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'I'm under no illusions, I'm not the same player I was at Clermont'
Funny how it has all sweetly turned out for Vannes veteran Nick Abendanon. Ten months ago, he thought his career was finished. The Top 14 season had been terminated. So too the plus-one deal that the 34-year-old thought would keep him going for another year at Clermont. It was upsettingly scratched and the scrapheap beckoned.
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Twelve-month contract offers from Leicester and London Irish offered a lifeline but he didn’t bite. The upheaval of switching countries in a pandemic for something that didn’t offer long-term security just wasn’t worth the hassle for someone with a young family well settled in France.
In his head he was done, finished, ready to embrace an alternative career. The property market sounded good. Definitely not coaching. Too much impact on family time. Then came the call that changed everything. A two-year playing deal with ambitious Vannes in the Pro D2. Goodbye Massif Central. Hello Brittany coastline.
Abendanon has giddily embraced the change in scenery. “Brittany is a lovely part of the world, a coastal region,” he enthused to RugbyPass. “It has got a bit of a Cornwall type vibe, right next to the sea so we’re at the beach a lot of the time with the kids, long walks along the Gulf of Morbihan which is a lovely scenic area where they do lots of sailing.
“It’s very picturesque, completely opposite to what Clermont is like, mountainesque, freezing in the winter, boiling in the summer. It’s a completely different place in terms of that, but it’s a very beautiful spot.”
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??Immersion au coeur du groupe pour tous nos supporters !
Vous nous manquez. Cette victoire est pour vous ? pic.twitter.com/E1L8UJ1hhP
— Rugby Club Vannes (@RugbyClubVannes) February 12, 2021
His promotional bit done for the local tourist board, what about the rugby? A two-time England cap, all Abendanon had known during his nine years at Bath followed by a half-dozen more years at Clermont was the pampered elite club game. Division Two? That was something beyond his postcode.
“I have never been someone who watches a huge amount of rugby outside of playing it, so I wasn’t really too clued up on the Pro D2, but I knew some great players that have come up from the Pro D2 who have shown it is a great platform to get a bit of game time and then get your opportunity to come up into the Top 14.”
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The grassroots adventure for Abendanon at Vannes has been enlightening. “It’s chalk and cheese. You can’t make a comparison between the two clubs. Clermont is one of the big European powerhouses and Vannes have come up from Federale 3 over the last ten years and are trying to progress their way into the Top 14.
“They have big plans to build a training centre at the end of this season and are putting things in place to make sure they are a very ambitious club. But the first day I came to Vannes, I rocked up and they said, ‘This is where the training ground is’. It was a couple of makeshift tents and a couple of Portakabins and I was like, ‘Oh, what the hell have I done here?’
“But it’s quite refreshing in a way. All the guys, there is no big egos. Everyone is very grounded. They work very, very hard here, they are all very ambitious, they all want to do their best to get spotted and seen and hopefully play in the Top 14. It’s refreshing to come down a peg and re-find the love of the game, I guess.”
Tell us more. “It’s always difficult in a team like Clermont where you have got so many superstars in the team. You have got almost two internationals in each position, there is bound to be people that are upset. When things go wrong fingers get pointed and stuff.
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“Then you have got players who are also worrying about their French careers and things like that. Sometimes the dynamic is difficult in such a big team like that whereas here every one is working towards the same task. They rotate the squad really well.
“They give guys equal opportunities and the players really work hard for each other and put in a huge amount of effort. That makes life a whole lot easier. You don’t have any big-heads or egos and everyone can just crack on and concentrate on giving their all.”
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With it has come a very different role for Abendanon at Vannes. Not only has he had to change his style of game due to his age, but he has also had to adapt in order to blend in with a squad that is very much his junior. Essentially, he has had to get on down with the kids, take an interest in the fads and the frolics that these days occupy the minds of young men in their 20s.
“I’m under no illusions I’m not the same player I was at Clermont. Every training session and game is getting harder and harder. The legs definitely aren’t moving as quickly as they used to so I have got to try and use my rugby intelligence and nous to create opportunities.
“Not making breaks for myself but trying to put other people into gaps. A bit more of a playmaker than a game-breaker,” explained the 2015 European player of the year who is back in harness following an eleven-week winter layoff in between appearances due to a small ankle fracture sustained at Biarritz in November.
“I’m probably ten years older than most of the guys here so I have tried to give as much as I can to the team experience-wise and help out with the coaches. It’s great to be involved. The team bond we have got this year, it’s the best environment I have been in throughout my career. Everyone gets on well and that really shows on the field, so I’m really happy to have made the choice to come to Vannes,” beamed Abendanon.
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“It was initially a bit difficult (fitting in). It brought back memories of my student days in Bath and the topics of conversation we used to have back then rather than the conversations I have with my wife and kids. But it has been a breath of fresh air. The youngsters bring a lot of energy, a lot of excitement. There are always lots of laughs and joking around.”
This camaraderie is enhanced by away games. Whereas Clermont was centrally located for Top 14 excursions, Vannes is geographically off the beaten track. “The nine-hour bus trips are an eye-opener,” he quipped.
“Vannes is not very well situated in terms of travelling around France. The last bus trip was eight hours to Beziers. So eight hours there and eight hours back, getting back into the house at seven in the morning just as the kids are about to wake up.
“That’s not the most pleasant of things but it’s all an experience and thankfully we have been winning, so it makes the bus trips back more enjoyable. There is a good amount of beer flowing on the bus and the boys are cracking the music out. All new experiences and they are definitely an eye-opener.”
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Friday night’s latest escapade was marginally a little less time consuming, just the seven hours each way to Aurillac and back for Abendanon and co but it was worth it, Vannes picking up their 15th win in 19 outings. They’re two points clear of Perpignan at the top with eleven rounds remaining before the end-of-season playoffs decide who goes up to the Top 14.
Having only escaped Federale in 2016, for a club relatively new to the second-tier to be in the running to join the French elite is the quite the story and an away fixture at Clermont would be something Abendanon would probably drive the Vannes team bus to, so itching would he be to get back there. However, there are fears that going up now could be too soon for Vannes at this stage of their development.
“At this moment in time I can’t picture it [an away match at Clermont] but I’ll tell you what, it would be great if it did happen. It would be pretty special, it would be up there with one of my memories I would keep for a very long time after I finished playing.
“I’m really happy to have seen how the team has progressed and how we haven’t faltered under the pressure of being at the top spot. We have got more to give and we will definitely be there come the playoffs, but I don’t think anyone is under illusions.
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“It would be incredibly difficult to stay up in the Top 14 if we were to go up this year but they are making a great investment in the club, they are doing some great recruiting and so if we do go up we have managed to retain 90 per cent of the squad that we have got this year so that is a good start. If we went up this year it’s probably two years too soon but you will see Vannes going up into the Top 14 within a five-year period I reckon.
“There is definitely a notable difference skill-wise,” he added, contrasting the difference between Top 14 and Pro D2. “Luckily for me, as my body is getting older and I’m getting slower, this makes it a little more of an easier transition to go down to the Pro D2 because the skill level is not as high as it is in Top 14.
“Defensively players probably don’t make as good a read as they do in the Top 14 so you get a bit more space on the ball. But it’s probably a league more forward orientated. There is a lot based around a good solid scrum, lineout, our driving maul this year has been exceptional. We have scored a lot from there. But the last three or four games our backline have shown what class we have got in the team and it’s paying rewards.”
These are rewards Abendanon never expected to be enjoying and the lesson of last year’s near career-ending limbo before he was snapped up by Vannes is to get better clued up on what to do when the boots are hung up. “It definitely shed light on it,” he said about the ordeal of thinking he was prematurely finished.
Solide comme @nick_abendanon ?? pic.twitter.com/5tiiyJosnX
— Rugby Club Vannes (@RugbyClubVannes) February 9, 2021
“I’d an offer from London Irish, from Leicester, but they were both one year and I wasn’t keen to make huge upheaval from where we are very comfortable in Clermont to going back to the UK just for one year. It’s just not enough time to put roots down.
“It made much more sense just to stay in France and in my head I was ready to stop. I’d pretty much made my mind up that it was going to be the end and I had accepted that, but luckily this new chance to play a bit of rugby came up and I took it with open arms. My wife and I thought why not give it one last adventure and having been here in Vannes for six months we’re very glad that we have done it,” explained Abendanon.
“There is lots of different things I thought about doing but I’m not sure, I don’t have a clear path as of yet of what I’m going to be doing after rugby. I pretty much know I won’t stay in rugby. When I was younger I thought I would probably become a coach but I have decided against that.
“I don’t like the lifestyle of coaching. Fair play to them, they work a huge amount of hours. I just don’t think it leads well to family life. They are away every single weekend, they have got to work crazy hours. I just think that is something that doesn’t lead to where I want to be.
“I love property so getting into property development or something like that is something that interests me a lot and I’m going to try and do as much work experience over the next two years before I retire so maybe I can go to that sort of sector.”
Sounds like a plan to reckon with after last year’s uncertainty.
Comments on RugbyPass
Not sure exactly what went wrong for him at Glasgow but it’s pretty clear he ain’t Franco’s cup of tea. Suspect he would have been better served heading out of Scotland around the same time as Finn, Hoggy and Jonny!
1 Go to commentsBulls disrespected the Northampton supporters and the competition. Decide quickly, fully in or out.
24 Go to commentsI wonder if Parling was ever on England’s radar as a coach? Obviously Borthwick is a great lineout coach, but I do worry he might be taking on too much as both head coach and forwards coach.
1 Go to commentsJason Jenkins has one cap. When Etzebeth was his age he had over 80 caps. Experience matters. He will never amount to what Etzebeth has because he hasn’t been developed as an international player.
1 Go to commentsSays much about the player picking this gig over the easier and bigger rewards offered to him in Japan. Also says a lot about the state sanctioned tax benefits the Irish Revenue offers pro rugby players, with their ten highest earning years subject to an additional 40% tax relief and paid as a lump sum, in cash, at retirement. Certainly helps Leinster line up the financial ducks in a row to fund marquee signings like this!!! No other union anywhere in world rugby benefits from this kind of lucrative financial sponsorship from their government…
5 Go to commentsTrue Jordie could earn a lot more in Japan. But by choosing Leinster he’ll be playing with 1 of the best clubs in the world and can win a champions cup and URC…..
6 Go to commentsThanks for that Marshy, noticed you didn't say who is gonna win it. We know who ain't gonna win it - your Crusaders outfit. They've gone from having arguably the best Super Rugby first five ever, to having a clutch of rookies. Hurricanes all the way!
1 Go to commentsGeez you really have to question the NRLs ability to produce players of quality. Its pathetic. Dont the 25mil in Aus produce enough quality womens players. Sad.
1 Go to commentsBulls fan here, and agree 100% with the conclusion (and little else) of this article. SA sides should absolutely f-off from the champs cup until we get fair scheduling, equal support for travel arrangements and home semis. You know, like all the european teams get.
24 Go to commentsI’m yet to see why Grace would be an ABs contender. He’s pedestrian and lacks the dominance required of a top flight 8.
11 Go to commentsGee my Highlanders were terrible. They have gone backwards since the start of the season. The trouble began when we left Millar behind to prep as the 10 against the Brumbies and he was disconnected from the team that came back from Aussie. We rested Patchell for that game and we blew an avalanche of ball in good attacking positions in the 1st half. Against the Rebels we seem to of gone into a pod system with forwards hanging off from the breakdown leaving Fakatava to secure our ball!
80 Go to commentsPot Kettle, the English and French teams have done it for years.
24 Go to commentsHas virtually played every minute of previous games. Back row of Li Lo Willie , Grace and Blackadder would be the 1. Crusaders issue is a very average 1st 5 who cannot run. Kicking in general play is also below par They need to put Yong Kemara in. He must have so.e talent for them to bring him down from Waikato. Hoehepa would struggle to play in so.e club sided
11 Go to commentsI hope this a good thing making all these changes!
3 Go to commentsThe Hurricanes are good, especially with a decent coach now. However, let’s be real, the Crusaders and Chiefs are clearly a good degree weaker without the players they’ve lost overseas now. The Canes lost one player. It’s also why the aussie teams ‘seem’ to be stronger.
9 Go to commentsOr you could develop your own players instead of constantly taking from the SH competition and weakening it in the process? With all the player and financial resources these unions have compared to SH countries you’d think they could manage that, or is weakening the SH comps and their national sides an added bonus? Probably.
3 Go to commentsNot so fast Aaron, we might need you in black yet lol. God knows he’d be a lot less nerve-racking than hot and (very) cold players like Perofeta. It’s really a shame Reuben Love isn’t playing 10, we’ve got enough 15 options.
4 Go to commentsAnd those from the NH still seem to be puzzled (and delighted) why NZ’s depth isn’t what it once was. Over 600 NZ players overseas, that’s insane. This sort of deal is why Super Rugby coaches have admitted they struggle now to find enough quality to fill out their squads.
6 Go to commentsArticle intéressant ! La question devrait régulièrement se poser pour les jeunes français originaires de Nouvelle-Calédonie, Wallis-et-Futuna et de Polynésie entre la Nouvelle-Zélande et la Métropole… Difficile pour la fédération française de rugby de se positionner : soit le choix est fait de dénicher les jeunes talents et de les faire venir très tôt en Métropole, au risque de les déraciner, soit on prend le risque de se les faire “piller” par les All Blacks qui, telle une araignée, essaye de récupérer tous les talents des îles du Pacifique… À la France de se défendre en développant l’aura du XV de France et des clubs français dans ses collectivités d’Outre-mer !
3 Go to commentsWrong bay. He needs to come to the REAL BAY which is Bay Of Plenty and have a crack at making the Chiefs.
3 Go to comments