His silence cost him dearly. A European Cup final and not far from six months of trouble during which there were very few reasons to smile. For not having revealed to his staff a calf injury on the eve of the derby in Castres in April, Dorian Aldegheri finds himself today on the bandwagon. Too late to catch that of the XV of France, he will be satisfied this fall with the Toulouse TGV, launched at full speed towards the peaks of the Top 14. Enough to suffice, for the moment, for his happiness.
"Stubborn, I said: 'It will pass'"
"Frankly, I can only blame myself," pleads the right pillar. And to recount his entry into this long tunnel: "The day before the match in Castres, I tear myself up but I decide to continue, to say nothing and to play. What not to do (smile)."
Holder that day, "complete limping (sic) at halftime", he will still hold five more minutes before giving way to David Ainu'u. Or how the desire to play as the matches that matter approach, despite the experience accumulated after eight seasons in contact with the pro group, can make you lack discernment. It is nevertheless difficult to reproach him for not having listened to himself and for having wanted to believe in his chances of a happy spring after almost a year of marring.
A choice which is also explained by the painful memory of a final experienced from the stands. With a rare sincerity that says a lot about his regrets and the discomfort that was his, he continues: "It was two weeks before the semi-final of the European Cup. Stubborn, I said: '' It's going to pass. And that wasn't enough. On the second scrum, it completely tore. I bled 20 centimeters. I knew it was dead for the European Cup final and it was all the more difficult since I had missed the Top 14 final in 2019. I had missed two finals and it was complicated mentally.
"It's good, I played it!"
So "Doudou" embarked on a race against the clock to give himself a chance to apply for the final of the Top 14, at the end of June. "I hung on, I persisted with the medical staff. We tried a lot of things, I got punctured and we managed to find the solution allowing me to come back for the final. And frankly, to have it played, that's something. You breathe, you have less pressure – not before, after the blow! – you say to yourself: "It's good, I played it" and you switch to another season."
A liberating act that remained in the memory of Jean Bouilhou, his trainer: "The image that I retain is his final where he was sparkling for 20, 25 minutes and we all hope that he finds this level glimpsed. think he will gradually regain his qualities. He has worked a lot physically, he is very mobile for a right prop but he retains his combat and scrum quality.
Qualities that Aldegheri has unfortunately not been able to show since the start of the season, upset by his other calf, just before the opening in La Rochelle. And this time, no question of making the same mistake. The Toulousain therefore took the time to heal and only returned to the lawns last Saturday, on the occasion of the reception of Pau. "I continued to work because physically, casually, it's been a while since I got into the rhythm of the matches, he admits. It was a bit difficult the first 10 minutes but I found the second wind. It will get better and better."
There is therefore no question for him of being too observant on the synthetic lawn which awaits him this Sunday in Lyon: "Personally, I don't like it too much. It's better a lawn. The 'synthetic' burns. But there's no big difference." Nor to dwell on the increased risk of muscle problems generated by this surface: "I don't think about it." Because after six months spent struggling, Aldegheri is determined to be positive and enjoy.
