Rugby Union: Castaignede to lead French revolt

Five Nations' Championship: Inspirational stand-off is determined to spark France in Twickenham debut tomorrow

"I JUST CAN'T wait to get back on the field. To get to Twickenham, play my guts out, and show people what I am really capable of doing." On a wind-swept training ground on the outskirts of Castres in south-west France last week, Thomas Castaignede was practising goal kicking before training with his club team. Three days had passed since the shock defeat against Wales in Paris but, by the rings under his eyes and his thousand- yard stare, you could tell that French rugby's golden boy was still struggling to come to terms with the loss.

The man who so often in his career had snatched victory for France in the dying seconds was this time on the receiving end of what the French call la glorieuse incertitude du sport. His last-minute penalty attempt against Wales, 20 metres from the line and 10 in from the right-hand touch, sailed across the front of the posts, allowing Wales to celebrate their first win in Paris for 24 years. "I haven't slept since Saturday," said Castaignede, repeatedly - almost obsessively - kicking goals from exactly the same spot. "I keep going through the match over and over in my head, and I still can't believe we lost. We all feel frustrated and annoyed with ourselves because we know that game was there for the taking."

Perhaps, for someone who until now appears to have led a charmed existence, a little suffering can do no harm.

All his life Castaignede seems to have gone from success to success. At 24, apart from his 24 international caps for France, he has already won the French national club championship four times with Stade Toulousain, won the European Cup with the same club, and, whether at stand-off or centre, become one of the undoubted foundation stones of the French team.

With his first cap on French soil he beat the All Blacks in a historic upset victory in Toulouse in November 1995. Scarcely two months later, and only hours away from his 21st birthday, Castaignede won his first Five Nations cap, polishing it off with that dropped goal from 30 metres to beat England in the dying seconds at the Parc des Princes.

Last year against England at the Stade de France, Castaignede's defence, notably on the charging Lawrence Dallaglio, was one of the outstanding features of the French performance. But it is on attack that the bottle- blond flyer provides the impetus and the spark for France, his blistering acceleration and unerring eye for the gap, honed from years of playing centre, making him the kind of stand-off capable of breaking the gain- line and of immediately putting his team on the front foot.

While his natural ebullience and intuitive flair make Castaignede what Jo Maso calls "the embodiment of French style", his impish smile and natural good looks (not to mention passably fluent English) also make him the automatic target for media attention on both sides of the channel. In many ways he represents the kind of fully-rounded individual which has unfortunately become, even in rugby, a rarity in international sport.

"It's true that I have been fortunate," he concedes. "I must have been born under a lucky star or something. I have always lived in a virtual world. There have been times when I have even asked myself if it was real, when everything was going so well that I was convinced there was a hitch somewhere. I remember saying to myself: La vie, c'est pas ca! C'est pas possible!"

As brilliant on the field as he is in the classroom, Castaignede holds the equivalent of a Doctorate in Engineering from the highly respected Institut National des Sciences Appliquees (National Institute of Applied Science) in Toulouse, specialising in industrial processes and the environment.

However, behind this impressive list of achievements, behind the nonchalant carefree exterior, lies a determined young man who has always worked hard, both at his game and his studies. "I was always a real swot at school," he recalls. "I would never go to a history class without having revised the previous lesson. I hated the idea of being left behind in anything."

At eight years old, growing up in Mont de Marsan - a small town whose club has produced names like Benoit Dauga, Christian Darrouy, or the archetypal French centres Guy and Andre Boniface - he hated being left behind by the older boys. So he started working on his game in the back yard, and by the age of nine could not only pass equally well to the left as the right, but also kick penalties from 40 metres. "I am just a hard worker, I have always imposed that discipline on myself," he insists. "In the beginning I had no natural skill. But I was just determined to succeed, and once I get an idea into my head, it is very difficult to change my mind."

Even today the same ethos governs his approach to the game. "No matter what he is doing, Thomas is always extremely demanding of himself," says his team-mate, Christian Califano. "He is always questioning, always doubting, never satisfied. That is his strength."

Strangely, for one who has already beaten England twice in his career (in 1996 and 1998) Castaignede, like the majority of the players in this French side, has never played at Twickenham. "I have heard so much about this ground, but it is not something that intimidates me. I just can't wait to play there."

Despite the sobering loss to Wales, or more accurately because of it, the challenge of England seems to have hardened his resolve. "This year's Five Nations is much harder, much closer fought than in the past," he said, "but England still remains our No 1 opponent. Of course we are going there as underdogs, but there is a feeling of revolt in the camp, and we will not be giving in easily."

For Castaignede, the most impressive thing about England is the forward pack, especially the back row and the second row. And of course Jonny Wilkinson, who has already made a big impression on the Tricolores. "He is very young, but there are not many weaknesses in his game. He is very skilled with the ball in hand and courageous on defence. We are going to have to watch him very closely, and not give him a centimetre of space in which to move."

Another player Castaignede will be watching closely is his counterpart, Mike Catt, known to the French back-line as "Michel Chat". "I like the way he plays. In terms of his approach to the game I much prefer Chat to Paul Grayson. For me he is less rigorous than Grayson, but he is more imaginative," concludes Castaignede. "I suppose he is more like me."