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Kyle Sinckler makes dream start to life in Top 14

Kyle Sinckler during the Barbarians training session at Mill Hill School on June 19, 2024 in London, England. The Barbarians will play against Fiji at Twickenham on Saturday June 22nd. (Photo by Steve Bardens/Getty Images for Barbarians)
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Toulon’s Kyle Sinckler has made a great start to his life in the Top 14, making Midi Olympique’s team of the week for the third week in a row. 

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The 31-year-old has now made the team in three of the opening four weeks of the season, earning his place this week after his side Toulon triumphed over Top 14 newcomers Vannes 54-19 on Saturday.

Toulon’s meeting with Vannes at the Stade Mayol was expected to be a clash between two England props, with Sinckler going head-to-head with his former teammate Mako Vunipola, who has made an equally bright start to his career in France. The former Saracens star, however, missed the encounter.

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Sam Cane after his 100th Test for the All Blacks and TJ Perenara after his last home game | All Blacks post-match

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Sam Cane after his 100th Test for the All Blacks and TJ Perenara after his last home game | All Blacks post-match

Despite only being on the field for an hour, the Toulon tighthead completed 13 tackles, which was only bettered by one player on the field, France flanker Charles Ollivon.

Not only has it been a strong start for Sinckler personally, but the three-time European champions sit in third place in the Top 14, level on points with Bordeaux-Begles and Toulouse at the summit.

Fixture
Top 14
Toulon
54 - 19
Full-time
Vannes
All Stats and Data

Sinckelr was joined by one other Englishman in the team, Pau’s Joe Simmonds,  who scored 15 points in his side’s 30-16 win over Stade Francais.

The 68-cap prop recently opened up on the differences between the Top 14 and English rugby in an interview with l’Equipe in France.

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“In France, there is more pressure in the connections, I have to adapt to it,” he said.

“The spirit of the scrum is very different here. From the commands “flexion”, “liez”, “jouer”. If I switch early, too hard, I risk arriving at the end of the race at impact, devoid of power. I am still in the adjustment phase.

“In Toulon, the scrum is a story of life and death, it’s exhilarating. In England, we are more analytical. Here, the scrum, we put emotions into it. It’s a whole city and a region that vibrates. In Toulon you feel like a gladiator. I love it!”

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mJ 1 hour ago
Wallabies' defensive woes demand overhaul to avoid Murrayfield bloodbath

They need to get the basics right and this is fundamentally their biggest issue, just like the opposite is true for their attack. The Wallabies don’t defend the gain line, teams constantly get gain line and the second is slowing down the ruck. So they are continually on the back foot and playing flat out in defence trying to get into the right positions and teams manipulate this. If the Wallabies suddenly got physical dominance with their defence and slowed each ruck down by another second or two things would be materially different. Like every 10 likes to play behind a forward pack winning gain line, every good defence benefits with time as well. If the Wallabies go out this weekend and stop Scotland gainline and slow their rucks down to 2 or 3 seconds on average our defence will be significantly better. And that is the easy fix for this weekend.

In attack our forwards need to stop being static and Lonergan needs to play with some deception and he needs to get out from behind the ruck as no one on this planet will expect him to run with the ball. Set the forward pod to go one way and then just get out and link with a runner on the opposite side. He is so one dimensional, he needs to be able to change it up and he needs to play with more tempo. So like the defence if our forwards win the gain line and rucks and we get quick ball we will stress the Scotland defence and their will be plenty of opportunities.



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