David Ribbans: 'It's the reason why I'm here, not still in England'

There was a time when David Ribbans sweated over England squad announcements like the one on Friday inviting 36 players to the October 7-9 training camp ahead of the upcoming Autumn Nations Series. Not anymore. These days, rather than trying to catch the eye of Steve Borthwick (and Eddie Jones before him), the focus is very, very different.

Toulon is now home, not Northampton, and it’s all about doing his very best in the Top 14, not perspiring over whether his efforts for Saints were enough to stamp his international-level ticket. The irony behind his ‘quit’ notice was that after all the false hope of tackle bag holding and making up the numbers on the England fringe without togging on match day, he had finally been capped.

Jones used him on three occasions off the November 2022 bench at Twickenham but when the next Six Nations swung around, Borthwick was at the helm and Ribbans, the South African eligible via an English grandfather, was now surplus again.

His reaction? Pen was put to paper in late February on the tempting three-year offer received from Toulon… yet just weeks later he was making a first England start following the serious injury picked by Ollie Chessum.

What followed was a giddy adventure that took him right through to the Rugby World Cup and a bronze medal finish in Paris. Sixteen days later, though, his 10-cap Test career was very much past tense as he was in the thick of it in Toulon, enjoying a winning Sunday night debut at home to Racing.

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Life since then on the Med has gone swimmingly for the 28-year-old. He is now co-captain with Charles Ollivon, his already generous contract is extended through to the summer of 2028 and while he is currently nursing a minor calf niggle, he will be back at it when available for next weekend’s trip to Racing.

Let’s dive straight in: how does Ribbans reflect now on the limited England career ended by his decision to hop across the Channel and make his living outside the Premiership? “Ultimately it is the reason why I am here today (in Toulon) and not still in England,” he told RugbyPass over a midweek Zoom ahead of this Sunday’s Top 14 match at Clermont.

“It had been such a long time. I felt like I was on the fringe and felt like I had played some good years of rugby in England for Northampton. I’d about three or four years in a row that I played constantly good rugby and just never really got an opportunity.

“I wouldn’t say I gave up on the dream but you realise that you are not going to have a 50, 60-cap international career, which I was disappointed about. I still believe I could have if the opportunity arose but it didn’t and there were good people in front of me.

“How do I look back on it? Obviously no regrets. I loved my time for England. I have had a lot of questions asking about the whole South African heritage and playing for England. I have been very strong in my opinion that I was really privileged and really lucky to play for England.

“I see England as a country that took me in as its own, made me the man that I am today and I learned a lot about rugby and everything. It gave me the opportunities so I was really honoured to be able to repay them and play for the country, so no regrets in terms of that but I just suppose slight regret in not being able to get more caps.

“Having said that, when this opportunity arose I don’t regret that I turned down England to come play here and experience what I have experienced because the rules are changing, it’s getting harder to come across and the opportunity isn’t always there.

“You think you might go to France next year and that’s not always available, so an opportunity came up and I’m really grateful that I took it and have now ended up extending. Yeah, mixed emotions. Proud of it but also wish that I got more. Ultimately it ended with me moving here and I don’t see myself going back.”

Oh Ribeye ???

Outrageous stuff from Big Dave to spark England into life ? pic.twitter.com/Rwt9YwRmew

— Northampton Saints ? (@SaintsRugby) November 19, 2022

While there was a farewell medal for his efforts with England, Ribbans stepping up on the Stade de France podium with the rest of Borthwick’s team after the campaign-ending win over Argentina 12 months ago, there was no medal ending with Northampton.

Instead, on the same June day when Saints were finally winning their first Premiership title since 2014, their former pack talisman was in Paris where Toulon were closing out their regular season at Stade Francais. “I watched them and I got all the FaceTime from the boys on their bus after a few beers. I took the stick that I rightly deserved, that I had left them and now they had won,” he chuckled.

“I chat to them often. Just last week I had an hour FaceTime with Alex Mitchell just catching up, we lived together for years. I still chat to the boys often. George Furbank, the new captain, is someone I was also very close with. Alex Coles. We stay in touch. I know how they do. You always keep an eye on the results. I don’t get to watch as much now, timings and things like that, but I’m sure they are going to have another great season. They have got a good squad, good coaches, so I wish them all the best.”

Ribbans is thriving in his new surroundings, but his old nickname from Northampton – ‘Ribeye’ which was given to him by famed ex-England cricketer Allan Lamb at a barbeque – hasn’t travelled as well. “The foreigners recently caught on to it a little bit but Ribeye, or Cote de Boeuf as I would be known now, hasn’t got the same sort of twang to it.”

More seriously, while learning the language is still challenging despite twice weekly lessons, the rugby and everything that goes with it in the south of France is va-va-voom. “We are about 20 minutes from Toulon, further east, a town called Carqueiranne. A really nice small town, beach town. Hectic in the summer but things are now quietening down. The tourists are leaving and I’m a local now. It’s nice and quiet now,” he said with a smile.

“Pressure? Of course there is always pressure when you are in Toulon. The fans expect results, they expect the team to be winning so there is obviously that. We have managed to stay pretty insulated within the club, a small closed group and just trying to work week on week, not pay too much attention.

“It probably helps me in some regard that I don’t read French press, I don’t see the extreme highs and lows of the Toulon media which you definitely get, that’s for sure. And one thing I learned from last year is how long the season is.

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“I didn’t really quite realise coming from the Premiership how intense the season is in terms of length and each match is Test rugby. It can be helter-skelter but it’s physical, it’s tough, it’s long and you don’t want to be peaking too early.

“We are on a great run now (three wins from four at the start of this season) and it’s brilliant, but the end is in June so you don’t want to playing your final too early which is something I definitely learned last year. We were sitting in eighth, ninth, crisis meetings in the club – we ended with a shot at being top two if we beat Paris on the last day of the season, so that’s how quickly it can change.

“This season we have a few new English faces in Lewis Ludlam and Kyle Sinckler. I played with Lewis since I arrived in Saints [January 2017], so it’s a long time. We were roommates for the whole of the World Cup, it’s been great to have him. There is a decent foreigner community here, with Dan Biggar who also played at Saints. He was brilliant when I arrived helping me just getting settled in.

“Everyone has been amazing. When arriving you hear stories about France and you are not too sure how the divide will be between foreigners and the French because there is no hiding, language is tough. You often find in the heat of the battle sometimes you just say what you have to say and the French goes out the window. With enough swearing and shouting and using your hands, you generally get your points across in rugby.

“But it has been fantastic here. The integration between French boys and the foreigners is amazing. We spend a lot of time with the French boys off the field, so maybe Toulon’s history of having a lot of foreigners in the past has helped. It’s an amazing group of people, a family and community feel.”

The fans play their part, especially the goose-bumping tunnel they create when players step off the bus and walk to Stade Mayol. “I can’t really put words on it. It’s something quite special for club rugby. My first time experiencing it, I was blown away. It was one of the first things I told my parents. It’s like something I have never seen before. Every home match is a crazy experience.

“We recently played away at Stade Francais in Paris and I have never seen travelling support like that for us. Flares going off as we arrived and banging on the bus. It’s special. You cop it a bit when you lose but you get serious highs and rewards when you win so you have to deal with it. There are amazing fans and it gives you a lot of energy that’s for sure.”

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Overall, Ribbans feels blessed, particularly as he is now playing for the same club as his retired idol Joe van Niekerk. “He was a hero. I used to play eighth man and really looked up to him and think he was an amazing player. I got a signed photo when I was a youngster, I could have been six or seven, maybe a little bit older.

“His face is dotted around all over town, all over the campus. Unfortunately I missed the legends hall of fame reunion before I arrived. It would have been great to have met him in person but I’m captaining the club which he used to do.

“That is fantastic. I’m not trying to be him or anything like that, but we have followed a little similar pathway. He didn’t get much love in South African rugby, went off and made this massive name here in this town. I’ve had a lot of support and love from the supporters so far and the club, and I’ve extended my stay. I feel very loved by everyone.”

Ribbans has excelled despite the tightening regs where match squads must include a minimum 15 French-qualified players. “There are some issues with Jiff numbers putting more pressure on coaches to play more French players. We are obviously struggling a little bit with that at the moment. It’s tough for our coach Pierre Mignoni to manage week in and week out who can and can’t play.

“That is where the landscape of French rugby is changing but in terms of the appetite for rugby, a World Cup boosts it that bit more and it definitely did it last year. There is such a love for it here, really deep passion for rugby. When you win you are the king of the town and when you lose it’s best to stay in and have dinner at home. That’s Toulon for you.”

Ribbans’ parents were recent visitors with his sister. When he first moved to England, the travel in each direction was more frequent but his last summer break was the first time he was back in Somerset West outside Cape Town in two and a half years. When the Investec Champions Cup draw was made in July in Cardiff, he was tickled by the prospect of facing the Stormers in his home city.

However, a fixture clash means his December family and friends reunion will happen 750kms east along the South African coast. “Unfortunately we are not playing in Cape Town which is a real shame. Everyone wanted to come but there is Cape Town SVNS the same day we play Stormers, so we are moving to Port Elizabeth. Cape Town would have been a real 360 for me. Last year I went to play Northampton and now it’s Stormers which would have been pretty special but we will have to settle for Port Elizabeth.”

Ribbans never played for the Stormers. Western Province was as far as he got when he left for England as a 21-year-old. Might we ever see him don the URC franchise’s jersey? “To play in South Africa, you never say never as the opportunity might arise but I am here now for another four years. I’m starting to get a bit older in my career. Maybe we will favour a little stint there but it is not on the immediate cards.”

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