Handball World Cup: Tournat, Minne, Briet… How did the HBC Nantes players become so important for the French team ?

Tournat, Minne, Briet ou encore Bos… Les Nantais sont en force chez les Bleus. FFHB – ICON SPORT

The HBC Nantes players form a small colony in the French team, opposed to North Macedonia this Saturday, January 24 in the Handball World Cup and to which they bring their affinities on and off the field.

A west wind blows on the Blues, with the presence of four players from the “H” in the group of 18 (Thibaud Briet, Aymeric Minne, Nicolas Tournat and Julien Bos). A contingent to which can even be added Romain Lagarde (Aix-en-Provence), who was trained there and will return there this summer, the fruit of the sporting and financial rise of the club in recent years as much as the individual performances of its representatives.

The Nantais form a happy band “a little in their world”, according to coach Guillaume Gille, with Briet (launched as a pro by the “H”) and Bos (arrived in 2024 from Montpellier) as leaders, who are among the life and soul of the French team according to their peers.

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“We have a good zest for life and we are still quite efficient. So it's a good combo”, appreciates Tournat, who returned this season to the club where he started after four seasons at Kielce (Poland).

While Lagarde, third choice at right-back, has watched four of Les Bleus' five matches from the stands, the others have made their contribution on the pitch to this French team with an impressive talent pool.

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Tournat has been a solid link in attack for several years at the pivot position for Ludovic Fabregas and Bos is experiencing his first competition in an unusual position as a right winger (he plays right-back at Nantes), but Briet and Minne finally seem to be fully anchoring themselves in Les Bleus' backline.

Frustration evacuated

After a frustrating 2024: they were not selected for Euro 2024 and Minne, initially a substitute, had to make do with bits of matches at the Games Olympics, for which Briet only did the preparation.

“I thought I would experience it better than that, being happy to simply be at the Games. But I am too competitive, it was a real disappointment”, explained Minne before the World Cup. A very lively half-center, capable of winning his duels, the Melun native is a valuable alternative, in a different style, to Nedim Remili.

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“We have a very high-quality Aymeric, the Aymeric we wanted to have”, Remili rightly emphasizes, left-handed while Minne is right-handed. He also praises his competitor's involvement in the “match preparation”, an area for improvement that was identified by Minne.

“Since this year I've been making more videos, I've been preparing more for matches. I know, before the match, the first 10 actions that I'm going to play, more or less. Even if I don't always respect them, it takes a mental load off me and allows me to be less headstrong on the field”, he explains.

Briet, Mr. Clean

Briet earned a starting spot at right back at the World Cup, thanks to Nikola Karabatic's retirement, Elohim Prandi's injury, who has not yet recovered his full capabilities, and his own progress.

The shooter has expanded his range at the highest level to become a complete right back, extremely mobile and agile for his height (2.05 m), very valuable in defense, capable of winning duels and distributing the game.

Read also: "Thibaud Briet propels the French team to another level”: Valentin Porte's eye on the Blues at the Handball World Cup before the main round

“He's coming off years with Nantes that have particularly toughened him up, he's stabilized his level of play”, notes Gille. “The goal is to play fair. I try not to force it: if I have to let go of the ball, I let go, if I have to shoot, I shoot”, answers Briet. He finds Minne and Tournat in particular “with their eyes closed”, according to the latter.

The affinities and automatisms of the Nantais, who have imported “two, three movements” from their club, always according to the pivot, participate in the offensive harmony so far proposed by the French team.