RYAN SMITH SELECTED TO SQUAD VS AGEN: RUGBY CANADA INTERVIEW   23rd March 2007

 

This weekend, the French Top 14 starts up again after a 7-week hiatus for the Six Nations tournament. Montauban coaches Laurent Labit et Laurent Travers are without the services of their Uruguayan players Lemoine, Bado and Brignoni who fly to Montevideo on National team duties, facing Portugal for a last place in the Rugby World Cup. In addition, they have Soldan and immelman out through injury. However, they have selected Canadian Ryan Smith and Mike Pyke as part of their squad of 24. Meanwhile fellow canadian Colin Yukes will be playing for Agen.

 

Ryan gave an interview to Rugby Canada during preparations for the Agen match.

 

What does the Montauban squad do while the league stops for the Six Nations?

This year was good because we had our schedule for the six week break well in advance, so when our last game ended, we had already planned a week of much needed R&R. Then, when we returned, it was back to the grind for us, as we started a three-week fitness and skills program. It helped to get back the edge we had at the start of the season, as well as freshened up a few things that may have been neglected during the game-heavy first part of the season.

The last two weekends we have had warm up matches with Narbonne, Castres and Auch to get our game plans back in order and now it’s down to the final seven games of the championship.

This weekend we host Colin Yukes and his Agen teammates at Stade Sapiac. It promises to be a good match, as they nicked us 13-9 last time out. I’ve already told Colin to watch for the number 12 because he might be seeing a lot of the backside of that jersey.

Do the players like the league stopping for so long?

I can’t really speak for many of the other guys, but I personally don’t agree with the long break. We jam so many games into the first part of the season, and it really wears on the squad. In a team with not a lot of quality depth, things start to drop off in the later part of the first half. We found ourselves twice playing matches on Saturday, Wednesday, Saturday, and this is just too much Rugby in a short period of time. If they took those two mid-week matches, and put them in the middle of the 6 week break, there would still be time for two blocks of two weeks off or even four weeks in a row.

How are things in club and the league right now?

As I mentioned, we tailed off at the end of the first part of the season, dropping 4 of our last 5 including a much needed win against Albi. That being said, we are still middle of the table and things are looking promising to achieve our goal of staying up in the Top 14 for next season. It’s a cliché to say it, but every game for us right now is a must win, as the difference between 7th and 12th place is not very big. For the most part the league is very strong, with the top two teams dominating (Paris and Clermont), and the rest battling it out for next best.

There is ONE exception to this: Nothing against my Canadian teammates over at Albi, but they are the most destructive Rugby team I’ve ever come across.

Now I had better watch my words, as they have had our number this season (twice), but the type of Rugby they play kind of reminds me of the great 10-man teams over the years. I think the ‘Bear’ move might have been brought over by one of our guys from JBAA, as well as the 1981-2004 playbook from the York Yeomen

If anyone out there believes in free flowing Rugby and productive style, please feel free to send hate mail to anyone of our three countrymen: Morgan Williams, Forrest Gainer or Justin Mensah-Coker.

Any thoughts on the other Canadians over in Europe?

I’ve taken the time to put together a dossier for those who are interested back home (Rugby Canada coaches included) on all of our Canadian players over here. It has taken me some time to compile all of the pertinent details, but finally here it is:

Josh Jackson and Oliver Atkinson, Bordeaux:
While both are still struggling to figure out whether they are playing for Stade Bordeaux, or Begles Bordeaux, it seems like they have found their groove as of late. Josh has taken a break from playing, by faking an injury and conjuring up a son, while ruthless Oliver has taken advantage of this, and stolen Josh’s starting second row spot. Rumor has it that they are not on speaking terms anymore.

Mike Burak and Iain Exner, Pau:
Mike I’ve heard has solidified his spot in the Pau line-up by talking as loud as he can and telling everyone how good he looks. Iain on the other hand has this ‘professional’ Rugby thing figured out cold. His contract apparently includes a clause which allowed him to play 4 minutes of one game and then take a 2 month paid vacation back to Canada. If Iain reads this, I would like to speak to your agent soon.

Sean Michael Stephen, Beziers:
Strangely enough, the arrival of Canadian Sean Michael Stephen at Bezier coincided with their sudden dip in form. They have fallen from 2nd place to 4th in the last two months. Now I am not one to draw conclusions without facts, but one has to wonder if his strange appearance and massive calves has something to do with the other players being distracted on the field.

Morgan Williams, Forrest Gainer and Justin Mensah Coker, Albi:
I’ve alluded to the Albi team above, so please send them hate mail.

Colin Yukes, Agen:
Colin is a constant starter over at the Agen club, where he is now a consummate French ‘rugbyman’. Colin’s work week consists of arriving on Monday (maybe), checking to see if there is a team lunch, reading the ‘Midi Olympique’ and drinking espresso. Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday are optional training sessions for him, but he will be sure to make the Captain’s Run on Friday as he will definitely be in the starting XV. Well done Colin.

Jamie Cudmore, Clermont:
I’ve been told that Jamie is a great guy and playing great Rugby. I wish him all the success in the world and hope that he is well. I am looking forward to the game against Clermont in Montauban, and hope that we can be friends on the field.

Mike James, Paris:
Reports out of Paris have Mike buying Stade Francais as a ‘side’ project, while he continues to fund the NASA trip to Mars. Last time I was in Paris, Mike had to skip our lunch date to have a meeting with Bill Gates and Richard Branson from Virgin Airlines. Rugby is going well by all accounts, but it has been tough of late with all of the paparazzi attention.

 

On a final note, Mike Pyke has joined me over at Montauban in the last two months and it has been a pleasure to babysit him during this time. He has been working on his French proverbs and desperately trying to make a name for himself as a plus-size,  haute couture model.

What do you think about the Carded XV's series of games?

I really think from all accounts things have been going great for the guys back home. They have been working really hard off the field and now are getting the chance to prove what the high performance directors already knew. It’s great for them to get a number of games together to gel and organize.

I just hope that if the professionals come back then we can come into the squad without disrupting the good work that they have done. I am really looking forward to seeing the gains some of the younger guys have made in the last little while.
 

What do you think about the carded players' training regimen?

From what I’ve heard, I think that I am happy that I am over here and not at home! They have been working their tails off and not being able to play any games. It’s been a long last couple of months for them I am sure, and getting a few games has got to be a relief. I think that come summer time the guys are going to be jumping and if we can have a positive build up to RWC, then good things are going to happen.

And anything else along those lines?

Please excuse me for writing so much, but I’ve taken a page out of Al Charron’s column (which I read in its entirety). If you feel that I’ve take too much line space to say very little, please feel free to email me at: acharron@rugbycanada.ca    Ryan