EXCLUSIVE: French rugby's poster boy No 10 Romain Ntamack opens up

Growing up, Romain Ntamack and his younger brother Theo were well known to the doctors and nurses at Toulouse's hospital. 

On Sundays, usually between 7 and 11 in the evening, one of the siblings would often be carted in for treatment after over-zealous tackling in the garden.

'Oh, Mr Ntamack, which one is it this week?' the staff would ask his father, Emile, who scored 26 tries in 46 Tests for France and doubled up as the family ambulance driver.

'We always had rugby DNA in our blood,' says Romain. 'If the weather was bad, we would play in the house and end up breaking glasses or vases. If the weather was good, we would play in the garden.

'I remember tackling my brother into a tree to stop him from scoring a try. He cut his head open and needed to go to hospital for stitches above his eye.

'Sometimes Dad's team-mates would come around for dinner and their kids would play with us too. Trevor Brennan's family were around a lot. They were keen rugby players who would join in. 

'Dad would be the referee. We were competitive even as young boys but our dad's big thing was that we always had to respect the referee. It was a wonderful education for us.'

Growing up, Ntamack rubbed shoulders with the great and the good of world rugby.

At six months old, he was carried around Twickenham on his father's hip after the World Cup semi-final. As he got older, he was invited along as ball boy and would get to meet his idols after games. He would say to his father: 'One day, I am going to be on that bus with the team.'

He adds: 'There are so many fond memories. I was always aware of what my dad did in rugby. He was often away coaching with France during the Six Nations, so I would spend Sunday afternoons in front of the TV with my