If his non-call-up in Blue to play the recent autumn tour took a toll on his morale, Jonathan Danty is not losing sight of the XV of France. In the meantime, the international center (29 caps) from Stade Rochelais – whose career could continue in another position in the future – is mainly focused on the upcoming club events, where the situation is not all rosy.
Did the La Rochelle group completely switch this Monday towards the opening match of the Champions Cup, scheduled for Friday in Bath, and end the unexpected defeat against Vannes (14-23)?
We are still digesting, this defeat hurts us a lot. I think it was hanging over our heads and it could have been against any team. We prepared well for the match but, obviously, Vannes also managed to have a very good week of training and to come and validate his start to the season with us. There’s not much to say, just to congratulate them. Now we’re going to have to wake up because we have a big trip this weekend in the Champions Cup. It’s a competition that we love to play. And if we are at that level of performance, we risk not playing it for very long. It will need to click very quickly.
Especially since the menu is very robust. After the first two in the English championship (Bath, Bristol), there will be Leinster in January…
We saw the Premiership rankings this morning, a championship which is in the process of regaining its level, not the same for two or three seasons, particularly with the financial difficulties. And it’s true that we’re not in the best position to go to Bath, a very good team with a lot of English internationals. But we have to ask ourselves the question of whether winning there wouldn’t also be a trigger for us? To really kick off our season.
We thought it was launched a few weeks ago, right?
I understand that from the outside, we are not recognized, particularly on the commitment and aggressiveness that we have displayed for so many seasons. And that there, we can no longer put on, we no longer put on. We are even capable of being taken on our strengths. This defeat against Vannes is a big slap in the face, which must be digested quickly. All the frustration from this match, it is worth venting this weekend against Bath. Let us finally have a benchmark match that puts us back on the right path.
An explanation for this lack of aggressiveness?
Maybe it’s a question of state of mind. We would do well to look at our third line, in particular Oscar (Jegou) and Matthias (Haddad-Victor) who, for four weeks, have been running the house for us and who are present in every match. Oscar is not the strongest but when it comes to commitment, he is monstrous! Matthias, it’s the same. We’d better get into the shoes of these guys, that will already unlock a couple of things for us.
“I was in town for coffee, I didn’t get insulted but I understand […] the speech of ‘ROG’ (Ronan O’Gara). He also needs to find that thing that makes us become the team we once were.”
Did you hear Ronan O’Gara’s words last Saturday, an hour after the match?
About going out to be insulted in town? (laughs). Yes, we heard it.
Et ?
I was in town for coffee, I didn’t get insulted but I understand what he means. We have a lot of support, we have supporters who follow us all over Europe, even in South Africa last season. There is frustration. We are obviously very disappointed for us, for the club and for our supporters. I understand the “ROG” speech. He also needs to find that thing that makes us become the team we once were. And even a team, I hope, even better. I think we have the capabilities. But we need something to click very quickly.
Your manager was talking about discomfort to quickly get rid of. Is there any discomfort?
We were very uncomfortable with this poor performance. For having made such a poor copy to our supporters, to us too. Because during the week, we train very well! And when we get to the whistle, we very quickly find ourselves in difficulty. So, obviously, it’s hard. It’s frustrating because I think everyone works hard, everyone knows their role. We are put in the right position to perform well. And we miss it…
Your last European memory remains this heavy defeat (40-13) in Dublin, against Leinster, in the quarter-final of the previous edition…
It was difficult. We would like to win back this Champions Cup. Before talking about winning it back, we already have to work to qualify for the final stages. We know that it goes very quickly. And what goes the fastest is the finale. Even though we were outsiders, we managed to win it twice. Especially the second time in Dublin. But we must rebuild what has collapsed.
You were talking about the third line above. Aren’t you a bit of a flanker now?
I was (laughs), I was.
Was your repositioning in Castres ten days ago just a “one shot”?
For the moment, I think it will be put on standby but it’s something I spoke about with Seb Boboul (responsible for the attack) and “Talo” (Rémi Talès, coach of the ¾) in a match where a third row was injured. I came off the field and told them ‘throw me, I’m hot’. They didn’t really agree (laughs). Finally, they brought in a second line. It was the Monday before Castres where “ROG”, at breakfast, said to me “would you be interested in playing third row this weekend?”
“I had fun (playing in the third row) […] I have quite a few friends who told me ‘finally, you’re playing your real position!’ I got the message (laughs).”
Tell us…
I told him “give me the morning, I’ll give you the answer”. In fact, ten minutes later, I told him “it’s OK for me”. The adaptation had to be very quick: Monday morning for Saturday afternoon, with two training sessions. I didn’t know all the keys, I’m not going to lie to you. Honestly, respect to the front. Because it’s a huge job. Having given three-quarters feedback, what I told them was that the big guys sometimes complained a little about having late announcements. It’s true that having been right in the middle of all this, it’s complicated. If the communication is not very precise, clear and rapid, it is complicated to follow a movement or an announcement.
And your feelings, then?
Despite everything, I had fun. I didn’t have the best match of my career, but pretty good for a first. I would have preferred to be at that level but at my position (laughs). It would have been better. It’s a great experience. We will eventually see if the opportunity presents itself again, if the need arises, or for a potential retraining in the future. I am not closed to discussion.
Your teammate Levani Botia, the former center who became a terror in the third line, implied a few days ago that you will become like him…
I think there are probabilities. It will also depend on the vision of the staff, on how I evolve over the years, if my level evolves. For the moment, it is better not to play 3rd line given the competition, it can get complicated very quickly (laughs). The staff don’t need me.
But it’s not incongruous to think about it…
At all. I think my profile matches, I’m aware of that. I have quite a few friends who told me “finally, you’re playing your real position!” I understood the message (laughs).
Who is this?
Friends I played with when I was in Paris, but when I was 15. Because initially, I played third line center until high school. I moved to the center because I was considered too small in terms of the prerequisites of the French Rugby Federation at that time. You had to be 1m90, 100 kg. In the end, there are very few guys from my generation when I was at the pole who played in this position and who turned professional. I would have liked it because I had fun playing number 8 when I was a kid. I made all the French teams initially because I played 3rd center line and subsequently center. But it gets lost very quickly. In ten years, you have lost everything, there are no more points of reference (laughs). It comes back, but not in three days.
Would you be more of a Botia or a Bastareaud?
I would like a mix of the two. It’s good, isn’t it? (laughs).
“The tour? Fabien told me very quickly that I wouldn’t be called back. It was very hard to hear.”
A word about you, your international status and your only return trip to Marcoussis just before the first of three matches of the fall tour of the XV of France?
I had Fabien Galthié (the day before the La Rochelle-Paris Top 14 match, at the beginning of November, editor’s note). I was expecting good news, that he would tell me that I was being recalled for Japan preparation week. When speaking with him, he quickly told me that I would not be called back. This isn’t necessarily the phone call I was expecting. It was very hard to hear. Especially the day before the match. It was a bit tricky for me, I was preparing for a match against Paris, I wanted to perform very well to be able to re-apply for the French team. In the end, even before that match, I knew that wasn’t the case. During the match, a lot of frustration therefore a lot of commitment (smile). Sometimes commitment can come from frustration. I hope that will be the case this weekend. Fabien told me that he was counting on me for the future but that he wanted to see other profiles. For the moment, there are no closed doors since his last call. Afterwards, his next call, I don’t know what it will be. I continue to train hard to perform well with my club. I hope to find the French team again. I always managed to raise my level of play when I was in the French team, it’s something that really motivates me. I think that at club level, I’m often at 100%, but as soon as I have the blue jersey, I’m at 200%. Even if I’m not the best center in the world, I’m not perfect, I always bring the best of myself.
Comments collected by Romain Asselin
