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Ex-England star reveals the 'scary thing' about teammate Theo Attissogbe
By Chris Jones
Pau wing Theo Attissogbe is spearheading a new force in French rugby that is helping power France towards a Six Nations Grand Slam, with Italy the latest team tasked with nullifying Fabien Galthie’s young guns in Lille.
Attissogbe’s tries against Ireland and Wales have helped win over the doubters who could not believe Galthie had left out Bordeaux’s Damian Penaud. Galthie has been proved right as the turbo-charged wing has shown real skill and an appetite for work, forming a try-scoring double act with the electric Louis Bielle-Biarrey.
There are currently eight Pau players in the French Six Nations squad and, while those outside France may consider this to be a surprise, it reflects the fact they stand second behind reigning league champions Toulouse in the Top 14 and one point above Champions Cup holders Bordeaux Begles.
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Dan Robson, the former England scrum half who wears the No.9 shirt at Pau, is warning the sport that Attissogbe is going to get even better and told RugbyPass: “Theo is quick and is only going to get quicker. The scary thing is that he still finding his top pace and has a few more yards to get and for such a young guy he has a really good vision and game understanding. Theo and Bielle-Biarrey are very similar in that they are rapid and read the game so well.
“You don’t often see that in a player of his age and the way Theo looks and reads the game, he just wants to be involved all the time. He looks for space and is exceptional at that and he is just brilliant. What is impressive is that Theo searches for space and has taken to international rugby like a duck to water.
“The young players are so confident and back themselves and many have come through the French U20s and there are always a few who will be better than others. They back themselves to make that transition to the first team and our guys have fitted in seamlessly at 20 or 22-years old. It’s crazy.”
As a result of Pau’s outstanding results this season, Galthie has turned to a club that has lived in the shadow of bigger names to help redesign his national squad. It is a measure of the depth of midfield talent available to Galthie that, after losing the Bordeaux Begles pair of Nicolas Depoortere and Yoram Moefana who helped defeat Ireland, he drafted in the Pau centre partnership of Fabien Brau-Boirie and Emilien Gailleton to inflict a 54-12 hammering on Wales in Cardiff.
Remarkably, there was no drop-off in pace, power and ball-handling brilliance despite this change, with 20-year-old debutant Brau-Boirie and Gailleton, 22, scoring tries alongside the mercurial half-back partnership of Matthieu Jalibert and Antoine Dupont.
Very few international teams could have replaced one club midfield with another without missing a heartbeat, which is a testament to the French talent identification system and the rise of Pau as a force in the Top 14.
Robson and Joe Simmonds, the ex-Exeter Chiefs No.10, have helped Pau become title contenders, with Brau-Boirie scoring nine tries in 15 club games this season, while English-born club-mate Gailleton scored a try against Wales for the second successive year.
Robson, the former Wasps scrum half, believes the emergence of so much young talent is testament to the “no fear rugby” attitude that is making the Top 14 so exciting.
He said: “It’s a remarkable feat and when you write it down on paper it’s pretty crazy that you just swap one club centre pairing for another at test level. Then at Toulouse you also have Pierre-Louis Barassi and Kalvin Gourgues and so there are potentially three club pairings for France to choose from. You haven’t even brought Gael Fikou into the conversation and that really is an incredible strength in depth.
“At Pau the academy has been so important to develop the young core of the squad and we are now reaping the benefits and fruits of that labour.
“Fabien(Brau-Boirie) was player who came into training last year and is a deceptively big lad and physical. He gets over the gain line with ease and I remember training with him and thinking we need to get this guy into he team and push him as far and as quickly as possible.
“Playing at 12 in the Top14 is no easy feat but he made it look easy. To go to Cardiff and play the way he did, so comfortable and so at ease was very impressive and he will only get better because he is so young. I was proud of all three of the Pau guys who all stood out in the game.”
The club’s success and the international recognition it has triggered has meant a different kind of challenge for those still at Pau as they look to build on their excellent start in the Top 14, with Perpignan next on the fixture list on Sunday.
“Pau have eight players in the French squad at the moment and normally at this stage of the season when the Six Nations is taking place we would be looking to make an impact in the Top 14 against teams who normally have players away with France,” explained Robson, who will be joining Gloucester next season.
“Now, we are in that position being eight players down and it is up to the squad to maintain our form in the competition while the guys are away from the club.
“It’s going well in the Top 14 and hopefully we can keep it up and make the play-offs for the first time and finish my time here on a high. Making the play-offs has been all the talk for recent seasons. There was an opportunity for me to stay here but the offer came along from Gloucester with Tomos Williams leaving and always wanted to return to the club where it all started for me.”
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