Thierry DUSAUTOIR

Biog of Thierry DUSAUTOIR :

Thierry Dusautoir has a little scar in the middle of his forehead, a permanent souvenir of a France/New Zealand match that almost cost him his international career (3-47 defeat in Lyon). Dusautoir’s nightmare third cap earned him a long period in the international wilderness despite his good form for Biarritz (2004-2006), and later Stade Toulousain (from 2006) - free at last of his studies in chemical engineering.

Dusautoir had to rely on luck - or rather the bad luck - of Elvis Vermeulen, who was forced to stand down due to injury, leaving the way clear for Dusautoir to stake his place in the 2007 World Cup squad. He became a permanent member of Les Bleus from then on. “I told Bernard (Laporte) that the day he picked Dusautoir would be the day he could no longer do without him,” recalls Jacques Delmas, Dusautoir’s coach during his time at Biarritz. The road would prove to be less straightforward but history can play strange tricks sometimes and it was against New Zealand, his former nemesis, that Dusautoir, who hails from Divo in the Ivory Coast (he was born in Abidjan), exploded onto the world scene.

In addition to his try that day, records show that during the 2007 World Cup quarter-final in Cardiff Dusautoir made 36 tackles, two more than the whole of the New Zealand back-row put together! The British press quickly named him “the Dark Destroyer”; a compliment for sure, but it does not reveal the whole story. Dusautoir refuses to be pigeonholed as an exclusively defensive flanker. “It’s true that it is my main role on the pitch. But I haven’t always concentrated on tackling. I was more of an attacking player before my knee injury,” underlines the international. “I got my break with Bègles’ first team because I had an attacking frame of mind. Later, I had to adapt for a number of reasons, but first and foremost because I was playing for a few teams whose priority above all was not to leak points.” For Bègles (2001-2003) and later Colomiers (2001-2003).

With the 2007 World Cup in full swing, Guy Novès, the prophetic Toulouse manager, described Dusautoir: “He reminds me of Jean-Pierre Rives,” captain in 1979 of the first French team to win on All Black soil. Dusautoir needed a convincing performance to cement his international place and he provided one in the Dantean match at the Millennium stadium, to the extent that he became a permanent fixture in Marc Lièvremont’s (Laporte’s successor as head of Les Bleus) back-row (12 selections out of a possible 15 from February 2008 to March 2009), later being named captain for the 2009 summer tour to New Zealand and Australia. Les Tricolores triumphed in Dunedin (22-27) in a match that reflected the qualities of their new leader - determination and commitment. It was the first French victory in New Zealand since 1994! Dusautoir, who had not missed a match since November 2008 (with the exception of France/Fiji in November 2010 for which he was rested), cemented his position as a key member of the squad (Dusautoir has been in Lièvremont’s starting line-up more than any other player: 32 times out of a possible 36)

However, the Toulouse player, now tenth on the list of France captains (19), went when he accepted the captaincy role (which he holds at Toulouse as well) and more importantly the duties that go with it, against his own nature. A discrete, almost introverted man, speaking of himself on his arrival at Stade Toulousain in the summer of 2006, he declared: “People have to be brave to come and talk to me.” But it was above all Dusautoir, who needed courage to break out of the shell he hid behind. Today he is a high-ranking member of the French team (42 caps), with four French Championship titles (2005, 2006, 2008, 2011), a European Cup (2010) and a Grand Slam (2010) under his belt (the last three as captain), and Dusautoir is a household name.

Dusautoir has matured, accepting a role that he must have seen as a challenge. “I try to be myself,” he says.” I speak once or twice during each training session but I don't run after every player to give them advice or correct things. I take charge of the last training session principally to get my mindset right for the match and to don the captain’s hat.” And he admits that the responsibility affects him. “As a player, I feel as though some of my energy is spent on captaincy, perhaps my game suffers as a result... I need to find the right balance.” Even if the captain was shaken by the two disappointing defeats in South Africa and Argentina in June 2010 followed by the trouncing at the hands of Australia at the Stade de France in November (16-59, the heaviest ever defeat on French soil) and the loss to Italy in March (first defeat against Italy in Italy and first defeat against Italy in the Six Nations tournament), you can be sure that Dusautoir the player will find in his sense of combat the resources to bounce back, as he did after the disaster in November 2006.