'Scars for life': Loss to Springboks haunts France centre Jonathan Danty after World Cup

France’s demoralising Rugby World Cup exit in the quarter-finals by one point to South Africa has left deep scars for what was arguably the best-ever French side.

Boosted by home ground advantage during the showpiece event, expectations were high for France inside and outside the playing group.

They were expected to make-up for the heartbreak of three World Cup final losses to become the first Les Bleus side to be crowned world champions.

Star inside centre Jonathan Danty, who returned from injury in time for the quarter-final, revealed that he couldn’t take any time off before rejoining La Rochelle in the Top 14.

The pain of the defeat to the Springboks was too much to sit around and do nothing, with Danty preferring to get back into action to release “frustrations”.

“I had sent the message to Ronan, after the World Cup, that I didn’t particularly need a vacation and that I wanted to start again a little earlier than planned,” he told French publication Sud-Ouest.

“In the end, he left me no choice, I started again last Monday and I think he was right, it allowed me to release a lot of frustration.

“It’s stupid to say, but I couldn’t do it [vacation] for four months. I couldn’t move on because there were scars for life.

“When we see that some former players are still talking about 2011 [Rugby World Cup]…

“We lost a Top 14 final with La Rochelle, that also matters, but it’s even more the case with a World Cup, which only happens every four years.”

Danty’s international career took off after joining La Rochelle in 2021, despite having his international debut in 2016, he became a regular starter for Fabian Galthie in this World Cup cycle.

He revealed that the players were “pushed to their limits” for this campaign which has made the early exit even harder to swallow.

“I admit that the physical preparation was difficult, we were pushed to the maximum of our abilities, that’s what allowed us to be ready,” he explained.

“For me, it was my first World Cup and I experienced it in two stages: the group stage, where we knew that we would finish 1st or 2nd if everything went normally, but we knew that the hardest part would start with the quarter-final.

“Unfortunately, that’s where we stopped, it was hard to take.

“I think more for some than for others, but overall we all had a hard time with this pre-mature exit from competition.

“I’ve only rewatched the match once, and I almost always have the same feeling as it did in the heat of the moment.

“Unfortunately, it’s like that, it’s over, the next one will be in four years, it will be much more complicated for me.”

After the painful World Cup loss, the 31-year-old has refused to rule out international retirement despite the challenges that he will face in trying to make a second World Cup in 2027.

Danty will leave the decision up to the coaches and will be available for France “as long as they want me”.

“I wanted it so much, I worked so hard to reach my best level and represent my country… when they no longer want me, and I am no longer at the level, I will say stop, but in the meantime if I can still be present on the ground and if someone calls on me, I will be there.

“Jonathan Sexton played until he was 38, but it’s not the same style of play. I really like the player he is, but he is more in the distribution.

“And then, in my position, we have young people who have a lot of qualities, who are already going faster and who will go even faster than me when I am 33.”