Born and raised in France, the bilingual Antoine Frisch is a friendly and chatty interviewer who shares his nomadic stories. Above all, it shows how keen he was always to become a professional rugby player and play for Ireland.
It’s been Frisch’s dream for as long as he can remember, ever since he first played mini-rugby at the age of four or five at the local Rugby Sud 77 club in Fontainebleau, outside Paris.
“I think it was a dream from the beginning. I don’t know why. It was just as soon as I finished my first training session and I was watching the Six Nations or the World Cup on TV that I realized that I wanted to play international rugby. is your dream.”
And that’s why he’s here. Refreshingly, Frisch makes no bones about it. One of his main reasons for turning down the opportunity to extend his stay at Bristol Bears by more than a year and instead relocating to Munster was to fulfill his ambition to play for Ireland. Ta.
His move to Munster lived up to his expectations, with plenty of game time and a URC title in his first campaign in the province.
“It was amazing. I absolutely loved it. I still do.”
At the beginning of the interview, Simon Zebo banged on the door while opening a cupboard to get a water bottle and apologized. Frisch and Zebo chat briefly in French, as they apparently often do, before the interview resumes.
While Zebo has won and lost against Racing 92 teams at Toulon’s Stade Félice Mayor, Frisch also played in one of the true hotbeds of French club rugby during his time at Stade Francais seven seasons ago. I have experienced the same atmosphere.
“When I was playing in a Top 14 match at Stade Français, I was the 24th man. I warmed up with the team, but I didn’t play in the match. It was really exciting, very hostile. I remember it being a very friendly environment.”
Frisch was quick to point out that Munster had given themselves little leeway after missing out on winning positions in both Bayonne and Exeter ahead of what he described as simply a “huge” match. Admitted.
“This is like the first of two cup matches, right? That’s how we’re approaching it.”
The 27-year-old has easily adapted to his new environment.
“It’s a very laid-back lifestyle and it suits me very well. I really enjoy living here. I have cousins in Dublin and I see them every now and then. My family comes over and my girlfriend comes too. I’m lucky to be in such a close-knit group. Everyone is really welcoming.”
His maternal Irish grandmother Mary is 95 years old and lives in Devon.
“I tried to go and see her after the Exeter game but couldn’t. She was in hospital so I’m planning to go there with my cousins and brothers in March to see her.”
Frisch was raised in Fontainebleau by his London-born mother Kim and French father Sebastian. He said he had always been Irish, rather than French or British, thanks to his mother, who was proud of being Irish even though she was born in England.
“Her mother is from Dublin so there is some influence there and all her cousins still live in Tara.”
They are the Heelies and regularly attend Munster’s home games. His mother was an English teacher at a French university, and his father worked as a manager. Frisch studied at the Lycée Internationale in the English/French section of the François Rail School, taking tuition in both languages and completing his A-levels and his GCSEs in English.
He has an older brother, Xavier, who lives in Guildford, just outside London, and a younger brother, Matthew, who is studying in Berlin. Although rugby itself was not in the family tree, Frisch played for the University of Paris club and spent three years at the Rugby Academy at the University of Paris, before giving the game a try until his older brother was forced to quit due to a serious injury. Ta. Massy. Then, after briefly studying international business at Loughborough University, he accepted the chance to join Stade Francais as an ambitious 20-year-old out-half.
“It didn’t quite go to plan,” he admits, and from there he spent a year each at Tarbes in Federal 1, then Massy (also in Federal 1), Rouen in Pro D2 and Bristol in the Premiership. .
“I was just looking for an opportunity. It’s been a bit of a crazy journey, but now I’m in Munster so it’s okay.”
One of his team-mates at Tarbes was English lock James Percival, who played in the Premiership for Northampton, Harlequins and Worcester, and also played in the Top 14 at Grenoble for his final season before retiring to become manager. was coming. Agent.
“In fact, he gave me all these opportunities, both in Rouen and in Bristol. It’s all thanks to him. In Rouen he called Richard Hill and told him to sign for a year. I called Pat. [Lam] In the same way.
“If it wasn’t for him, I would have struggled. I might have had a chance of finishing in the top 14 in the end, but he went out of his way to reach out to coaches he knew and give me a chance to try. I mean, he was huge.
“Bristol were looking for an additional center and gave me a chance. I’ve improved a lot under Pat. [Lam] In the same way. It took a little while to gain his trust, but just like at his previous club, he was growing every week just by being in a professional environment. ”
Frisch is a big, strong guy, but plays with a kind of instinctive Gallic flair, has good feet and an inventive passing and offloading game. He plays around the world more like a natural center than a temporary out-half. But he admits that the biggest changes and challenges for Munster’s new environment lie on the pitch.
“The style of rugby, the details, the amount of work it takes to play here, it’s not something I’ve ever known before. I said, ‘Okay, this is the norm, so I’ve got to focus on that and get up to speed.’ I had such feeling. But the players and the coaching staff have been incredibly patient with me in taking their time and explaining what they need to do, and giving me the confidence to go out there and do it. Ta. ”
He believes it has made him a better player and that this is a continuous process.
Compared to French club rugby, his season with Pat Lam at Bristol Bears was shocking and prepared him for Munster.
“At Bristol there was a lot of detailed talk. I like details and I discovered that in Pat Lam. He is very keen to stay within the system. I think there’s a little bit more freedom to play things. It’s a different style to rugby. It’s a tighter shape rather than a spread-out shape like the Bristol Bears. So it was quite a transition.”
Perhaps attending an international school, being bilingual, and having a diverse background prepared him for his chosen career, but in any case, he adapts to a new place. He seems to be very good at it.
“Yeah, it wasn’t by choice, but it’s something I had to do and I look back on all the great experiences I’ve had as a person and as a rugby player.”Richard Hill in Rouen (very old school territorial rugby) and then Pat Lam and then Munster and I’ve seen all the different styles of rugby. It’s been a really good experience from a rugby point of view. I did.”
All this experience, added to last season’s tour of Emerging Ireland, saw Frisch play in all three matches and has clearly caught Andy Farrell’s attention.
“I learned a lot from seeing coaches at that level and international standards. It was unbelievable and we won three games. That was a huge kick.”
His focus is on Munster, but he will be one of many players to keep an eye on next week when Ireland’s Six Nations squad is announced.
“Yes, absolutely. That’s why I came here. It’s still in my head, but let’s see. It was a dream, but now it’s a goal.”
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