TOP TRUMPS

“You’re never going to top winning the World Cup but to fast-forward eight months and be playing in front of 100,000 people in the Nou Camp and win the Top 14 in my first year at Racing was incredible. It’s a stadium I went to all the time when I was at Perpignan as a Barcelona fan.

“It wasn’t only the crowd but the game. We had a red card after 18 minutes to our half-back (Maxime Machenaud) but went on to win with 14 men against a really good Toulon side. We got our hands on the Bouclier, which was incredible.

“In Perpignan we won the title and I got my first taste of it, but I didn’t play in the final as I was injured. You realise how much it means to people, how much history is behind you. It was an amazing 12 months of my career.”