Marcoussis (France) (AFP)

Before becoming essential with the XV of France, the center Virimi Vakatawa was one of the best septists on the planet, an experience which gave him an "oxygen bubble", according to the former coach of the team. France Sevens rugby Frédéric Pomarel, interviewed by AFP.

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Successful "deal" with Racing 92

When Vakatawa accepts the challenge of rugby sevens in 2014, his XV career skates.

"He was coming back from injury and was not necessarily fully integrated into Racing 92's game plan," Pomarel recalls.

With Jean-Claude Skrela, then manager of the French team at seven, the former coach concludes a "deal" with the coaches of the Ile-de-France club, Laurent Travers and Laurent Labit, now in charge of three-quarters of the XV of France.

"It was the first time that we built a plan together. At that time, when I took a quinziste, I was considered a looter by the clubs," says Pomarel.

"The two Laurent had really placed Virimi at the center of the project. The deal turned out to be even better than we imagined," he adds.

Because Vakatawa, then under federal contract, will become "one of the best players in VII", revealing himself during the world circuit and participating in the Olympics-2016 in Rio (France 7th).

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Freedom

If the rugby sevens did not "teach him anything technically", he especially offered "a bubble of oxygen" and "gave him confidence", according to Pomarel.

The "freer" game at VII with "less tactics" and "a greater emphasis on athleticism" allowed him to put forward his natural qualities.

"He already had enormous athletic qualities except on the MAS (maximum aerobic speed) that we made him work", underlines the one who is today technical director of the Overseas League.

Defensively, "he was a fierce tackler" with however "gaps in positioning".

"He needed to mature on it" but "worked a lot" to improve.

"He was making a lot more money in the Top 14 but agreed to become anonymous again and suffer in training. This experience has been beneficial to him," continues Pomarel.

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A "duelist" shaped in Fiji

"Everyone is ecstatic about his chistera in contact (against Wales, Editor's note) but that he has always been able to do," said the former coach, referring to the Fijian roots of the Racingman.

"Over there, the kids play rugby for 4 or 5 hours in a row without a referee, on vacant lots, mud pitches or seafronts. They play two against two, five against five or ten against ten. C It is thanks to this free rugby that Virimi has developed his skills as a duelist, "explains Pomarel, who had spent two weeks in the archipelago of the South Pacific to observe the players there.

"Duels, Virimi loved it," he says.

During training sessions with the French team at VII, it was not uncommon for him to “humiliate” his partners.

"I've never seen someone with so many weapons in a duel. Everything seemed doable. Even he didn't know in advance what he was going to do."

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"Accept the waste"

The flip side for Vakatawa is that he is also "a faulty and sometimes fiery player", according to Pomarel.

"With him, we have to accept that there will be waste," he adds.

If the France team conceded sixteen penalties against four against the Welsh (38-21 victory) on Saturday, "Virimi may be the barometer of all that", continues the former coach.

But it complements well with other French people who have more "grown up in a frame".

He recalls that if Fiji are part of the world top VII (winners of the 2015 and 2016 world circuit and 2016 Olympic champions in particular), they are also part of the most penalized selections.

"Virimi is not a machine either. This is also what makes him extremely endearing," he concludes.

© 2020 AFP