Rassie did not win: 'Sacrebleu!'

This past Sunday, in the iconic Salle des Étoiles in Monaco, Jérôme Daret, head coach of the gold medal-winning French Sevens team at the Paris Olympic Games, made history for two significant reasons.

First, he became only the second Frenchman to receive the prestigious Coach of the Year award, following Bernard Laporte in 2002.

Second, he broke new ground as the first-ever Sevens coach to claim the coveted trophy, which has traditionally been reserved for 15-a-side coaches.

Since the inaugural World Rugby Awards in 2001, New Zealand has claimed the Coach of the Year title 10 times, followed by South Africa, Ireland, and England with three wins each, and Australia and France with two apiece.

This year, many anticipated that Springbok mastermind Rassie Erasmus would once again take the honour, as he did in 2019, given South Africa’s near-flawless 2024 season.

A double shock: not only did the award not go to Erasmus, but it was also handed to a Sevens coach.

Sacrebleu!

* (Article continues below ….)

Thoughts 🤔

✍️ https://t.co/7xuwcZjKRt#Rugby365 #Springboks #WorldRugbyAwards pic.twitter.com/aDYRaQFrN1

ADVERTISEMENT

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) November 26, 2024

The magic of the Paris 2024 Olympics has swept everything away

Instead, Jérôme Daret was the one called to receive the well-deserved accolade.

The 49-year-old, a former scrumhalf from Dax (France) and accomplished Rugby Union player, transitioned seamlessly into coaching.

Since taking the head of the France Sevens team in 2017, Jérôme Daret has meticulously guided the team toward Olympic glory, achieving what once seemed unattainable.

Despite never having secured a gold medal in the Sevens World Series over the prior 19 years, 2024 marked a seismic shift.

Energized by the extraordinary Antoine Dupont, who was named Sevens Player of the Year, France clinched gold in Los Angeles and triumphed at the SVNS in Madrid.

Just two months later, the ultimate prize – Olympic gold – became their crowning achievement.

The magic of the Olympics – especially the Paris Games, which captivated an entire nation and sparked an unparalleled wave of energy across the globe – proved to be the game-changer.

“Sevens is the Olympic version of the game,” Jérôme Daret emphasized in an exclusive interview with RugbyPass France.

“If every four years a Sevens coach is recognized for their work, I’m not surprised. It’s an extraordinary competition.

“We’re discovering this in the world of rugby, we’re young in the world of the Olympics.

“I’ve been around some great coaches and they’ve told me: ‘You’re entering a world that’s out of the ordinary, and even more so when you’re the French team that wins the first medal for the entire delegation at the Paris Olympics’.

“It’s crazy.

“I was talking about it with Terry Kennedy, Harry McNulty, and Billy Dardis [the Irish players] at the ceremony,” Jérôme Daret recalled.

“I told them: ‘It’s incredible, we’ve made history with the Paris Olympics.’

“Sevens sold out the Stade de France for six days, for both men and women [80,000 seats]!”

Recognition for the work behind the scenes

He never imagined winning such a trophy in his career.

“I never thought about it at all. It’s not something you focus on as a coach. You want to perform as a team, that’s what drives you.

“When you set out to achieve a performance like the one we did, it’s an incredible human adventure,” he explained.

“If you receive a trophy and your peers recognize you as the best in the world, that’s the icing on the cake.

“However, it’s not something I actively seek. It’s simply recognition for all the hard work we’ve put in,” he added.

And for him, that’s what truly matters: The symbolic recognition of all the hard work that goes on behind the scenes with his team.

“After all, while we’ve seen the France Sevens players celebrate their triumphs at the Stade de France, parade at the Trocadéro to standing ovations, dance on TV sets, and receive the Legion of Honour under the Arc de Triomphe, who was the driving force behind making all of this possible?

“When you’re a coach, you have to accept one thing: you’re responsible for the team’s failure,” laughs Jérôme Daret.

“But when things go well, it’s about getting all the talent to work together. That’s the job.

“It’s always a bit tricky for the staff because they’ve worked just as hard, and they deserve the spotlight too.

“When you win a trophy like this, it’s their work that takes centre stage.”

“A huge honour and a privilege”

🏆https://t.co/JcU77zB2Lw#Rugby365 #Springboks pic.twitter.com/axbtpbVFYQ

— rugby365.com (@rugby365com) November 25, 2024

The coach, facing his own decisions

“This trophy recognises the work of the whole team.

“All the players have made a contribution, and their mission was to position Sevens within the landscape of French rugby, but also within Olympic sport,” continued Daret.

“It’s a lot of sacrifices, a lot of travelling around the world, and many tough decisions.

“Making a selection of 12 + two players for the Olympics when you’ve used over thirty isn’t easy, and you’re constantly challenging yourself when you make those choices.

“It’s something to be proud of.

“Every match, you’re challenged by every coach on the planet.

“Sevens is like a chess game, with a lot of strategy behind every ball. You have to stay at the top of your game all the time.”

Not even New Zealander Gordon Tietjens, widely considered the greatest Sevens coach ever, has had the privilege of receiving such an honour.

“He’s won everything, except the Olympics,” Daret notes, before becoming more reflective.

“That’s when you truly measure the significance of this competition.

“It’s not just global—it’s planetary, universal.

“Sevens is a particle accelerator for developing players’ skills.”

Jérôme Daret already knows what he’s going to do with this historic trophy.

“I’m going to give it to my son, Simon.

“I sent him a little message saying it was for him,” he shared with RugbyPass.

“It’s been seven years of sacrifice, and my wife and son have always been supportive.

“I’m going to give it to him.

“I think he’ll put it in his bedroom.

“He’s 18 now. When I started, he was just 11,” Daret reflects.

By Willy Billiard
@RugbyPassFrance