The third line of Stade Toulousain, who has just chained 16 starts in the blue jersey, confided in Le Figaro while the XV of France is challenging its title in the Six Nations Tournament, from Sunday (16 hours), in Rome.
Anthony Jelonch talked about fighting and defense.
And it shakes.
Extract.
Is the tackle an opportunity to mark your territory?
It's exactly that.
When we feel that we have well engaged the shoulder, that there has been a big impact and that the opponent has scored, after the tackle, we look him in the eye.
You then see in his eyes if you have tackled well or not.
You know it by ear, too.
If you hear a small dull sound, it means the shock was strong.
Finally, there is the reaction of the stadium.
If you hear a roar from the fans, you've made a big tackle.
It motivates...
During a defensive sequence where you have to chain the tackles, you don't think of anything else?
When the opposing team gets closer to our goal line, it becomes automatic, yes.
Everyone defends the line and it disconnects a little in the head.
We all then have only one idea, one objective: to tackle hard, not to commit a fault and to recover the ball.
Can the pain of shocks be forgotten?
Not all shocks hurt.
Besides, when you make a big tackle without pain, you want to do it again and again...
An exclusive interview to be found in full here.