At Long Last, Brice Dulin Gets His Gold
On his third attempt, the La Rochelle fullback finally leaves with the cup.
Whether he would admit it or not, a certain level of doubt may have crept into Brice Dulin’s mind on Saturday morning. A moment of quiet introspection perhaps, hours before the Champions Cup final, as the fullback pondered if this chance may be his last.
It is a doubt which may have slipped back into his mind during the match too. Specifically when he attempted to run the ball deep from his own 22, only to be swarmed by Jamison Gibson-Park and Jimmy O’Brien and concede a scrum on the edge of halftime. Leinster surged forward, and were 40 minutes away from stitching a fifth star into their shirts.
Of course, that star went to La Rochelle in the end. Arthur Retière’s try in the dying moments propelling Ronan O’Gara’s side towards the title. A first major piece of silverware for the club. And finally, a Champions Cup medal for Dulin.
At 32, the Agen-born fullback has a few seasons left in him before he hangs up the boots. But as he and his teammates lifted the Champions Cup underneath Marseille’s radiant sun, with a vehemently impassioned wave of black and yellow cheering them on, Dulin had reached the culmination of a wearisome and difficult journey.
His two Top 14 medals, won in 2013 and 2016, are bright spots between the dark. Whilst celebrating the first with Castres in Mont-de-Marsan, Dulin was assaulted. Hit from behind and beaten by a group of assailants. The attack left his jaw broken, and he missed the start of the following season.
He still made it to the Top 14 final that year, losing to Jonny Wilkinson and his star-studded Toulon. Dulin moved to Racing. Whilst he captured the Top 14 again, it came with his first Champions Cup final loss as Racing were wholly dominated by Saracens.
In 2018, he was forced to sit in the stands as Racing once again failed at the final hurdle in the Champions Cup. By the time they reached the much-delayed final in 2020, Dulin had already moved to La Rochelle. Where losses in another two finals in 2021 soon materialised.
This is without even touching on the struggles he faced with the national side. For Dulin is one of a whole cohort of French players who’s talents were wasted in the 2010s as Les Bleus fell further from grace year after year. Maligned by poor coaching and even poorer organisation. A mismanagement which reached a climax at the 2015 World Cup, where Dulin was moved to the wing, a position he was completely uncomfortable with compared to his natural fullback role.
Throughout all the aforementioned, Dulin was plagued with periodic injuries. Leaving a player with such talent, footwork, and kicking skill regularly unable to perform at his best.
But lost medals and international struggles pale in comparison to the loss of his father in 2020. The grief struck him, as it would anyone. He craved a new environment. He needed a “relaunch” as Marc Andreu put it, who won the Top 14 at Castres with him.
Sorrow, injury issues, and the first lockdown as a result of Covid-19 convinced Dulin. His time at Racing was finished. He swapped the glitz and glamour of Paris for La Rochelle’s serene sea air.
“For some time, I had felt the need to leave Paris and the first confinement reinforced this desire. When I take the car to train, I walk along the ocean, I stop for five minutes, I walk on the beach and it makes me feel good. I am happy." - Brice Dulin speaking to Midi Olympique
With O’Gara, he found that relaunch he craved. The tranquillity of his new coastal life calmed him. He discovered that being content in life translates to positive performances on the pitch.
Reinvigorating his career and pushing his way into France side for the first time in three years. His mastery under the high ball was a key skill in France’s win over the Irish in Dublin - a win which forced him to his knees as tears and relief flowed out of him. Against the Welsh, his 81st minute try turned impending defeat into victory, denying Wales another Grand Slam chance.
Yet, against Scotland, he became the villain. With the clock in the red and a 23-20 win secured, Dulin, much like against Leinster, played the ball from his own 22, refusing to kick it into touch. From there, Scotland turned it over and eventually scored to steal the game in Saint-Denis. In the summer Melvyn Jaminet made the 15 jersey his own, and Dulin’s grip on the fullback role loosened.
Much like his career, Dulin’s performance against Leinster wasn’t perfect. His attempt to run the ball out his own 22 was not his only error. But it was a moment that encapsulated the type of player he is. Effortlessly entertaining, and equally frustrating. A player who lives and dies by his own choices, never afraid to take even the most absurd of options. For so often, he redeems himself.
His kicking game was a difference maker in the second half at the Stade Velodrome. His monstrous kick to touch in the 69th minute sent La Rochelle from their own half to within 5m of Leinster’s try line. From there, the hammering began.
Waves of forwards battered the blue wall. The cheers of ardent La Rochelle supporters reverberated around the stadium, getting louder with each mighty carry that Will Skelton and his pack hit Leinster with. Retière spotted the one opening in Leinster’s rigid defence. He slipped as he sniped from the ruck, but he reached for the line, and reached for the cup as he did so.
Finally, Brice Dulin could hold a Champions Cup medal in his hand. Few deserve it more than him. For years of pain and frustration hopefully vanished as Wayne Barnes’ blew the final whistle. These are the things we don’t see as players step onto the pitch. The years of stress not just their bodies, but their minds, have been put under. And no doubt the relief they feel once they finally reach that goal.
Hopefully, as thousands crowded the port of La Rochelle to celebrate their teams incredible victory, Dulin could put the last decade behind him, smile, drink, and enjoy.