Alexis PALISSON

Biog of Alexis PALISSON :

Palisson was left out of the June 2010 tour (two heavy 40-point defeats in South Africa and Argentina) due to a sordid squabble between the Federation and the League concerning the international Sevens team, but he was in the starting line up on the left wing for the last four rounds of the 2010 Grand Slam. The “little” Brive player with the face of an angel was also selected by Marc Lièvremont in November for the Autumn tests and was one of the rare players to appear in all three French matches, against Fiji as a replacement, Argentina as full-back and Australia on the wing. However, was this a true reflection of his performances?

Palisson made his debut in June 2008 opposite the muscular Wallaby, Lote Tuqiri (1.91m, 103kg). And what did he say to the spectators who worried that he might come off worse for wear? “It’s either him or someone else. You have to play against somebody.” He needed to have a fair amount of self-confidence and a good dose of recklessness to reduce his first game to a simple face to face, a meeting that – on paper – matched 59 caps and a World Cup final against a dozen Top 14 appearances. Palisson was still 20 years of age and almost totally unknown to the general public. At best he was known for having scored a hat trick of tries for Brive against Padua in the European Challenge cup, in December 2006, and for being a good little local lad, who first played rugby at l’Isle-sur-Vienne, then Limoges, before joining CAB. And here he was, filling the gaps in a French team deprived of the Top 14 semi-finalists.

Palisson left the great Tuqiri standing in the fourth minute. He fixed his man textbook-style before taking him on the outside, later dumping another 100kg Australian, Sterling Mortlock (with a cupboard full of caps) on his backside before going on to score his first international try. It was an auspicious start for the little winger (1.75m), who weighed barely 80 kilos at the time (he weighs 82, perhaps 83, kilos today). It comes as no surprise to hear him often concede that his opponents are “big athletes … I guess the opposite of me.” But this doesn’t seem to worry Palisson. He knows that on his side he has audacity, instinctively knowing when to run the ball back and a passion for running rugby inherited from his father, a Toulouse player of the past. His polyvalence also serves him well (he can also play full back) and he is talented with the boot, his left in particular, which he uses for Brive, kicking for both touch and the posts. This is an advantage that counts when the selectors are picking the squad.

So, in 2010, Palisson returned to the French team for the Six Nations tournament after a break of more than a year, and he was named in the starting line up, something that had not happened since his baptism of fire* (he was replacement for the three tests in November), where he scored a fine interception try against Wales.

Palisson’s international adventure continued in 2011. To start with it was stop/start, being selected in the 30-man squad to prepare for the Six Nations tournament but not for the matches. He was then called up on the eve of the England/France game to replace the injured Maxime Médard, and later recalled after the Italy debacle to add fresh legs and enthusiasm to a traumatised French team, appearing on the left wing in the starting line-up  for the final match against Wales. As Palisson is capable of playing wing or full back he was a natural selection for Marc Lièvremont’s World Cup squad.

At the end of the Top 14 2010-2011 regular season (Brive finished in 12th place), Alexis Palisson put pen to paper and pledged his future to Toulon where he will play next season.

∗ There is a great deal of competition for the wing position. Under Lièvremont, Cédric Heymans, Vincent Clerc, Julien Malzieu, Maxime Médard, Aurélien Rougerie, Alexis Palisson, Marc Andreu, Benjamin Fall, Benjamin Thiéry, David Janin, Yoann Huget and Julien Arias have all appeared in the starting line up in the position.

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