Formed at Colomiers, where he had his finger on the pulse of a French championship title and a continental crown, the situation is strange. Despite his immense talent, at the dawn of 2006-2007, David Skrela had only won one title with Stade Français (2004) and had just one cap for Les Bleus. In 2007, after losing two finals, he finally returned to the thrill of victory. And settled in with the French national team. A look back at an immense season. And a hard-fought victory at the Stade de France.
At the start of the season, Paris was one of the favorites. Did you quickly sense that this team could win a title?
Ever since I arrived in Paris in 2003, we've always had a squad capable of going all the way. The year before, we lost to Toulouse in Lyon in the semi-finals. The year before that, we'd lost two finals in extra time. So we had a squad capable of going all the way in all competitions. We had talent everywhere, so yes. We had the profile.
Since your arrival in 2003, the Stade Français has made a name for itself with its pink shirts, nude player calendars and matches at the Stade de France. How do you feel about this somewhat... extravagant team?
It's true that it's a bit unsettling at first. I've been with Colomiers since I was a kid. It took me a little time to adapt and I had five or six months that were a bit complicated. Time to adapt to Paris, a new city, a new club, new teammates. Quite simply, a new life. But it's very different from other clubs. You're a bit of a household name when you're at Jean-Bouin. But after 300 meters, nobody knows you anymore. We're the capital's club, but apart from a few people like Christophe Dominici, in Paris we were quiet. That's what I liked about it. As soon as the match was over, we'd go and have a drink in Paris, and we'd relax. It was precisely to get away from that that Max had the idea of doing things that were a little... a little offbeat (smiles). The calendar, the pink shirts, the Stade de France with all those matches against Toulouse, the concerts, the fireworks. Rugby changed era then. We were an insiders' sport, and even if that's still the case, I think that thanks to Max, rugby has moved into another dimension.
Once you've made that adjustment, you'll go on to play an impressive series of matches. It sounds crazy, but for example, you played 36 games in 2004/2005...
I was young. It's the strength of age. Between the ages of 25 and 30, that's when you play the most, you're the fittest and you don't get too many injuries. And I played with some exceptional players. It's true that 36 games is a bit crazy. But we could handle them. We'd had two decent seasons, but without a title. And when you play for a club like Paris, you always need titles. Because that's the goal of every season. And to validate everything we've been working on for weeks, months and years. In 2006-2007, we really wanted to win a title. We had exceptional players like Domi, Juan-Martin (Hernandez), Agustin Pichot and Sergio Parisse, who was just arriving. We had top-level players, and we were ready for it.
The Stade Français quickly became irresistible. What makes this team so strong?
We have a lot of mature players, between 25 and 30. There were a few young players like Julien Arias. But a lot of the players had been here for a long time, and we knew each other very well. Fabien had taken over the club a year or two before, so Fabien's touch was starting to show. All the indicators were green for this team.
And yet, there was a bit of a blip during the Tournament.
Yes, that's true. Even if we were a bit used to seeing all the international players leave. I'm leaving that year too, and then it's the World Cup. We also had a huge squad... We had 35 or 40 top players. If a player got injured, the one who replaced him was sometimes just as good, or even better, depending on the circumstances. It's a bit like Stade Toulousain today. Even without the internationals, things were running smoothly. For example, at one point we had Pablo Lemoine to replace Sylvain Marconnet on the left. That's not too bad (smiles). That was our strength. The end of the season was marked by injuries to two major players: Sylvain Marconnet and Pieter De Villiers. Nani Corleto is also affected. So has Shawn Sowerby. So it's a young right-back who's going to have to hold down the fort for the finals. His name is Pedro Ledesma. It's true that Pedro came from nowhere. Unknown a few months before. But we had more Peter. But he did the job. He was well supported by everyone. It takes a bit of success to be a champion. So good for him, and good for us.
The finals begin for you with a ½ final against Biarritz. Were they a scary team ?
They'd been French champions the previous year, and had given Stade Toulousain a real thrashing... Biarritz were a big team, with Yachvili, Traille, Brusque and Peyrelongue. They were always special games against Toulouse or Biarritz. Two years earlier, we lost to them in extra time at the Stade de France. I think that night, Yach put in 30 points, while I put in 27 or 28... So yes, they were always special games.
In the end, you're going to get rid of the BO. We're off to the Stade de France to take on ASM. Is Clermont the surprise team of the season?
We didn't know too much about them yet. But we discovered James, Nalaga, Floch and Cotter. It was a team that was just coming together. It wasn't a surprise that they were in the final, because they'd had a great season. Behind them were Tony Marsh and Julien Malzieu. And up front, Elvis Vermeulen, Privat, Cudmore, they had a great team of tough guys (laughs)! I remember that at half-time, there wasn't a big gap (9-0 in favor of Clermont, editor's note). But I'm thinking “I don't know how we're going to beat this team”. I remember that we were being pummeled. They crossed with Nalaga, with Floch... They had three or four clear-cut chances. At half-time, in the dressing room, we didn't know where to start. Our heads were a bit upside down. And then, Fabien (Galthié) coaches early. Even I go out quickly. Brian Liebenberg comes in at center. Sergio comes in. The match evened out and we got back into the game. And then came that try.
Can you tell us about it?
Yes, I remember it very well. From a Clermont touchline, we spiked the ball into touch. Brian Liebenberg made a jump pass and we broke through with Julien Arias in midfield. And on the return, Radike Samo scores the try just like in the semi-final. We're two or three minutes from the end.
It's strange because Radike Samo had arrived like a star. But he'd been struggling all season. What do you remember about this player?
That he was a really nice guy. A bit cool too, not too headstrong. But he was really physical. He was a piece of wood. After that, he was very fragile, always aching in his muscles, his knees, his ankles. But his physique ... he ran fast, he did incredible things for a forward. After that, he went back to Australia and scored a crazy try against the Blacks, breaking through from 60 meters.
He was a UFO. But it's true that he'd been a bit stagnant all season, and then he scored twice in 15 days to help us become champions.
You have a special bond with Fabien Galthié, as he was your captain before becoming your coach. You knew him as a player before you knew him as a coach. What can you tell us about Fabien Galthié, the Stade Français coach?
It's true that he was a very good technician who turned the club around after Nick Mallett's time at the helm. Nick was really the South African school, with a lot of physical preparation and rigor. But it worked, and he went on to become champion twice. So Fabien came up with principles of play that gave the players more freedom. There was a framework, but for each situation, we worked on two or three possibilities. That's when we started to see the tactician. After that... There were always things he had to work on. Managing people was rather complicated. Sometimes things got a bit heated, and there were some temperamental people at Stade Français. But he always knew how to remobilize us and get us back on the right track.
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