‘Clermont Is Like A Second Home To Me’ – Djougang

Two years into her international career, Djougang made the move to Romagnat, the Women’s team affiliated with ASM Clermont Auvergne, for the 2021/22 campaign, in a deal brokered by the IRFU to accelerate her ongoing development as a prop.

A fluent French speaker and aged 25 at the time, her spell in the university city in central France was a rewarding one, advancing her scrummaging in particular, with her exposure to professional rugby helping her on her way to becoming Ireland’s most-capped current international.

She returns to Clermont this weekend as part of an Irish squad eager to reverse the result from last September’s Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Doing so at the Stade Marcel Michelin, a ground she holds in high esteem, would clearly mean a lot to her.

“I’m really looking forward to it. Clermont is like a second home to me, but now it’s so different to go back with the green jersey on. I’m really excited,” she said, speaking about of Saturday’s Guinness Women’s Six Nations match between Ireland and France.

“I really never thought I’d go back to Clermont as a player, It is an amazing stadium, Stade Michelin. An incredible atmosphere there, and it’s a nice challenge for us because there’s no (better) place to play than on that pitch.

“The fans in Clermont, like we know the French are very passionate about their rugby. It’s a real rugby town. I’m really excited for the girls to experience it.”

Romagnat, now known as ASM Rugby Féminin, will have a couple of starters in France’s front row tomorrow night in the form of hooker Mathilde Lazarko and tighthead prop Assia Khalfaoui. Yilana Brosseau, another ASM Rugby representative, is the loosehead option on the hosts’ bench.

Djougang packed down alongside Lazarko in ASM’s famous yellow and blue colours four years ago as the club reached the Élite 1 Féminine league semi-finals, before bowing out to Blagnac FC, the eventual runners-up.

Lazarko was one of six debutants introduced by France’s new head coach François Ratier against Italy a fortnight ago. Djougang herself felt the benefit of her time in the French club rugby, especially from a scrummaging point of view given the high calibre of props she came up against.

Looking back fondly on her stint aboard, the 55-times capped Ireland star agreed: “I feel like I built my core skills there, especially in the scrum, because when I went I was really just breaking through into the Irish system.

“It was after the World qualifier in Italy in 2021 that I went there. France, they’re really known for their scrummaging and the style of play. It really shaped me as a player, especially in the scrummaging. The sessions they had.

“I think I definitely learned so much and stuff that I still do today, still learning. I’m such a young prop too. To be honest, the coaches and staff have been so incredible to me, so it’d be good to see them again.”

Djougang is a real cornerstone of the Irish pack, her team-mates’ admiration for her sparking joyous scenes when they celebrated her 50th cap in the aftermath of the World Cup pool victory over Spain. Featuring at tighthead, she became only the 15th Ireland Women’s player to reach the milestone.

Following the World Cup, the 29-year-old, who has added a Masters degree in Sports Management to her educational achievements, took a step back from the IRFU’s centralised High Performance programme, remaining a ‘player of national interest’ as she combines her rugby with a new job as a Business Development Associate with Medserv, a medical billing company.

The fact that she played a full role in the Wolfhounds’ retention of the Celtic Challenge title, scoring two tries during the recent final against the Clovers, and played 121 minutes of Ireland’s first two Six Nations games, shows that she has got the balance right with the full support of the Union and her employers.

“It’s good to keep that education and I love being able to do both. I think that it was important that when I went in for the job they knew that I was an athlete and also coming from being a full-time athlete. They were able to support me in that transition.

“To be honest, they’ve been so good and they understand what I do, they understand my commitment to rugby, they understand what an athlete is, and I’m also able to transition that aspect of athlete and the mindset that we have and bring it to the job.

“It’s a different transitional skill, but it’s also worked perfectly, the corporate life is so different to the professional life, but there’s so much skill that can be transitioned. It’s really good for me to be able to experience that.”

The front row stalwart is no stranger to hard work away from the rugby pitch, having been a registered nurse at Tallaght University Hospital from 2020 through to last year. She is one of the longest serving players in Scott Bemand’s group, which is now led by new captain Erin King.

To go along with Ireland’s ever-growing Green Wave, King has introduced the idea of the ‘undercurrent’, her own way of ‘placing emphasis on the little bits and pieces and the unseen work’ that all contribute to a result like last week’s nine-try triumph over Italy.

Djougang admitted: “I love it. I think the undercurrent is very important for us, especially this weekend. It’s doing the work that no one really kind of sees. It is that extra 10%. Sometimes it’s not about being shown, it’s not about being a flashy player.

“It is what you’re doing so that a player can be able to score. It’s hitting that ruck when you’re exhausted, so it’s always giving that 10% (extra). And doing it together, to be honest.

“I feel like sometimes a player does so much and it’s not being seen, but it’s really the unseen bits that are really important.”

The battle up front with les Bleues will be vital in deciding the outcome tomorrow, and given how close Ireland were to winning that World Cup clash, falling on the wrong side of an 18-13 scoreline, Djougang is quietly confident that they have it in them to upset the odds in Clermont.

“I hope it’s a good game. It’s a game to look forward to. I think that is where we want to play, that is who we want to play against, and I think that following the World Cup quarter-final, where we were so close, I feel like they know what we’re capable of.

“They know what challenge we’re bringing to them, so I think they definitely know it’s going to be a Test game, and yeah, we’re up for it.

“We just really need to focus on us and really take it. The game is there to take, it’s going to be a massive challenge to break through, but we’ve been working hard, we’ve been speaking about it, and that’s our goal going there.

“We know what the French crowds are like. We really just want to silence them. Really get into our shape, into our system, and just have a fast start. Get into our momentum and start building from there.

“We know it’s going to take so much more to beat a French team, especially at home, especially in Clermont. But we’re really confident, and we definitely feel that this year is the year,” she added.