In October 2020, the globetrotter Thibaud Flament landed at the Stade Toulousain with a big question mark above the helmet which caps his 2.03 m. The native of Paris grew up in Belgium before heading to England and discovering the high level with the Wasps, after a round trip to Argentina. A year and a Top 14 – European Cup double later, the versatile forward discovered the XV of France.
This Saturday, the 25-year-old, still undefeated in Blue, will challenge Australia in Saint-Denis, for the first part of the November triptych, before South Africa and Japan. In Marcoussis, 20 minutes met the slender Flament (115 kg anyway), while the package of Montpellier Paul Willemse and the formalization of the tenure of the Toulousain in the 2nd line had not yet fallen.
Before the second test match in Japan (success 15-20) at the beginning of July, you told AFP that the record of victories in a row for the XV of France (10) was “a journalist thing”. Now that you can beat him, is that still the case?
(Laughs) It’s not our main motivator. What interests us is winning matches. We focus on the series of meetings that are coming, starting with Australia, not on the record. To tell the truth, we hardly talked about it between us.
Australia is a big name in rugby, but it’s not the team it used to be…
It is a very strong formation, which is at the first level of world rugby. She holds the ball a lot so we expect to defend a lot. She is also very powerful, with a lot of character, and has the ability to come back in matches. Australians know how to get out of complicated situationsthey are capable of dazzling.
You will play in the wake of Marseille against South Africa. Are you feeling any excitement about taking on the reigning world champion, who you haven’t met yet?
We are focused on Australia but in a second step, South Africa will be an interesting team to play. It’s practically the best in world rugby, with a very powerful package of forwards. The Springboks also put a lot of pressure with their kicking game, they play a lot with dispossession. Yeah, we’re really excited to play them.
At the start of the week, you were eleven Toulouse players out of the 42 players gathered in Marcoussis. Isn’t there a risk of forming a clan?
Not really. The group of 42 is quite young and gets along very well. Everyone mixes at the table. Yes, there are affinities because we see each other more, but not really clans. We’re all on the same wavelength.
You have nine wins in nine selections. Have you talked about this success with teammates who have had less good times?
I remember talking about it with Gaël Fickou. It seems to me that it was after the victory against New Zealand (40-25, November 20, 2021). He told me: “It’s crazy, we’ve been here for a while, we’ve been through some difficult times and you, since you arrived, it’s been going well. Enjoy, it’s great! “I am aware of that, as I am aware of the efforts we make in training. We work hard.
You celebrated your first selection on November 6, 2021 against Argentina (29-20). How do you view the past year?
I am very satisfied. I continued to have a lot of fun. I think I have matured, I also played a little more with Toulouse, I learned a lot of things. I can’t cite one thing in particular, but I have accumulated experience.
Before facing Australia this Saturday, you have three starts and six appearances. What is your status in Blue?
It’s up to the coaches to answer. For the moment, I was more of a finisher than a starter. Of course, we all want to start the matches but the competition is healthy. And that doesn’t change much in my preparation. I focus on my role, whether I’m starting a match or coming into play.
You are versatile, 2nd or 3rd wing line. It’s an advantage, but isn’t it also the best way to find yourself replacing more often, to cover several positions?
Being able to play in 4, 5, 6 or 7, I love that. Yes, there is always the question: “Isn’t the versatile player the Swiss army knife that starts on the bench? “But I build my panoply of player and that is part of it. Again, I love this versatility.
You are 25 years old, but at the very top level, you are still a young player. In which priority areas do you need to improve?
There is always this paradox between my age and my experience as a professional player. I am working on the responsibility of announcements in touch. I started to do it in Toulouse, I try to do it also in the France team. It’s a good axis of progression, like the game without the ball, on which I also work. And then I have to gain even more experience.
Because of your trajectory, you were one of the ” UFOs » dear to Fabien Galthié. Looking back, how do you analyze this accelerated progression?
Everything went super fast. But already when I was at university (from Loughborough, in England, where Flament studied commerce until 2019), I knew I wanted to be a professional rugby player and that I was going to make it. I felt it was going to be fine. I had no doubts. It was a matter of time. I was able to seize opportunities when needed.
You missed the first three days of the Top 14 due to a sprained ankle. Does the fact of not getting injured in the run-up to the World Cup run through the minds of the players?
Necessarily. Afterwards, there are not 36 solutions. It’s not by being half-hearted that it’s going to do it. You have to go all out, prepare as well as possible, recover well. It’s the classic protocol, but it’s what works best.
Finally, how did you experience the placement in receivership of Wasps, your former club, formalized in mid-October?
It hurt my heart. It’s a club to which I was very attached, even if I left after a year. It allowed me to reach the high level, to progress a lot. I had a great time there and made some great friends. To see all these friends who, overnight, no longer have a contract, no more salary, no unemployment, who are on the street and have to find work… They are a bit desperate. They search, right and left. Some will perhaps not find a club, others will surely go to the second division, still others to France. Everyone will disperse.