a Top 14 final. Many players, like me, will leave the club in the coming days and I was also sad for them that our adventure was ending. ends like this. It really pisses me off. Afterwards, no one knows what would have happened in overtime. Maybe we wouldn’t have won either, but I had the feeling that the momentum was more in our favor and the Bordeaux team were at 14.
Is it easy to speak today?
If I am able to speak today, it is thanks to my partners, their expressions of sympathy and all their expressions of affection. Nobody blames me. I have experienced other difficult times in my life, I always got back up. And that’s what I’m going to try to do again.
Icon Sport – Scoop Dyga
Before this last transformation, you had already hit the post twice. Did you think about it before setting off?
No not at all. Besides, I don’t know if you paid attention, but before I got ready to hit, several guys came up to me, without making noise, without talking to me, but to give me a kiss, to hit me in the face. my back, to support me. I knew I had the trust of my partners. I knew what my responsibility was at that moment. Besides, I thought about it even before we scored the try. Deep down, I said to myself: “Damn, with the work that the big guys have done, I can’t screw it up.” So there…
Does leaving Paris with this last action leave you with an even more bitter taste?
The last image people will have of me in Paris is this failed transformation. It’s an image that will remain engraved and will perhaps haunt me for the rest of my life. That’s how it is, that’s life. Afterwards, at the time, I didn’t necessarily think that I was playing my last match. In my head, I still had the idea of playing one last one next Friday in Marseille. At the time, I didn’t realize that my adventure in Paris was over. I had this feeling later that evening.
Deep down I said to myself “I can’t miss it”
During the season, you experienced sometimes difficult relations with your coach Karim Ghezal. Did you still feel his confidence before the meeting when we had, more or less, made you understand that you were not the priority choice in the middle of the season?
I know very well that if Zach (Henry) had not been injured, I would not have started in this semi-final. I was perfectly aware of this. Now it’s the law of sport. You have to take what you can take. Period. I told the guys they could count on me. Regardless of my relationship with the coach, I was ready to give everything on the pitch, for my friends. This club made me grow as a player and as a man. I discovered the Top 14. The moments I experienced in Paris, I will never experience them again.
Did not feeling like the priority choice change anything in your approach to the match?
Nothing at all.
What will you remember from your years in Paris?
I experienced so much in this club. It became my family. I arrived in Paris, I knew nothing. I was a young Cantalou who arrived from his countryside (laughs). I loved it. Great rugby players are good in a team. But for me, the most important thing is the men. And I can guarantee you that at the Stade Français there are some really good guys. We are a very criticized team, a lot of people don’t like us. Certainly, Stade Français has a president with a lot of resources, a club that is too rosy, but people don’t know how strong the soul of this team is. What made us strong this season was our state of mind. On paper, we don’t have the best players in the world, but what we have managed to do all season is the result of very strong cohesion and exceptional links between us. Without this unity, we would never have achieved this season with this second place at the end of the regular phase. Yesterday, I sometimes had the feeling that every guy was ready to leave his life on the field.
: “It’s an image that will perhaps haunt me all my life”){kind=link}