Arthur Vincent, a player from Montpellier, will start for the French team against Uruguay on Thursday, September 14th at 9pm in Lille, for the second match of the World Cup.
Vern Cotter ne s’était pas trompé. « Lui, vous verrez, il va aller loin », déclarait en 2017 le technicien néo-zélandais, alors entraîneur du MHR. Arthur Vincent n’a pas encore 18 ans. Et il toque déjà très fort à la porte des grands. « Je me souviens très bien de son premier entraînement en espoirs’, raconte Matthieu Austruy, dit “Boulette”, team manager et analyste vidéo du centre de formation de Montpellier. « On fait juste une mise en place. Avec Anthony Floch (entraîneur des espoirs), on dit la même phrase en même temps : le terrain synthétique des espoirs, il va le voir une fois ou deux, et il va vite aller chez les grands. Ça n’a pas loupé. »
« I cannot reword »
Arthur Vincent is the complete opposite of the « UFO », a term used by Fabien Galthié to describe this player with an unlikely journey, who went unnoticed by the French youth teams (Villière, Jaminet, Haouas, Bouthier…) and became an international player. The Mauguio-born native, near Montpellier, is destined for great things. And it is not two ACL tears in two years that have shattered his destiny.
A lire aussi : Coupe du monde de rugby 2023 : Arthur Vincent, l’entrée fracassante face aux All Blacks
This Thursday, within the Pierre-Mauroy arena, do not expect crazy races from him. Nor destructive play like Jonathan Danty. Instead, focus on the accuracy of each movement, each shift. « Arthur is not an X factor. You don’t bring him in to break three tackles, » notes « Boulette ». « But he excels in every aspect. Defensively, he is very reliable. He is precise in everything he undertakes. » Similar to his two decisive turnovers against the All Blacks last Friday.
Gendre idéal
Vincent is unanimously regarded as a great person. Since the beginning. He was the captain of the French U20 team that won the 2019 World Cup, and he became the captain of MHR at just 19 years old under Xavier Garbajosa… There is a natural aura surrounding him. « He is part of the club’s executive committee and represents the players. He invests himself every day. Regularly, he visits the young players or the rugby school to see if anything is missing. He’s a good guy, ensuring the club’s longevity. »
A lire aussi : « On devrait s’y habituer, mais non… » : rencontre avec les parents du rugbyman Arthur Vincent, chez eux, à Mauguio
Ces faux airs de Monsieur propre sur le terrain ? Un reflet de sa personnalité. « Derrière sa belle gueule, c’est l’enfant parfait. Moi, je l’appelle le petit Prince. Parce qu’il est le gendre idéal et à la fois le fils de la Fédération », se marre Matthieu Austruy, Melgorien comme Arthur.
Grand professionnel
However, this exemplarity has been severely tested in the past two years. Two almost blank seasons due to this damn knee. Two years away from the Blues. A far from ideal timing with regards to a World Cup. Doubt has settled in. Fear too. « He was anxious. He would tell me, ‘Even if I become a water carrier, it’s fine with me!’ He has done a considerable amount of work to come back, » recalls « Boulette ».
« I cannot reword »
Le mot de l’intéressé
« What we want is to have a strong collective performance. It is really important for us, especially in this kind of match, that we are really good as a team, that we show up. We know they will try to outsmart us. Our foundation will be to come together as a team, play simply and be strong in our fundamentals, » stated Arthur Vincent (23 years old, 17 appearances), during a press conference on Wednesday.
« I cannot reword »
