Jonathan Danty will not play the opening match of the World Cup with the XV of France. Injured, the three-quarters center is already forfeited.
Big blow for the XV of France! The Blues will play the opening match of the Rugby World Cup without Jonathan Danty. The tricolor center three-quarters is forced to withdraw for the first meeting of the competition, announces L’Equipe, even if, for the time being, Fabien Galthié and his staff have not spoken on the subject. According to information from the sports daily, the La Rochelle player has a hamstring injury. Exempted from the first preparation match, he then played the three other matches as a starter, including the last two (Fiji and Australia) in full. He should be replaced by Yoram Moefana, who will therefore pair up with Gaël Fickou at the center of the French attack.
Jonathan Danty was born on October 7, 1992 in Paris. Raised only by his mother, Patricia, after the departure of his father, the kid, who has an older sister, discovered many sports in his early childhood: football, basketball, handball, aikido. His childhood best friend, Jeffrey, plays rugby.
After refusing several times, Patricia, who fears this rough sport, accepts her son’s request. Resident of the 18th arrondissement, the Guadeloupean, at 12, travels an hour to stamp his license at ASPTT Paris. Stronger than his partners, he is placed in the third line.
Spotted by the PUC, a major training club in the Paris region, Jonathan Danty continues to progress and knocks on the door of regional selections. Endowed with above-average physical abilities, he joined the Pôle Espoirs at Lakanal high school. A difficult choice is in front of him: to play hooker or center. He leans for the position of three-quarter center.
In 2008, the Stade Français Paris gave him a place in its training center. He remained thirteen seasons in the capital club and became a French international on February 6, 2016, against Italy for the first day of the Six Nations Tournament. In order to give new impetus to his career, Jonathan Danty has chosen to leave his Parisian cocoon to join the ambitious La Rochelle club at the end of the 2020-2021 season.
Originally from Guadeloupe, a native of the Paris region, three-quarter center, and member of the Stade Français Paris, Jonathan Danty has, for many years, been forced to do with the shadow of Mathieu Bastareaud. To get away from an annoying comparison, the adopted Rochelais wanted to put other strings to his bow. If he admits having played for a long time only on his physique, the person concerned has worked a lot on his passing, his game without the ball, as well as his footwork in recent years in order to become a more complete player.
Often in dilettantism at the start of his career, the ex-member of the PUC, since his passing in his thirties, has become more of a perfectionist. Under the leadership of Ronan O’Gara, a reference in the world of coaches, he is one of the best centers in the world. An explosion at the best of times since the Blues lost, during the mandate of Galthié, Virimi Vakatawa, forced to stop his career for a heart problem. No longer appeared under the tricolor banner since November 2017, Danty was able to seize his chance during the Autumn Nations Cup three years later. Since then, he has been an essential cog in the XV of France.
At club level, Jonathan Danty has won everything. He was French champion with Stade Français Paris (2015) and winner of the European Challenge (2017). He has twice won the European Cup with Stade Rochelais (2022 and 2023). With the XV of France, he was an important member of the Grand Slam during the 2022 Six Nations Tournament.
In November 2022, the center was called up under the banner of the Blues despite the fact that Laura Facini, his partner, was about to give birth. Decisive in the success against Australia (30-29), through a saving scratch at the end of the game, the person concerned immediately went, after the final whistle, to his wife’s bedside and saw the birth of Gabriel Danty, her first child. While nursing his little boy, Jonathan Danty gave up the bottle a week later to beat the South African world champions at the Orange Vélodrome (30-26). Its history has made it possible to unite the France group.
Fabien Galthié, coach of the XV of France, tends to call him by a diminutive: “Jo”. For his friends at the PUC, Jonathan Danty is “Fatou”. A nickname that comes from his tendencies to force when resuming the season, he who does not hide being a fan of Caribbean cuisine.
A few years ago, the three-quarter center decided to resume his studies alongside his professional career. In 2018, he graduated with a project management degree from Toulouse Business School. He is now continuing his career at Neoma Business School where he is pursuing a master’s degree in “Real Estate Manager”.
Taulier of the Stade Rochelais, and benefiting from the status of player from the French formation (JIFF), Jonathan Danty, under contract until 2027, earns several tens of thousands of euros per month. To this must be added his collaborations with brands such as Zalando and Oxygear.
