Quick and elusive winger considered the dashing poster boy of French rugby
Christophe Dominici, who has died aged 48, revelled in his public persona of a smouldering Gallic rugby superstar. Not only was he the elusive winger who evaded tackles as he side-stepped and weaved his way to the try-line, he was also good-looking, toned, hairy and attracted fan sites through featuring in a French calendar and in videos. A man who could never be accused of being shy, he was more than happy to appear fully nude.
He gave the impression of creating this public image to escape from his past. In his autobiography, he revealed that he had suffered severe bouts of depression and was ‘‘brutalised’’ as a child. Playing rugby, he said, ‘‘let me understand many things: respect for life, people and oneself, along with the values of humility and combat. I was aggressive and put that to collective use.’’
It had not mattered that he stood only 5ft 6in (1.67m) or even that Jonah Lomu, the All Black who towered over him, was redefining the role of a winger. Dominici could skip past a tackler and had a safe pair of hands when the ball reached him, often in tight situations close to the touchline. He consistently scored tries. No less a judge than Jonny Wilkinson, who played against him for England in two World Cup semi-finals, included him in his own world XV: ‘‘His opportunism, his flair, his game reading, his sheer explosivity is something that sticks in my mind.’’
In his nine-year 67-test career with Les Bleus, he scored 25 tries, the most memorable of which was in the semifinal of the 1999 World Cup at Twickenham against the All Blacks, when he anticipated a long kick by halfback Fabien Galthie. Taking the ball onehanded on the bounce, he avoided two tackles, skated down the left wing and touched down, all with a cheeky smile on his face.
France won by 43-31 in what is regarded as one of the great matches in rugby history. They were beaten in the final by Australia, but Dominici scored four tries in the tournament four years later and eight tries in his three World Cups.
He could not, however, always escape the past. In 2000 he was placed in an induced coma for 15 days to overcome depression and nervous exhaustion. ‘‘I couldn’t sleep any more. I had no appetite for life,’’ he wrote. ‘‘I had been overtaken by emotion and stress but I didn’t want to take medicine, so that was the only solution. The World Cup was a euphoric period and I didn’t know how to say no.’’
Christophe Dominici, whose family’s origins were Italian, was born in Toulon and, according to his own account, he had a difficult childhood, especially when his sister, Pascale, died. Sport was the making of him: a talented footballer, he trained as a boy with Monaco, where he met Lilian Thuram, an outstanding player with whom he maintained a close friendship. Then he started playing rugby regularly.
He joined his home town side, RC Toulonnais, for which he played for four seasons from 1993 to 1997 before moving to Stade Francais in Paris. There was an element of the showman about his game which occasionally resulted in his making mistakes, not least when he dropped the ball over the try-line against Italy in 2004 as he made to touch it down.
He knew when to retire. ‘‘France, it is over for me,’’ he declared in 2007. ‘‘It has been a big part of my life, but at any given moment, you must know when to turn the page.’’
Dominici, who is survived by his partner, Loretta, and two daughters, Chiara and Mia, then worked as a television pundit as well as a coach, but his post-rugby life was marred by an accusation of theft and violence and his inability earlier this year to forge a deal on behalf of an unnamed businessman from the United Arab Emirates to buy Beziers, a rugby club in France which was based close to a small vineyard that Dominici owned.
The club had financial problems and Dominici was aghast that prolonged discussions came to nothing. ‘‘It is an obvious lack of respect,’’ he said. ‘‘We wanted to make this club the biggest in Europe. We suffered an injustice, an offence. I have been on this project for two and a half months, day and night. I wanted to build a great team with national and international players, to make this club the largest in Europe.’’
While negotiations were continuing, he was accused of theft from a hat shop. Intent, it was claimed, on buying what he called ‘‘the most expensive hat in the store’’ he allegedly asked the saleswoman to give it to him, saying he would return and pay for it later, and when refused, pushed her to the floor.
Nothing, however, detracted from Dominici’s skill on the pitch. England’s Will Greenwood, who played against him on his debut, regarded him as ‘‘a wizard with spatial awareness who lit up the world of rugby and was adored by his fans’’. That adoration continued whether he was depicted in calendars fully dressed or not. –
‘‘His flair, his game reading, his sheer explosivity is something that sticks in my mind.’’
Jonny Wilkinson on Christophe Dominici