Of great hope when he discovered rugby sevens in 2021 as part of the French team. In three seasons, Rayan Rebbadj has established himself as one of the very best players on the sevens circuit (102 matches, 251 points including 28 tries). Better still, captain for the first time in his career during the Singapore stage at the beginning of May, the number 26 should, barring an earthquake, represent the Blues at the Olympics. His daily life between the RCT – his XV club – and the selection, the Los Angeles stage or even the arrival of Antoine Dupont… The 24-year-old winger confided, a few weeks before the Olympics that the Blues (winners of the world circuit in 2024) are approaching as favorites.
As you only play in 7s, and are part of the selection’s key players, why do you return to Toulon between each stage?
Simply because I am under contract with the RCT, so the question does not arise: when I am not with France VII, I have to be in Toulon. I receive the training sessions scheduled by the selection staff, then I take a ball, some cones and I train alone.
Isn’t it frustrating to see your RCT friends training and having to have a separate session?
It hurts my heart a little, of course. (laughs). Well, it shouldn’t be said, but I sometimes do a few skills with three-quarters! But as soon as it gets intense, I stop. I don’t have the right anyway. As I do not have the right to be selected for a Top 14 match [il a joué deux rencontres en début de saison, à la demande de Pierre Mignoni], because the FFR and the RCT have reached an agreement. With a view to the Olympic Games, I am benefiting from “making available” for the entire season, so as not to stupidly waste energy on stringing together the Top 14 matches, the VII stages, the outings. returns to Marcoussis… It had cut me off a bit in previous seasons, so we found this agreement. Because there is no question of arriving burned at the Games.
But how do you manage to motivate yourself when you put on your crampons to go running alone?
It’s certain that when you put on the GPS to go back and forth, while the guys are doing a group session, it’s not the height of fun. But hey, I benefit from the facilities and medical staff of a professional club, and I see the benefits as soon as I find the selection… It’s not the penal colony either (laughs)!
Have you ever thought about putting the GPS on the shoulders of Jiuta Wainiqolo or Gaël Dréan?
Many times, seeing me sticking my tongue out, guys offered it to me! But no, I work for myself. Work is the reward. I will never stop.
Talking about the game, what has rugby sevens brought you?
VII is a lot of sequences and repetitions of tasks. So I progressed in cardio, while it was already one of my strengths (laughs). For the rest, I improved on the tackle, the passing technique, the rucks. The changes of support also. Or the speed. I went from 33 to 36km/h, while gaining weight. It’s positive.
You are now part of the selection and should participate in the Olympics. Are you going to make a childhood dream come true?
The Olympics are something that doesn’t exist when you’re a kid. Finally, it’s an event that we see on TV, and which makes all the kids dream, because we all want to be the fastest, the one who throws the furthest… But who can claim to make the Olympics a sensible objective? Who can imagine that he will be on the other side of the TV (laughs)? And finally, the VII fell on me without me expecting it. And inevitably, over the years, it became a goal. It’s in France, it’s a global event, there will be family…
Did they take their tickets?
No not yet!
Because they are superstitious?
No, because they are waiting for mine (laughs). More seriously, it’s obvious that I dream of being at the Games. [la liste officielle tombera le 8 juillet]. I only have that on my mind. I want to help the guys, show myself, please the club, my friends, my family. I hope I will be on the list… There are 20 to 25 of us who are regularly called for 12 or 13 places. We’ll see.
Since your victory during the Los Angeles stage (the first for France since 2005, even if it then won the Madrid stage), the Blues have been one of the favorites. What has Los Angeles changed?
We worked so hard to one day pay for ourselves and win a stage… Training courses in Fiji, New Caledonia, climbing dunes on boiling sand… And we did it. We had had positive signs for a few weeks, but Los Angeles was inexplicable… In fact, we knew. We had crazy confidence in ourselves. We told ourselves that something was going to happen. We had this feeling. And this success clearly allowed us to understand that we were capable of beating anyone. We understood, a few weeks before the Olympics, that it was possible…
Since Antoine Dupont joined the adventure for the Games, the VII has become a state issue. Are you delighted by the light he has brought? Or annoyed, because it suggests that the discipline did not exist in the eyes of the general public before his arrival?
100% of the guys were happy that he joined us. Already, because he brought us back the media coverage, the world, the supporters. It’s Antoine Dupont! You go to Los Angeles or Canada, everyone knows him, you have cameras following him. And beyond that, we often hear that it was thanks to his presence that we won in Los Angeles… So what? So much the better, right? He brought us his talent, his high-level experience and his knowledge of the game. He can get out of any situation and wins all his one-on-ones at XV, why wouldn’t he do it at VII? Then when he is there, we feel that each of us wants to get up to speed. We don’t want to come across as ordinary players. Nor be the guys who make Antoine Dupont lose. And naturally, his confidence trickles down to the rest of the group.
