XV of France: if the Blues had won the World Cup, Ntamack would have experienced “one of the worst days” of his life

Expected to be one of the big stars of the Rugby World Cup which took place last fall in France and which saw South Africa win the final against New Zealand, Romain Ntamack had to withdraw due to a knee injury that occurred on August 12. With death in his soul, the Toulouse man gave up on this event which he followed from a distance in front of the screens.

The No. 10 spoke to Rugbyrama about how he experienced this episode, admitting that the elimination of the Blues in the quarter-finals by the Springboks had been a sort of relief for him. Not because he was delighted to see his friends defeated by the future winners, but because he could not imagine seeing the French selection achieve the dream without him.

“I think it would have been harder for me if France had been world champion,” says Ntamack. The scar would have been difficult to heal... To tell the truth, I was trying to project myself onto the idea that the French were going to to be champions because it would have been complicated for me to live with. Even if I hoped for them that they would go as far as possible and lift this Cup. Clearly, if they had been world champions, it would have been the best day of French rugby but perhaps one of the worst of my life,” confided the opener of the French XV with great frankness.

A competitor at heart, Ntamack added: “I’ll never know how I would have reacted if they had gone through with it. But it seemed legitimate to also think of myself during this kind of period. I should have been part of this team and the injury prevented me from doing so. In any case, the elimination in the quarter-finals, against South Africa, lessened my regrets.

Romain Ntamack will have to wait again to find his way back to the rugby field after suffering a ruptured cruciate ligament. “Rehabilitation takes quite a bit of time. There are plenty of things to do. You have to relearn the knee to stretch and bend properly. Then, I continue the cardio and I work on my upper body,” he explained in November, believing he could return to competition in the spring.