France star believes La Rochelle were ‘surfing’ on past success as ‘reset’ takes place under Ronan O’Gara
La Rochelle number eight Gregory Alldritt looks ahead to the new season.
Last season was one that Ronan O’Gara and La Rochelle will look to forget, as they failed to reach the Top 14 play-offs for the first time since 2018, while they suffered a shock elimination in the Champions Cup to Munster.
Across this period La Rochelle have become one of the biggest clubs in Europe and are regularly in the conversation to win the Top 14 and Champions Cup, and the upcoming season will be no different, as last year seemed to be an anomaly.
While this may be the case, Grégory Alldritt believes they have to earn the support of their fans again this season, despite the obvious ambition being to lift a title.
Eager to respond
He said: “I think we need to make them proud again. We need to go on the pitch and earn the respect we used to have. We don’t have it anymore.
“We need to go out there and give everything on the pitch, empty the tank on the pitch, and we’ll see what happens. But if we do that, I’m sure we will be pretty good. And we need to make the supporters feel proud again.
“And this is the most, for me, the most important stuff we need to work on for the start of the season.”
The first opportunity for Les Maritimes to earn back the support of their fans will be against Bordeaux-Bègles when the two face off on September 6; however, this will not be an easy task considering they are away to the Champions Cup holders.
However, this season is unlike any other for the club.
Alldritt said: “We started again on the 14th of July, so six or seven weeks of hard work. It was really tough, but we looked at it like an opportunity, because for the last year we were generally semi-finalists or finalists, so we had a really short pre-season. So it’s the first year we were able to work hard and work well.
“It can impact the season, but I think it was the main issue we had. I think we had a great year with two titles, two Champions Cup titles, and we were a bit surfing on this. And we needed a reset, and I think it’s what happened at the end of the past season. So now we are starting a new base.”
While things may be resetting for Alldritt at club level, he will be hoping that things continue to thrive with France.
The 28-year-old had the honour of being named the captain of his national team last season, a proud moment for Alldritt; however, this may not have been the case due to the diverse background of his family.
His father was born in Kenya to an Irish grandfather who spent the majority of his youth growing up in Scotland, while his brother now lives and works in Edinburgh.
Alldritt admitted that had it been a choice of who to represent, it would have been between France and Scotland.
He said: “To be honest, I’m not feeling Irish enough to play for them. I’ve got lots of respect for this team. I love this team and this country, but if I had a choice to make, it would have been between Scotland and France. But I couldn’t play for Scotland because neither of my grandparents’ parents were born over there.”
His connection to Scotland is still strong, with his elder brother living and working in Edinburgh, one of the pillars he leans on for advice.
He said: “My two big brothers played rugby in France. They went quite at a good level, like under 21. It’s helped me more now because they understand when I speak rugby. They understand the rugby team; they understand lots of stuff around that.
“So, when I’ve got some issues or if I’ve got some subjects I want to talk about, generally I call them, and they’ve got the rugby. So, this is really helping me now.
“I’m really close with my brothers and my parents as well. They come to all the international games and some of La Rochelle as well. I’m very lucky to have my family around me and that I can, like you say, lean on them. So, I’m really, really, really glad with that.”
Fresh faces
While he can turn towards his family for support, as captain of club and country, he is the individual that others look to for this, particularly this year, as he has seen several fresh faces being added to the La Rochelle squad, and he has been impressed by this intake of youth.
He said: “For a lot of them it’s their first pre-season. The involvement and the quality of the players were really good, and I think it’s going to help us.
“They’re going to push us to be better on the pitch, and when they’re going to play, they’re going to take the opportunity as well.
“We need that. And I think it’s the most important part of the team to get these young players really involved and willing to play for the A team.”