XV de 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 major stars of the Rugby World Cup held last autumn in France, which saw South Africa clinch the title against New Zealand, Romain Ntamack had to withdraw due to a knee injury suffered on August 12. With a heavy heart, the Toulouse player had to forgo this event, watching it from afar on screens.
The number 10 opened up to Rugbyrama about how he experienced this episode, confessing that the elimination of the Blues in the quarter-finals by the Springboks had been a kind of relief for him. Not because he was pleased to see his friends eliminated by the eventual winners but because he couldn’t imagine the French team going all the way without him.
“I think it would have been harder for me if France had been the world champion,” Ntamack states. “The scar would have been difficult to close… Honestly, I was trying to imagine that the French were going to be champions because it would have been complicated for me to live with. Even though I hoped for them to go as far as possible and lift that Cup. Clearly, if they had been world champions, it would have been the most beautiful day in French rugby but perhaps one of the worst in my life,” expressed the XV de France fly-half with great candor.
A true competitor at heart, Ntamack added, “I will never know how I would have reacted if they had gone all the way. But it seemed legitimate to also think about myself in this kind of period. I should have been part of this team, and the injury prevented me. Anyway, the elimination in the quarter-finals, against South Africa, eased my regrets.”
Romain Ntamack will have to wait a little longer to return to the rugby field after suffering a ruptured cruciate ligament. “Rehabilitation takes quite a bit of time. There are many things to do. You have to teach the knee to straighten and bend properly. Then, I continue with cardio, and I maintain the upper body,” he explained in November, expecting to make a competitive comeback in the spring.
