During last week's photo call at Lansdowne Road, there was much mucking about in front of the cameras between Andy Ward and Jean-Luc Sadourny. But when it came to requests that they each lay their hands on the cup, whereas the superstitious Ward was having none of it, Sadourny said he didn't care, he'd take it home with him there and then.
As on the pitch, Monsieur Sadourny is a pretty smooth operator.
You could tell it was a long day. The Colomiers contingent had left home at 6.00 a.m. for their connecting flight, and wouldn't be back home until about 10.00 p.m. that evening. Even so, whether shivering in short-sleeved jersey outside, or in sports jacket inside, Sadourny was ever smiling and ever patient as the assembled media corps came at him from all angles.
"He is a very special guy," says L'Equipe's Richard Escot of the French fullback. "He is not entirely what he appears. He looks very laid-back and easy going, he smokes cigarettes and likes a glass of wine, and he is a very funny guy, with a lot of humour, but he is a true competitor in any game, whether at cards or golf. In that he has the same attitude as (Serge) Blanco."
Sadourny has his own businesses - a computer company, a couple of restaurants and a flower business. These have enabled him to build a comfortable lifestyle for his extrovert wife (a contrast to his own relatively introverted public persona) and two daughters, whom he can collect from school before training with his club 10 minutes from his house. They built a swimming pool but when they discovered it was unsafe for the children they covered it up, never to use it again.
"He has no enemies. When you know him, he is everybody's friend," says Escot, who adds that in Colomiers especially, Sadourny is an icon. Monsieur Sadourny could have made a great deal more money out of rugby. You name them, and they've wanted him: Stade Francais, Montferrand, Castres, Biarritz, Toulouse, Brive, Toulon. But he stayed put with the club he joined as a six-year-old.
The respect extends well beyond the boundaries of France. He was widely rated as the world's premier fullback until the arrival of Christian Cullen. When interviewing Conor O'Shea once, I asked the Irish fullback who was the best in the business. Cullen was the new human dynamo on the number 15 block, but O'Shea's hero was Sadourny.
Comparing him to a Rolls Royce, O'Shea reckoned that Sadourny did everything right, usually with the minimum of fuss. On hearing this, Sadourny came over all modest and unassuming (could he really be French?) and quipped self-deprecatingly: "Thank you very much. Is it because of my age?"
Au contraire, Jean-Luc. More because the French fullback purred over the ground and changed gears effortlessly. "I am really happy to hear such praise from him, to have such compliments from a very good fullback. I hope that we will meet again, perhaps in the quarter-finals of the World Cup. I have great respect for him too as a fullback."
In that comment, Sadourny revealed how much the French have ear-marked the quarter-final as a likely return to Lansdowne Road in the last eight of the Coupe du Monde. In effect, he was also ruling himself out of the Five Nations' opener against Ireland at the same venue next Saturday.
After a seven-month absence due to a knee injury he sustained in Colomiers' French Championship semi-final defeat to Perpignan last May, Sadourny has contentedly ruled himself out of next Saturday's Five Nations' opener. Instead he chooses the ensuing home match against Wales in Paris on March 6th as a putative return in a matter-of-fact manner which would be surprising were it not for his haul of 64 caps.
Another aspect to all of this is Sadourny's grand ambition to play in the October World Cup, a fitting climax to his illustrious career. At one stage last season he appeared to rule himself out of consideration, and when his knee injury forced a lengthy layoff, it looked like a premature end.
"When I got injured in May my first motivation and my main challenge was to recover and ultimately get into the French World Cup squad. To play in it," he continues, and then smiles when adding: "and to win."
"But always bearing in mind that there were some dates to be fulfilled with Colomiers, which I've done, and also with the French team, if not in the Five Nations then on the French tour of New Zealand. I hope these dates give me an opportunity to prove to myself that I'm back on top of my game."
Sadourny has effectively only taken part in one World Cup. In the 1991 event, he was understudy to a certain Serge Blanco, for whom the tournament was a swansong at international level, and so Sadourny was confined to a second cap as a replacement against Canada - having made his debut when replacing Blanco in the preceding September friendly under lights in Cardiff.
As mantles to inherit go, they don't come bigger than Blanco's, but after a few teething problems Sadourny duly filled the role. Since starring in the 37-20 victory over Romania in May '93, Sadourny has been an ever-present, bar being rested for the 1995 World Cup game against the Ivory Coast and against Romania in '96; playing in 55 out of 57 internationals up until the conclusion of last year's Five Nations when two trademark tries in the opening 13 minutes instigated the record 51-0 rout of Wales at Wembley.
Compared to Blanco's haul of 93 tests - 81 at fullback - and 38 tries (all French records) Sadourny hasn't done that badly; scoring 14 tries and kicking four drop goals in his 64 caps for France. It included the nadir of a controversial World Cup semi-final defeat to the hosts South Africa - when the Gods rained down on Les Bleus and also denied them a legitimate try - as against the highs of 1997 and '98 Grand Slams.
Hence the need to redress that '95 semi-final. To that personal end, a January 30th date in the European Cup final is, Sadourny admits, an unexpected bonus. "There was surprise even amongst ourselves that we got to the final. The semi-final was our objective. But then, the great thing about a semi-final is never to lose one, so that's what we strove for.
"But, you know, the players of Colomiers are really in admiration of Ulster and what they've done so far against the best two teams in France. We already know it will be difficult but we will try our best to take the trophy back to France, bearing in mind that Ulster have an extra player on the pitch, and that player will be the crowd."
This will be a fourth visit to Lansdowne Road for the Rolls Royce of fullbacks, and the Sadourny charm offensive extends to the old stadium. "I have some really good memories of Lansdowne Road and I am really looking forward to playing here in this fabulous stadium, which is unique to France and the rugby world."
Well might he say that, for Sadourny has never lost in seven internationals against Ireland (France have won the last 14 meetings). Perhaps partly because of that, as in the immediate aftermath of last year's 17-15 win for the French in Paris, Sadourny seems to share the genuine affection for Irish rugby amongst French players.
"Looking back to the match against Ireland last year, it was a very difficult match for us for 80 minutes. They would have deserved victory had they won. I have played the Irish several times and they played with all their usual characteristics, very passionate and very aggressive.
"I love the way the public seem to help their team, to push them and to encourage them. Irish teams play with their public, and this is very similar to rugby in Colomiers. That spirit of rugby, that mutual passion between the two."
Loyalty to such a shared cause on behalf of the underdog would seem another strong Sadourny trait. When the game went professional Sadourny describes it as "a normal step for me" to stay with his home-town club. "They are very ambitious, like me, and I also stayed at Colomiers because of the team spirit. That is important because I've been at the club since the age of six."
Even at 33, with all those 64 internationals behind him, Sadourny's sense of excitement about this final is tangible. "It is, I think, a healthy final pairing. It's a really good thing to have the likes of Colomiers and Ulster in the final. For the little ones it opens the door of opportunity. "But on the other hand, it shows that you can take nothing for granted. The truth is out on the pitch, where you play the game.
"Nowhere else."
