Bastareaud looks to cousin Gallas for advice

To deal with the pressure of being one of world rugby's emerging stars, France center Mathieu Bastareaud can turn to his cousin William Gallas for advice on how to succeed at the highest level.

The 21-year-old Bastareaud knows the spotlight will be firmly on him in Saturday's Grand Slam decider against England, but talking to Arsenal defender Gallas - a World Cup finalist with France in 2006 and winner of two league titles with Chelsea - helps him keep a level head.

"Yes, (Gallas) gave me advice ... but the stakes in football and rugby can't be compared," Bastareaud said in a recent interview with The Associated Press. "It's not the same pressure, it's another world, (although) there are things that overlap, like how to cope with a first cap, how to deal with journalists, how to cope with everything around you, and receiving his advice helps a lot."

Bastareaud has been one of France's best players in its Six Nations campaign, scoring two tries against Scotland and setting up a try in the 33-10 demolition of Ireland that established France as Grand Slam favorites.

The burly Stade Francais center combines devastating pace with terrifying strength and quick hands. Even though there is variety to his game, he expects to be stereotyped as a powerful player.

"It doesn't bother me that people have categorized me, it's often like that in sport," Bastareaud said. "I know that I have the physique of an impact player, but when I need to play I know how to, and that is more unsettling for a defense."

Bastareaud joked that he is working on his kicking - but will refrain from using it at Stade de France on Saturday.

"I am left footed and that's rare, but it's not quite there yet," he said. "I don't want to land the guys in trouble."

Lavished with praise for his France displays so far, Bastareaud remains objective.

"It's not because you play one good game and people are talking about you that you should start getting ahead of yourself," he said. "After the Scotland game, I had (former France winger) Christophe Dominici (on the phone) and it helped a lot."

Bastareaud says it took him a long time to take rugby seriously. He said that change took place when his father spoke to him.

"Even though he was not a sportsman at the very highest level he played a lot of football, so he knows how a sportsman lives, how a sportsman copes," Bastareaud said. "When he spoke to me when I was little I thought 'why is he telling me this?' I was playing for Creteil, playing for fun. But my parents always pushed me and today I thank them for it."

Bastareaud's international career got off to a fraught start when he lied to police about being assaulted in New Zealand last summer.

Bastareaud initially claimed he had been attacked by up to five men in central Wellington in the early hours of the morning. The French press speculated that he fought his teammates, while Bastareaud eventually said he was drunk, slipped and fell face-first onto a bedside table in his room - suffering a suspected broken eye socket and needing stitches.

The late-night saga escalated into a political affair between the nations, prompting French Prime Minister Francois Fillon to send a letter of apology to his New Zealand counterpart John Key in July.

Bastareaud was excluded from France's matches against South Africa, Samoa and New Zealand in November. After working closely with a psychologist and some community service work he has tried to put the incident behind him.

"You have to stop talking about the past all day long," he said.

Against England, Bastareaud will win his ninth cap next to veteran center Yannick Jauzion, who wins his 68th in his 10th year of international rugby. Bastareaud is reluctant to speculate about how long his career will last.

"I try not to project too much into the future, to fix myself an objective of 50 caps or whatever," he said. "I like to live in the present. Making plans never works out for me, even when I go on holiday it's normally at the last minute. I don't plan six months in advance."

Bastareaud - who lives in western Paris near Roland Garros, home of the French Open tennis tournament - has interests outside the game that he takes up when he has time off with friends.

"They're not going to do my head in talking about (rugby) all the time. I'm not just a rugby player, you can talk to me about other things, literature, other sports," he said.

- AP