The Blues winger, third best try scorer in the history of the French XV, found in the game of chess the ideal catalyst to ward off his visceral hatred of defeat.
Damian Penaud doesn’t laugh when it comes to winning. The winger of the XV of France, who scored a hat-trick in the victory (96-0) against Namibia on Thursday September 21, has never hidden it: his hatred of defeat can make him lose control. On a pitch, he could even shed tears after a major setback. And in everyday life, the neo-Girondin is not the type to pay homage to Pierre de Coubertin: it’s a win, always a win! This translates into particularly rough confrontations at ping-pong, with his father, the former French opening half Alain Penaud, or his little brother Adam.
“The worst is when I play opposite my fatheradmitted the person concerned in The Team [Article payant]. If he beats me at ping-pong, I’ll destroy everything. Four or five rackets went through there.” Ditto in front of his screen and his online video games. Remote controls, controllers or other objects within reach, everything goes. And anything that can (poorly) feed his competitive spirit is likely to make Damian Penaud soar. “I’m a very bad loserconceded, lucidly, the ex-Clermontois. Rugby is a team sport, but the rest is individual, I only have myself to blame.” So we had to find an outlet, able to release our demons in these kinds of moments.
Thomas Ramos, initiator and victim
To channel this explosive temperament, his salvation came from the game of chess. Almost two years ago, Thomas Ramos had the great idea, during a gathering of the XV of France, to offer him a game. Here again, the desire to win in all circumstances allowed Damian Penaud to make his mark without much difficulty. Better still, as a fine strategist, the padawan quickly overtook the master. “I started teaching him during the previous fall tour (…) but he quickly became better than me,” admitted the back of the Blues.
Since then, the hyperactive UBB winger can no longer go a day without advancing his pawns. There is, always, this desire to checkmate your opponent. But, this time, when the outcome is not favorable to him, Damian Penaud manages to keep his cool. “Even when he loses, it’s okay, he doesn’t yell, he’s never thrown the chessboard, even assures his brother, Adam, still in the columns of The Team. He often sits down and plays a game or two on his phone, in a cool way.”
The patience, calm and reflection that chess requires finally allow him to find a good balance between his extra-sporting daily life and the field. His need “to externalize” therefore pushed him to systematically integrate this new passion into his pre-match habits. A good way to lower the temperature before entering the green rectangle and linking its diagonals. Like a madman attacking the opposing front lines on a chess board.
“He’s an instinctive player who doesn’t calculate”
His famous cross-country runs are his trademark. It is these, moreover, which allowed him to be on the lookout for the best scorers of the XV of France (33 achievements), just behind Serge Blanco (38), Vincent Clerc (34) but now ahead Philippe Saint-André (32).
“He has again made us his ring roads of which only he knows the secret, underlined with the sense of the formula his friend and teammate Thomas Ramos at the end of the great victory of the Blues against the Blacks at the opening of the World Cup. Even we who meet him every day, we don’t know what he’s going to do when he has the ball in his arms. That’s what we like about him. He’s an instinctive player who doesn’t calculate.” Except in case of failures. And in this case, Damian Penaud will always try to get back one step ahead.