Romain Ntamack refuses to feel sorry for himself. Fifteen days after his left knee injury during the match against Scotland in Saint-Etienne and the announcement of his withdrawal from the Rugby World Cup (September 8-October 28), the opener of the XV of France gave an interview at The team to come back to this hard blow. But certainly not to make people cry in the cottages.
He first returns to the circumstances of this injury and, above all, to the long wait before the exams, which took place on Monday morning in Dax, 36 hours after leaving the field prematurely at Geoffroy-Guichard. “Sunday seemed like an endless day. I was in a hurry: to do the exams and be definitively fixed (…) But to be honest, the day after the match, I felt that something was wrong in my left knee. I did not necessarily imagine a rupture of the cruciate ligaments and such a long absence, but I already suspected that my World Cup would be compromised. I knew that I was affected and that this injury was going to handicap me and prevent me from participating in this World Cup in France. »
Romain Ntamack says he did not shed tears when the verdict was announced. “My loved ones have cried enough for me! I was not in this emotion. It wasn’t going to change anything, even if I had the balls. »
“I finally had the feeling of being legitimate with everyone”
“It’s not that bad,” he says. Admittedly, I miss a World Cup in France. That’s life. I am still young and I will, I hope, have the opportunity to play others. And, above all, there is much more serious than a knee injury. Take the example of Mathias Dantin, who accompanied us for a few days in Capbreton (a 17-year-old rugby player who became a quadriplegic during a UNSS match in December 2022). When he tells you about his story, you relativize. I’m not going to feel sorry for myself. »
The Stade Toulousain opener, hero of the last Top 14 final for his club, nevertheless felt at the peak of his young career. “It’s a shame because, as this World Cup approaches, I finally had the feeling of being legitimate with everyone. I was not coming out of the hat. I was in the shoes of the guy who was going to be the number 10 of the Blues (…) I really felt that people no longer had any doubts and said to themselves: Romain Ntamack will be our opener! Before, I was always questioned. It’s still funny to have to wait to be injured to receive messages of support or to hear some, who have never been tender with me, say that I was irreplaceable. It made me smile. »
As for the Blues, he obviously wants them to lift the William Webb-Ellis trophy on October 28. “But, he warns, I will not feel like world champion without playing. »
