Sport The La Rochelle pillar Uini Atonio will start with the 15th of France against Wales. A player who weighs within the France group both literally and figuratively.
VIDEO. 6 Nations. They are all fans of this player from 15 de France (and it’s not Antoine Dupont)This Saturday, the 15th of France will be able to count on Uini Atonio to stall its scrum against Wales in the 6 Nations. The La Rochelle pillar is back after his suspension following the Ireland match. And that’s a very good thing for the Blues. This week, the tricolor coach Fabien Galthié did not hesitate to say that he was the best in his position in the exercise of the scrum. The New Zealander not only has an excellent technique but also a physique that allows him to dominate the competition. A template that could have been a problem. But that he tamed to make it a force. Not only is he very mobile for his weight, between 146 and 149 kilos, but he also has an extraordinary capacity for regeneration. “Guys chastise me about it and say I never got real hurts“, confides the Tricolore away RMC. Healthy lifestyle ? Genetics? “Maybe I have grizzly bear bones!” he laughs. Maybe a bit of all of that, aside from the grizzly bear bones, combined with a tremendous amount of willpower that makes him quickly overcome physical glitches.
For Philippe Gardent, head of physical preparation at Stade Rochelais, Atonio is “An alien“. He has this disposition to recover faster than the others. We remember that Aurélien Rougerie was also like that. In 2011, before the World Cup, it took him only three months to find the Blues after dislocation of the left ankle and broken malleolus. He then participated in the World Cup in New Zealand and started in the final against the All Blacks. In 2019, Uini Atonio somehow missed the World Cup in Japan due to an operation. No Initially retained, he was then called up following Bamba’s injury, but he preferred to have cervical surgery, a decisive choice in his career.
The operation was an option. I didn’t have to take it. Either I didn’t have surgery and I no longer had a license, or I had surgery and I could continue to play. But, at the time, I had not yet won a title. Finishing a career in La Rochelle with nothing, I would have been disgusted.
He did well since he then won the Champions Cup with Stade Rochelais while perhaps waiting for a Brennus and a World Cup. If he pays more attention to his preparation and especially to his neck, he does not deprive himself. He feels very good about himself right now and doesn’t see himself looking 40 pounds lighter. “Sometimes, below 146, I made catastrophic matches. It depends on the shape you are looking for. Me, I’m fine where I am.” A physical condition that allowed him to become a member of the France team. With whom he has taken a step forward in recent years, in particular thanks to the staff who know how to use his particular profile in world rugby. “Today’s rugby is more physical, more frontal with lots of violent scrums. Your body has to follow. Would my body follow at 120 kilos? I do not think so…“Maybe not in the scrum, but why not in the middle or on a wing?
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