William SERVAT

Biog of William SERVAT :

To see William Servat running into walls, always advancing, head nestled between his shoulders, the thighs and back of a weight lifter, you would find it hard to believe that he does not spend all of his time in the gym. True enough, over time he has come to spend more time there, but he had already earned his nickname “the log” (from logger, since he looks as though he has been carved from rock) a long time before. Servat’s breakthrough at the highest level (Grand Slam 2004, European Cup 2003 and 2005, European final 2004 and French Championship final 2003) dates from a time when he was still allergic to pumping iron. He possessed natural strength. Yannick Bru, his direct competition at Stade Toulousain and for France (five years his senior but Servat’s replacement for the 2004 Grand Slam) before becoming his trainer at Toulouse, says, “Nature blessed him with muscularity, explosive strength and a brute force that few hookers possess, even at the international level. I was always jealous of his potential; I would have loved to have some of what he’s got. I always said to myself that when it all clicks into place there would be very few players to rival William Servat in Europe…”

And it did click, but only after a terrible ordeal - a cervical hernia suffered in September 2005. The injury first kept him bedridden then made him fear for his rugby career, before motivating him to flog his guts out in the gym to get back to where he was. No - to be better. He took each step at a time, “like when you’re learning to walk”, he would say later. So Servat buckled down to work. Thierry Savio, weights specialist at Toulouse, supervised: “He possessed such strength before his injury that he only needed three half-hour sessions a week to feel good. After the operation, the equation was different. Being unable to play rugby, he came to understand that it meant more to him than he had previously thought, so he was willing to do anything to play again. We established a weights program to perform twice a day, six days a week over several months, designed specifically around playing rugby.” The real “log”, the one we know today, had just been strapped in and was ready to go.

Fabien Pelous, who was, like Yannick Bru, Servat’s teammate at Toulouse for ten years, maintains today, “It may seem strange to say, but his injury did him good. He took it all for granted before.” Servat had enjoyed the good life, the pleasures of the table, and had been playing rugby in an era that, although it was becoming increasingly professional, was still very amateur in some aspects, so he took things as they came. Then, at an age (27 when he was injured) when many would like to take a bit of time out, he used his to strengthen up, although never warming to the pleasures of pumping iron. He gained weight (between six and eight kilos for 1.84m) and confidence. The hard work paid off and is still paying off today. Savio comments, “The difference with William is his explosive force even at very heavy weights. When others are struggling, he can still do his reps at high speed.”

So Servat makes ground as soon as he gets the ball in hand, and preferably with a brick wall in front of him. Servat seems to have stock-piled energy from the two almost totally written-off seasons (2005 to 2007, 20 matches in total for Toulouse, 11 as starting hooker), energy that he has to burn on the pitch today, an energy that, with his rugby and game in the tight now back to its best, has since June 2009 made him France’s number one hooker, in front of the no less explosive Dimitri Szarzewski (16 caps, all in the starting line-up, out of a possible 21). On the road to recovery Servat picked up a French Championship and played in a European final with Toulouse, both in 2008. Completely rehabilitated in 2010 (39 matches in the season), Servat was one of the major players in both France’s Grand Slam and the fourth European title to be won by Toulouse. In 2011 he was part of the Toulouse team to win their 18th French Championship. Not bad, finally, for the 17-year-old rock from a village in the Comminges, who dared to take up the offer of a trial from Stade Toulousain, having only started playing rugby two years previously. Servat left the field after 31 minutes of the Top 14 final victory over Montpellier (his 34th match of the season) suffering from a cartilage problem in his left knee, and he underwent keyhole surgery in the middle of June to rectify the problem. The operation and the recovery period disrupted his preparations for the World Cup in New Zealand (he did not play in the two friendly matches against Ireland in August), for which he was a logical choice, but he will be ready for the start of the competition in September.

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