French three-quarter Gaël Fickou is confident he can improve his game and win titles after joining Stade Français this summer.
Fickou, who first broke into the French side during the 2013 Six Nations at just 18 years of age, now has 34 caps to his name.
And after five years with Toulouse, he chose to join Stade Français over the summer.
While Fickou was one of the great hopes of French rugby as a youngster, the 24-year-old intends to develop his game this year.
In an interview with the Midi Olympique Fickou said: “I arrived at the top level very quickly. At 18 I was in the French team. The hardest thing is to stay there.
“For now, I’m doing ok with some highs and lows, of course.
“But I cannot satisfy myself with that, I want to win titles with my club and the French team. I’m hoping for more. And I want another view, another approach, another method which should help me progress.”
Capable of playing both in the centres and on the wing, Fickou started the final game of the Six Nations against Wales, where he scored the only French try.
He went on to feature in all three games on the summer tour of New Zealand, and while he admits he has now always been as diligent as he should from a fitness perspective, he insists that in the last year he has stepped up his work to become a key player for Les Bleus.
He added: “I sometimes rested on my laurels. While I’ve always worked on my individual technique, sometimes I cut back on the fitness side.
“I worked really hard the first year to make it to the France team, and the second year to stay there. Then I took it easier.
“It was a schoolboy mistake. I’ve really started working hard since last year with Stade Toulousain. But I know I wasn’t as good at certain points of my career.
“I’ve been in the French team for six years now and it feels like no one is really established in the centres.
“I think it is to do with our lack of results. Whoever the coach is, there are always lots of changes.
“At the moment I’m happy to be in the squad, even if it is on the wing.”
