“One of the toughest preparation of my career”

The physical preparation

“Honestly, it is one of the toughest preparation of my career. It was very hard, especially during the first three weeks. This season, the length of the preparation is shorter due to the fact that the last championship finished later. We usually have two months, this year, only one. Bernard Jackman wants us to be physically irreproachable. We have no excuse. We must be at the top; we just need to work. That what he says.”

The new responsibilities of Bernard Jackman

“The day-to-day work has changed. He has taken the power and brought an Anglo-Saxon culture. There is a briefing before every practice; new people came to work on the video and the data. Everything is more worked. But he has started that last year, so the changes are note so big. He just asks for more thoroughness.”

The first game against Agen

“After the tough period of preparation we had, we all want to play. We started to play with a 15-against-15 opposition on Tuesday. The pleasure came back quickly. Now, we are looking forward to the game of Friday, to see how it is going. We know everything will not be perfect, we will lose some balls, but it is another step to get ready for the opening of the Top 14 against Stade Français.”

David Mélé

“His signing is very good news. We get along well with Gilles and David, even if he is not really a Catalan, as he was born in Narbonne. But, he is a Catalan by adoption. It is really good to play again with people who I play with at the beginning or who I spend great moments with. And he will bring us a lot. He is bilingual, which is necessarily a plus, and he has a great personality.”

His situation in Grenoble

“Last season was very frustrating. It was very pleasant when I was on the field, but I was injured too often. It is always harder to come back and to get your place back. Those injuries might have been the consequences of the previous seasons, where I played every weekend. For the next season, I want to play a lot. I will take care of my body to be able to play and take as much pleasure as I can.”