For a good cause, he agreed to shorten his vacation by a few days. Grégory Alldritt, major player of the XV of France and La Rochelle, had agreed with his club to take a break until January 2024, after a grueling World Cup. But with the results of the reigning European champions at half-mast, the third row agreed to put on the yellow jersey of La Rochelle again earlier than expected as they face Stade Toulouse on Saturday December 30, at 9:05 p.m., in the Top 14.
“The idea was to be able to regenerate myself physically,” explained Aldritt on November 8 in L’Equipe. “There was also the desire to take a mental break,” added the player who, during the 2022-2023 season and at the start of the current season, was on all fronts: Top 14 and Champions Cup with La Rochelle ( the club went to the final of the French championship and won the European Cup), Six Nations Tournament and World Cup with the French team (eliminated in the quarter-finals by South Africa).
At 26, Aldritt already has forty-five caps with the Blues and was keen to avoid the bad patch he experienced in 2019 after the World Cup in Japan. “I was coming off a long season with Stade Rochelais [37 matches, adding those at the World Cup]. When I returned to the club, I played again very quickly. In the process, I injured my hamstrings and had a series of problems with my back,” he said at the beginning of November. Above all, after the cut linked to the Covid-19 pandemic, the third row participated in 92 matches, including 84 as a starter, which is considerable in a sport as demanding as rugby.
After a total break of around two weeks at the end of the 2023 World Cup, the international then followed, at the pace he wanted, a physical training program. La Rochelle will therefore be able to count on a player, if not sharp, at least in good shape to try to get back on track, because the club’s results are, to date, very far from its objectives.
A modest 9th place in Top 14
In Top 14, before the 11th day, Stade Rochelais occupies a modest 9th place, 13 points from the leader, Racing 92, and 7 points from 6th place, which gives access to the final phase of the French championship. In the Champions Cup, the Yellow and Black lost their first two matches of the group stage in December (against the Irish Leinster and the South African Stormers). They occupy a worrying 5th place (out of 6) in group D.
Saturday at 9:05 p.m., against Toulouse, for the first opposition between the last finalists of the Top 14 (on June 17, Stade Toulousain beat Stade Rochelais 29-26 thanks to a dazzling performance from Romain Ntamack at the end of the match), Grégory Aldritt will not start at kick-off. However, he should come into play during the match and provide valuable support, coupled with a dose of leadership, to his partners.
“He has a lot of experience and he is respected in the team. He’s good at putting pressure on so for sure, he’s going to make the difference this weekend,” said Tawera Kerr-Barlow, the New Zealand scrum-half from La Rochelle. During the preparation phase for the match against Toulouse – which intends to rest some of its best players for this match – Aldritt has already started to have a positive influence within his club again.
“It’s good to see him outside too, especially in meetings, where he always brings the little detail that can make the difference and is important for us,” explains Gurthro Steenkamp, one of the La Rochelle coaches. When there is waste in training, he brings the group together to find the right words. It’s impressive, he’s not even 30 and you’d think he already had a ten-year career. »