It is the player who goes to the Stade Français.
Recruited three and a half years ago, when he wore the Biarritz Olympique jersey (then in Pro D2), Alex Arrate had two complicated first seasons in Paris.
Blame it on the injuries.
But the potential was there.
And, for a year and a half, his playing time has exploded: 27 game sheets, including 20 as a holder.
A part of the team at only 24 years old.
To discover
Calendar and results Top 14
Ranking Top 14
The expression makes him smile.
“
I won't qualify that way.
But I play more and more, so I gain more and more confidence in myself.
It's easier to feel good on the pitch
, ”confides the three-quarter center to Figaro.
To titillate him a little, we let him understand that his playing time also benefited from the departures of Gaël Fickou, then Jonathan Danty.
“
I do not see things like that at all, replies the native of Bordeaux.
Being a holder means showing that you have the level, that your place on the field is deserved compared to the friends who were not selected for the weekend…
”
"
Waisea's departure makes me cringe
"
Alex Arrate
These two departures, and the one to come, at the end of the season, of Fijian Waisea (who joined RC Toulon after a decade in the lightning jersey), do they not indicate, more generally, a lack of ambition of the capital club? "
It doesn't worry me. The leaders will manage to find players to replace them ... After, it's true, losing Gaël, Jo and, soon, Waisea, three very good centers at international level, that bothers me because I had good relations with them. Waisea's departure makes me cringe. He puts the team in the right direction, pulls us up when things are not going well. He is always there to encourage us, to give us advice. In the locker room it is also very important. He brings his joie de vivre every day. We laugh a lot with him. I am disappointed with his departure. It’s a shame. I hope the club will find a replacement…
”
It was to be Ngani Laumape, announced last summer as the transfer with high added value, with his aura of ex-All Blacks (15 caps). For the first six months, to say the least, disappointing. “
I am confident,
(r) assures Alex Arrate.
We all know that Ngani is a very good player. He must be given time to acclimatize to the championship, the time that his family feels good in Paris. There's no reason he can't perform as well with us as he has been in the past. People say he's struggling, but he's already bringing us into the group. And, every week, he shows a little more on the field. I have no doubts about it. He's a great player. It is certain that it is at the level.
"
"
We will know in 4-5 matches if we can afford to look upwards
"
Alex Arrate
Speaking of level, that of the Stade Français is difficult to define this season, as the Pink Soldiers alternate the good and the less good, including in the same match.
An irregularity that is slow to be curbed.
“
Every weekend, we try to be as efficient as possible, pleads the Parisian center.
Afterwards, it goes more or less well, it's true.
We sometimes have slack during matches.
Like these 20 points taken in 15 minutes against La Rochelle, even if behind we recover and we manage to win.
Sometimes, we are not even far from non-existent.
But we train hard to become as consistent and consistent as possible.
We have a nice game system to look at, we create interesting opportunities for ourselves.
But we too often go into the details.
To remedy this, there is no secret: work, work and more work.
"
LiveTop 14: winner of Perpignan, Stade Français breathes better
With, according to Alex Arrate, reasons to believe in better days, because desire and character, essential ingredients, are very present. “
We're a great bunch of friends. We live well together. And, in the field, we send each other out. In the state of mind, we respond present. But there is this amount of little detail that tips the scales one way or another.
"With what mid-season ambitions for the SFP which is currently in 9th place, 8 points behind Lou, 6th, and 8 points ahead of Perpignan, 13th? A place in the top six, synonymous with qualification for the final phase, or the fight for maintenance? "
This championship is very close.
There are about ten applicants in the top 6. You have to focus on us, work to fix everything that is wrong.
And gradually see if we can afford to look up.
If the period becomes a little more complicated, then it will be a question of consolidating our place in the Top 14. The next four to five days will be decisive.
It is often in this period, from December to February, that it takes shape, is decided.
"
“
I said to myself 'I would never come to Paris'.
I was apprehensive of the big city, of not really knowing where I was setting foot
”.
Alex Arrate
Not enough, in any case, to give him regrets for having chosen to go into exile in Paris, he who arrived at the Stade Français in June 2018 for three seasons, has since extended until 2024. A strong choice when you are born in rugby in the South-West. "
I come from a rugby family
," Alex Arrate tells Le Figaro.
My father (Philippe) played at a good level, in group A and in group B at the time. In Biarritz, in La Rochelle, before finishing his career in Mérignac when I was born. I have always been in rugby. My two oldest children, Baptiste and Charlie, were also playing. It was only natural that I wanted to try it myself. To look like them. When I was young, they were my examples. As soon as we finished lessons, we would pass each other on the terrace. Rugby is our passion. He animates our family.
»Trained in Mérignac (until he was 10 years old) then at Biarritz Olympique, he saw Charlie join the Bordeaux-Bègles rugby school, wear the blue jersey of the France Under-16 team. "
When you hear your brother sing the Marseillaise and face the biggest nations in the world, you tell yourself that you too want to experience the same thing
, ”remembers the Parisian. His brother, a gifted opener, had the misfortune of seeing his career hampered by serious injuries. And it was finally he who put his crampons in Top 14.
So in Paris - we come back to it - a choice that may seem surprising. “
Several Top 14 clubs contacted me, including Stade Français. But I said to myself '' I would never come to Paris ''. I was apprehensive of the big city, of not really knowing where I was setting foot. But Julien Dupuy and Robert Mohr made me want to come to this club which finally looked like me. I like to forge strong bonds with guys, I get attached to people. And I felt it could happen here. And it is naturally that I signed in Paris
”, smiles Alex Arrate. Who likes the capital. "
My girlfriend followed me. For three and a half years, we have been enjoying ourselves. We like the gastronomy, discovering new restaurants, going to the theater, attending shows. For all this, Paris is ideal.
And the (bad) reputation of its inhabitants. The three-quarter center laughs. “
In the provinces, we say that Parisians are stressed, that they drive badly, etc. Well, we end up getting used to it. And, finally, I am more patient in traffic jams in Paris than in Biarritz.
"
But what he perhaps appreciates the most about his new life is the anonymity.
“
When you are a high level athlete, there is already a lot of pressure on a daily basis.
What I like a lot here is being able to leave my home quietly without getting bothered, to buy a wand even if I lost on the weekend.
In Biarritz, I remember that the week of the derby, as soon as you leave your home, everyone asks you questions.
”An exercise to which he nevertheless complied with good grace.