He went fast again. Too much for the Italian defense. On the lawn of the Stadio Olimpico, this Saturday, for the first match of the Blues in the Six Nations Tournament (50-10 victory for the Tricolores), Teddy Thomas wanted space, largely satisfied by the transalpine weaknesses. And the Racing 92 winger, tenured by Fabien Galthié, took the opportunity to further improve his impressive ratio among the Blues with two new tests. Here he is at 15 in 23 caps since 2014, which shows both the efficiency and the dotted career of the player in the jersey struck by the rooster.
At 27, Teddy Thomas has known almost everything: four coaches, a smashing debut with a hat-trick against Fiji for his first cap, an exclusion from the group for arriving late for training in 2014, another sidelining for joining a night out in Scotland in 2018, and a slew of physical worries. To summarize: a phenomenon balloon in hand, but far too inconstant and weighed down by “a reputation of a wanker who does not care”, as he recently regretted in an interview at Stage 2.
Saturday, we especially saw the tails side with, in addition to his two tries, a very interesting offensive contribution, a breach which brings the first try of the Blues and a lightning acceleration to send Antoine Dupont into the opposing goal.
“He’s sharp, and physically fit. We also feel that the game plan of the XV of France suits him very well, greets Mathieu Rourre, former director of the Biarritz training center, where he began his career. He has this ability to regain his support without losing speed, a bit like Emile Ntamack and Christophe Dominici had. ”
Defense, eternal point to watch
This is what brings Fabien Galthié and the Blues to trust him. “Teddy Thomas has performed very well with us. He brings what is expected of him, that is to say his qualities of speed, finisher, scorer, “said the boss of the Blues to justify his place in the starting XV to the detriment of Damian Penaud.
In Rome, the winger did not seem affected by his announced divorce from Racing 92 which leaked this week in the press. If he has not yet found a point of fall for next season, Teddy Thomas is needed more and more among the Blues. Even if the balance is fragile. Very disappointing in Cardiff during the victory of the Blues a year ago, he was dismissed by the staff for the next trip to Scotland. “Not a sanction,” insisted the tricolor staff. But hard not to see a warning.
Another point to watch, his defensive mistakes. If he avoided an Italian try with a judicious kick in Rome, Teddy Thomas too often displays shortcomings in this sector of the game. “You need rage, he has less than the others, summarizes the ex -three-quarters international center, Richard Dourthe. He defends better collectively than before, but that’s still a problem. Now, it’s not that bad as long as he does what is asked of him: score or cause to be scored. “
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“If Teddy were as strong in defense as in attack, he would be one of the best players in the world. But if we take him, we do not take him for his qualities as a defender, believes Mathieu Rourre. Now we have to look at its overall contribution. He’s someone who designs rugby in attack, and that’s what we have to rely on with him. ” For now, this is the guideline of the staff of the Blues.
Article original de: www.leparisien.fr
