Emile Ntamack lifts lid on son Romain’s World Cup heartbreak and his fight to return to action.
The remarkable show of character that brought Romain Ntamack through the darkest chapter of his career can be revealed today.
France’s first-choice fly-half was robbed of the chance to star in his home World Cup by a knee injury suffered on the eve of the tournament.
He had to watch as Les Bleus went in as favourites only to crash out in the quarter-finals to eventual winners South Africa.
Eight months on the disappointment of an opportunity lost is still felt across France but Ntamack’s ruptured anterior cruciate ligament is fully repaired.
On Sunday the 24-year-old emerges from the shadows to start his first match since August when Toulouse host Racing 92 in the Champions Cup round of 16.
His physical readiness is not in doubt. What is harder to measure is the mental scar left by an episode which denied the brilliant fly-half a career highlight.
But Emile Ntamack, the first man ever to lift rugby’s European Cup and father to Romain, has offered a unique and intimate insight to Planet Rugby.
He has also given his verdict on the involvement of South African teams in a competition won a record five times by Toulouse.
“For Romain it was a big injury, a devastating moment in his life,” says Ntamack senior. “He had a dream about the World Cup and it turned into a nightmare.
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“It was tough, very tough too for us, his family. You love your children, you want the best for them and this was timing was very cruel.”
Emile vowed to help his son navigate a path through the intense disappointment, assuring him ‘we are together in this difficulty, we will find a solution’.
He knew that would be easier said than done. What he did not realise was how much easier it would be made by Romain’s astonishing resilience.
“I’ll be back,” the star tweeted at the height of his disappointment, just two days after suffering the injury against Scotland in St Etienne.
It was a quote that came to epitomise his spirit, one subsequently used by his club as the title of the documentary they made of his recovery: Je reviendrai, which aired Thursday night on YouTube.
“We had big luck that Romain was, and is, incredibly strong mentally,” explains Emile. “Quickly, he changed his mindset.
“He said, ‘Okay, it’s a big injury but it’s not everything. It’s not a disease, it’s not a cancer. After seven or eight months I will be back on the pitch. I have the chance to change my profile, to come back better then ever’.
“I said, but this is your dream, your World Cup. You know what he told to me? ‘Yeah, but I’m pretty young, I’ve got time to play another one’.
“Romain is an incredible player but he is also very mature. When he decides something he finds a solution to make the goal.”
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So it is that on Sunday at Stade Ernest Wallon, Ntamack will be reunited with the Toulouse number 10 jersey.
The player who so dramatically won Europe’s most successful club the Bouclier de Brennus, with a 65-metre solo try back in June, will slot in beside captain Antoine Dupont for the first time since last summer.
“Racing 92 are strong opponents and it will be a big rendezvous but having your leaders back on the pitch gives great confidence to everyone,” says Emile.
“The European Cup is an incredible story between Toulouse and the competition. We won the first, which was very important for this club, and now there is great love for it.”
The tournament has been criticised for chopping and changing its format, three times in the past five years. The fact five of the eight ties in this weekend’s round of 16 are repeats of pool games has not gone down well.
The most controversial change in recent times, however, is the addition of South African teams and the expansion of the format away from a purely European event.
“At the beginning it was difficult to understand,” admits Ntamack snr, a two-time winner. “It was the European Cup and South African teams are not from Europe.
“We had to change the way we think. Now it’s not European Cup it’s Champions Cup. Why not? We know rugby is a business. Maybe it’s a good thing for rugby.
“It’s difficult for the players because South Africa is far away and it means a lot of travel. But it’s also very exciting to play against different teams.
“To play the Bulls or the Stormers in South Africa is an incredible opportunity. We are very happy for that.
“At the same time in France we have a very long season. It’s another game, another game, another game. It’s very difficult to be on top all the season.”
READ MORE: Siya Kolisi praises ‘one in many generations’ superstar Antoine Dupont
Before the action gets underway, Planet Rugby gives you some intriguing storylines to follow this weekend.
A huge boost for Toulouse ahead of crucial fixtures.
Outstanding France fly-half Romain Ntamack believes that too much mental and physical burden is being placed on the top players.
France’s Romain Ntamack, who missed the RWC through injury, has opened up on how he struggled to deal with his absence from the tournament.
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