“Jaminet and Toulouse are made for each other”
New darling of French rugby, Melvyn Jaminet changes category from Perpignan to Toulouse. But his agent, Bastien Faupala, is not worried.
Did Melvyn have any contacts other than Stade Toulousain? A return to the RCT, which today must be biting its fingers to have let it slip away, was it for example possible?
We had other contacts. Many clubs want it, mainly those who are in the top 6/7 of Top 14. For the second part of the question, no, a return to Rugby Club Toulonnais has never been accepted.
Did he really make the right choice with Toulouse where the competition is very important?
Anyway, when you play and when you join a big club, there is competition everywhere. In Bordeaux, there is Romain Buros, in Racing it could have been Max Spring, in Montpellier Anthony Bouthier… There is competition everywhere. The game proposed by Toulouse which is made of a very airy game, very worked and open, corresponds to the game of Melvyn. To put it simply, Toulouse corresponds to the game of Melvyn and Melvyn corresponds to the game of Toulouse, they are complementary.
It can only match! Melvyn has an excellent kicking game, everyone knows that, but he is above all a big raiser, with a big burst of speed and acceleration. You should know that before Melvyn was 10, he did not play back. He held this position when he joined the pros at Perpignan. Since childhood, he has always played 10.
Melvyn Jaminet stress free
After the maintenance obtained with Perpignan, place for a new challenge with potential major titles with Toulouse. How to feel?
Melvyn is not someone who stresses out, he is a hard worker and a rugby lover. No matter what challenge awaits him, I know he will respond. It’s a little bit his trademark, he has always been present in important moments. At the end of last season, he was injured, he came back for the final stages and he responded.
Everything is going very fast, how does he see it, does he manage to keep his feet on the ground?
Yes. Melvyn, I knew him when I was 18, when nobody knew him. Today, he is 23. He has changed, grown, obviously evolved. But he didn’t take the big head. It’s true that his notoriety exploded too quickly, it’s unheard of in the history of professional rugby. It upset him a bit that we talk about him very frequently, on TV, in the press, etc. In Perpignan, he was surrounded by Mathieu Acébès, Piula Faasalele, natural leaders. If tomorrow there are young players, and I’m not just talking about Melvyn, who takes the melon, they will quickly crop it. I tell Melvyn when it’s good, when it’s not good. He is very well surrounded by his family too. His big brother in Nevers, his little brother. Melvyn is a very balanced person.
“A return to Toulon has never been retained”
Can we say that he is today, with Antoine Dupont, the most popular French player?
I am Melvyn’s agent, but there is a new job, that of image agent (the one who manages the player’s image, especially with brands). We were approached by several image agents and we decided to choose one that suited us best. We met him and got him to sign a contract so he could manage Melvyn’s image. He told us that in France, there are three players who stand out: Antoine Dupont, of course, Romain Ntamack and the last is Melvyn Jaminet. So yes, Melvyn, with Antoine and Romain is one of the headliners of French rugby at the moment.
Who is he off the field?
Melvyn loves fashion. He likes brands like Hugo Boss, Calvin Klein, etc. I’m not saying he wants to be a model, but he’s someone who pays attention to his habits. He really likes to play on the console with his friends like Louis Carbonel for example. I think they are playing Fifa together right now.
Do you have an anecdote about Melvyn, something we don’t know?
For having done a lot of driving with him, sometimes we put the music on and I can tell you that he sings a lot. Unfortunately, it’s not always very fair (laughs).
Proposed by Théo Loffroy