Jump to main content

Menu

Fear of Failure Drives Elissalde.

Fear of Failure Drives Elissalde.

France’s new scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde steps into the formidable vacuum left by Fabien Galthie here on Saturday against Ireland and admitted to the fear of failure

France’s new scrum-half Jean-Baptiste Elissalde steps into the formidable vacuum left by Fabien Galthie here on Saturday against Ireland and admitted that the fear of failure was uppermost in his
mind.

The slightly-built 26-year-old Toulouse goalkicking scrum-half
added that
while Galthie had obviously left quite a mark on the team he hoped to
make his
own in double quick time on his fifth appearance for les Tricolores.

Google Ad Manager – 300×250 – In Article


Elissalde, the third from his family to be capped by France
following his
grandfather Laurent Bidart and father Jean-Pierre who amassed six
caps between
them, said while he was delighted to have beaten Dimitri Yachvili to
the
starting spot he knew that a lot of expectation had been placed on
him.

“At the moment I am very happy, but I know that Saturday
could bring a very
different emotion,” said Elissalde, who missed out on the World
Cup squad
after failing to impress against Wales in the Six Nations.

“I wasn’t expecting to be selected as Dimitri had been
Fabien’s number two
for most of the Six Nations last year and the World Cup but perhaps
my
performances for Toulouse and my partnership with (France fly-half)
Frederic
Michalak
got me the nod.”

Elissalde said that having failed to make his mark permanently
since his
debut back in 2000 he realised this was a massive test for him.

“This is an important stage of my career,” admitted
Elissalde, who came to
rugby relatively late after playing football because he thought his
small
frame wouldn’t cope with the more physical demands of rugby.

“It makes me a little frightened but I will shoulder the
responsibility on
Saturday and do my best to prove I was the right man for the
job.”

Elissalde was phlegmatic about whether his reborn international
career
would be as durable and as glittering as Galthie’s – though the now
retired
scrum-half had to make several comebacks from injuries and falling
out with
his various coaches.

“I don’t know,” he said. “My career could be long
or it could be short. I’ve had good times and bad ones in my career so I won’t be
making any
bold predictions.

“Obviously Fabien had quite an influence over the team and
leaves a huge
gap but I hope that I can stamp my mark on them as well,” he
added.

French captain Fabien Pelous, who replaced Galthie as skipper
after the
World Cup, said his Toulouse team-mate’s revival was down to him
going back to
the drawingboard when things didn’t work out.

“He completely reinvented himself and has worked really hard
to get back
into the team, it has worked out for him and I am very pleased and
proud for
him,” said Pelous.

Pelous and the rest of France will be considerably prouder of him
should
France prevail on Saturday and then Elissalde could be on course to
become the
first in his family to really enjoy a long and fruitful international
career.
AFP