“It's up to me to do the job”: Anthony Bouthier talks about his return, his injury and the end of his contract

Anthony Bouthier, nine months after rupturing the cruciate ligament in his right knee, is back with the MHR and will line up against the Johannesburg Lions this Saturday, January 11 (2 p.m.), a match counting for the 3rd day of the Challenge.

Is your injury ancient history? ?

Of course. I'm back at 100%, I'm playing again this weekend, it's in the past. It was the biggest injury of my career. It was hard at first but I handled it pretty well. I saw the positive. In any case, I had no choice. In the end, physically and mentally, it did me good to cut, to think about something else. Plus, it happened to be summer, a period that I was able to experience differently than usual. It almost did me good. But now, I can't wait.

Some say that this kind of injury, sometimes, is a blessing in disguise…

A little bit, yes. I regenerated myself. For eight months, there was no contact, no intensive chaining of weeks. It feels great.

What role do we have, in these moments, when the club is suffering as it has been the case ?

We have more of a supporter role, we see the group life from a little further away. After my injury, for a month, I was in rehabilitation, I came to the stadium less. We endure the events. But since the beginning of the season, I felt that the group wanted to switch to the positive. Despite complicated moments, it worked well, a victory or two was missing to launch the group. That's what happened. We have to look further.

“I try not to ask myself too many questions”

Between your injury and today, the MHR has evolved a lot. What is your view of this group ?

There has been a mental evolution. New players have brought freshness. Those who were there last year have also experienced the titles of 2021 (Challenge) and 2022 (Top 14). From one day to the next, it's not that we no longer knew how to play rugby, it's just that, in our heads, it was difficult. There have been changes in staff. This year, the group is more calm and serene with the current staff. All the players have had a good month to get their heads back in place. All these events have allowed us to move up a gear to get back into the top 6, even if we're not there yet.

Are we talking about the top 6 again today? ?

We always want to do better. We messed up so much last season. We disappointed people, we disappointed ourselves. Today, we're not necessarily talking about rankings. We mostly want to have fun and give some to people.

World-class players have signed at the back (Hogg, Moorby). How do you deal with this competition??

It's the top level, so much the better. Emulation is good. When I saw them arrive, it convinced me to come back even stronger. Now, it's up to me to do the job.

Your contract is also up to the end in June. That's one more element to manage.

I try not to ask myself too many questions. First of all, I want to play again, continue and hope, here or elsewhere, to have an offer to continue playing rugby.