“I spent five incredible years in Colomiers, I had my two children here and the people are really very friendly, generous. I will always come back with pleasure”, says Johan Deysel, who will celebrate his 32nd birthday on September 26. The Namibian arrived in France in November 2018, from South Africa where he played with the Durban Sharks.
At the time, Colomiers was looking for a medical joker at the center position in Pro D2. “It took him very little time to get involved, in eight ten days, he was there”, remembers Yann Kergourlay, manager of the club in the city located near Toulouse in charge of recruitment. He had been supervising the player for a while, precisely since a certain match at the 2015 World Cup during which the blond Namibian scored a try for the All Blacks.
“He’s the captain, he’s having a big game, defensively, he’s very solidremembers the recruiter. He is capable of breaking, he does not have an exceptional physique (1,84 m, 93 kg). Despite everything, he is very, very hard on contact.” The Colomiers Rugby coach, Julien Sarraute, is also full of praise for this “model teammate” : “He has a lot of physical activity, fills a lot of space and works a lot for the collective”. From a medical joker, Deysel quickly becomes an indisputable holder.
No extension in Colomiers
“I saw him a quarter of an hour after the Blacks (in Toulouse, last Friday, 71-3 defeat)when I see the respect that some of them have for him, frankly I’m not surprised”, said Kergourlay again. During his stay in Columérin, the staff was also surprised not to see any Top 14 clubs interested in him.
“Unfortunately it didn’t happen for him, I’m disappointed, I would have liked him to be able to experience this adventure. Now we were delighted to have it”adds the coach, whose team, in search of renewal, did not extend Deysel this season: “I won’t hide from you that it was a very difficult choice that I will certainly regret. »
READ ALSO. “My last challenge”: Namibian dentist and rugby player, Pieter-Jan van Lill enjoys his World Cup
Because, beyond the player, the leaders of Colomiers, a major training club in French rugby which has seen several French internationals pass through (Fabien Galthié, Jean-Luc Sadourny or more recently Yoram Moefana), were also seduced by the man. “He was very nice to everyone, very calm, very calm. He’s someone who exudes kindness.”summarizes Yann Kergourlay.
Reunion with French rugby
“He had a very important place in the group, a serious guy, very hardworking and very present despite the language barrier”, confirms former French center Fabrice Catala, who played with him. Johan Deysel loved living and playing in this “special country”. Very religious and close to his family, he enjoyed his peaceful life in Pibrac, a residential suburb of Toulouse.
READ ALSO. Dupont, Ollivon, Penaud… Why did Fabien Galthié tenure the executives?
“The French are exhilarating players, they like to move the ball around, enjoy rugby like when we started, when we were kids, that’s how they play and that has helped my game evolve”, he said. For him, it is also the rugby practiced by the XV of France which he is delighted to find with Namibia, Thursday September 21 (9 p.m.): “It’s a very high level team, we will play with everything we have and have as much fun as possible”.
#PORTRAIT #France #Namibia #Johan #Deysel #captain #nourished #rugby #Colomiers
