Paris (AFP)

They are rarely in full light. But for Toulon-Clermont, shock of the 11th day of Top 14 Sunday (21:00), all eyes will be turned to the second line and the duel between Eben Etzebeth and Sébastien Vahaamahina, with opposite destinies during the last World Cup.

"It is unfortunate what happened to him." You don't hit a man on the ground and Etzebeth, like the rugby world as a whole, has words of comfort for "Vahaa", "a very good player" that he "can't wait" to meet. Even if he also points out, in an AFP interview, that he "never lost (his) calm like that".

"That" is obviously the nudge inflicted in Mondovision on the Welshman Aaron Wainwright during the quarterfinal of the World Cup that the XV of France had attacked with the right end (19-10) and ended up losing nothing (19-20), necessarily penalized by the red card inflicted on Clermontois.

Pressed by Bernard Laporte - "you deprive the French team of a semi-final", said the president of the Federation in the locker room -, "Vahaa" announced the next day, when boarding the plane which brought back the Tokyo Blues, his international retirement at only 28 years old and after 46 selections. Suspended six weeks for his bloodshed, he will return to competition on Sunday.

- "He has friends in front" -

"I find him in very good moods," said his ASM coach Franck Azéma on Friday, on whom the New Caledonian, who has still not spoken from Japan, was able to turn to page.

"It was important to debrief with him when he returned, to let him individualize his weeks of suspension as well as possible, to evacuate all the accumulated + bobology +, to see how we could optimize his physical quality, his preparation, the skills too , while staying in contact with the group, "detailed Azéma about the month and a half of waiting.

Which will therefore end in the cauldron of Mayol, in front of an audience deemed to be a chamberlain and the best enemy of the Auvergne in recent years. Not the best place to relaunch? "He has friends in front too, there is respect for that ... I think they (the Toulon supporters) recognize his qualities of rough, of fighting," objected Azéma. "It will do him the greatest good," says left pillar Etienne Falgoux.

- On the way to Botha -

Rough, combative, qualities similarly joined to Etzebeth (also 28, 85 sel.), The last star signed by the historic president Mourad Boudjellal - on the start - and who landed at the end of November on the harbor, crowned with his title of champion of the world with the Springboks.

"Bringing Eben Etzebeth, it was a Toulon dream" for Boudjellal, passing the keys to the new owner Bernard Lemaître after having attracted the biggest stars on the planet (Umaga, Wilkinson, Ali and SB Williams, Habana, Nonu ) since 2006. Including a certain ... Bakkies Botha, another legendary second African line from which Mayol has been looking for a successor since 2015.

Botha masterfully by Laporte, Botha won everything with the RCT, and in particular two European Cups won against ... Clermont (2013, 2015). An example to follow for Etzebeth. "The fact that Bakkies Botha has shown the way here, it makes sense and it must have weighed in his decision" to come to Toulon, said Boujellal. "Bakkies Botha prepared the way for Eben Etzebeth."

Now remains to prove itself in a championship to which players in the southern hemisphere sometimes find it difficult to adapt. But manager Patrice Collazo no longer has any doubt after seeing his player "nervous" for his first match sheet in the European Challenge against the London Irish. "It proves that even if we are world champion and that we have won a lot of things, we still have things to look for." Sunday, there will be a lot of new quests on the second line.

Results of the 11th day of the Top 14:

Saturday

Bayonne - Brive 6 - 6

Castres - Lyon 29 - 12

Racing 92 - Montpellier 29 - 25

Agen - Toulouse 8 - 13

Sunday

(12:30 p.m.) Stade Français - Pau

(4:50 p.m.) Bordeaux-Bègles - La Rochelle

(9 p.m.) Toulon - Clermont

© 2019 AFP