EXCLUDED RMC SPORT – Baptiste Serin spoke about the end of the season with RC Toulon, but also his ambitions with the XV of France for the 2023 World Cup in France.
The countdown begins for Baptiste Serin. Called up for France-Scotland during the VI Nations Tournament which has just ended, the experienced 28-year-old scrum-half (42 selections) is on the doorstep of the Blues … and therefore of the 2023 World Cup. I experienced a lot of things with this group. Of course, I watch all the matches. I am very happy to have tasted the group again. It was very important for me. I had been chasing after it for some time, “says he at the microphone of RMC Sport.
“I had a period when I was often a starter. We then expect to be called up all the time. In fact, it’s the day you are no longer called up that you realize that something is misses”, he admits, with the ambition to “go back to Marcoussis, to spend time with them, to prepare for a match, to have the rooster on the heart”. “There are player choices, a hierarchy that is established. Now I’m going to work to try to move it,” he adds. While promising in passing, and with a big smile, “that it was never a problem” in the locker room of the Blues. “We can have 40, 50 or 60 selections, sometimes we don’t play, but the most important thing is the team! If I’m in this case, that’s fine with me. Just see how I was happy to return to the Blues and to Marcoussis! The main thing is to have as much energy as possible and give of your person so that the collective works”.
“I will give everything to be there”
The list of 42 players selected for the preparation of the World Cup is expected on June 21. That, final, of the 33 is scheduled for August 21. “I will give everything to be there. It’s a goal for me, I won’t let go. It’s a dream, it’s a World Cup in France”.
And Baptiste Serin believes that the Blues must assume this status of favorite: “Everyone knows it, our objective is to win the World Cup. There, what has changed is the image that the whole world can have of this team. It has proven that it is capable of beating the best nations, of stringing together big performances. Some players have proven themselves and are now world class. And I say this sincerely, it doesn’t matter that I am there or not, I hope France will be world champions, that’s the most important thing!”
“The coaches asked me a lot more”
This long-awaited summons goes through a good end to the season with RC Toulon, currently seventh in the championship. “A successful season means qualifying for the Top 14 and the European Cup title. We’ve been chasing the European title for two years. I’d like us to get there, it’s been two European finals. in a row that we lose. Qualifying for the top 6 would show that our group is improving. We’re not going to let go, we have to be ambitious, even if we remain on years of missteps and negatives. From the staff to the players, through our infrastructure and our public, we have assets and great qualities, so we have to be ambitious, and erase certain flaws at the start of the season”.
As for his individual performances, Baptiste Serin welcomes the little boost that has been given to him lately: “At one point in the season, the coaches asked me a lot more. It challenged me. These are things that happen. In a career, it feels good. Now that I have more perspective on things, I know what to improve each time. I am very self-critical of myself. It’s my driving force. , this is what allows me to move forward, and to be better from match to match. I never let myself be intoxicated by compliments or great performances. It also comes with experience, the accumulation of matches, seasons”.
