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Toulon hatch bizarre plan concerning powerhouse Tuisova's on field position

By James Harrington
Josua Tuisova (Getty Images)

Toulon are trying to convince flyer Josua Tuisova to learn the secret arts of the wing forward, it has been reported.

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The Fijian Olympic Sevens champion has has touched down 24 times in 66 outings since joining the club at the start of the 2013/14 season.

Now, the Top 14 club’s coaches are keen for the 23-year-old to move from the wing to the backrow, according to regional newspaper Var Matin. To date, the paper says, the player has resisted their efforts at persuasion – and it has to be said, backrow stocks are healthy at Toulon. But could we one day see him packing down with Duane Vermeulen and Marmuka Gorgodze?

For some, the notion of wingers as flankers conjures images of Jonny May ‘helping’ England’s yellow card-depleted pack at a scrum in November 2016.

But there is method in the Toulon braintrust’s madness. Tuisova’s wrecking ball runs are well-known in the Top 14 and further afield. And he would not be the first to move from the backs to the back row in France. Two current players are already doing it – which it what has probably prompted Fabien Galthie to pop the question to his muscular wingman.

Semi Kunatani’s career at Toulouse was going pretty much nowhere until he moved from the wing to the flanks over the summer. Two games into the new season, the new-born backrow man is fast winning admirers and clearly influencing people beyond the boundaries of Stade Ernest Wallon. His switch is probably permanent.

Meanwhile, La Rochelle’s nominal centre Levani Botia switches between the back row and the backline for fun. He seems more than comfortable playing either at centre or seven. He was a key player in the club’s charge to the top of the table last season.

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In fact, one player has made the occasional switch the other way. Stade Francais’ young openside and former sevens star Sekou Macalou started on the wing in last season’s rearranged match at Castres Olympique.

And, yes, 24-stone prop Uini Atonio has played a number of times in the second row for La Rochelle – though it will come as no surprise to anyone that he did little in the way of lineout jumping, for which his team-mates must have been profoundly grateful.

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Mzilikazi 3 hours ago
How Leinster neutralised 'long-in-the-tooth' La Rochelle

Had hoped you might write an article on this game, Nick. It’s a good one. Things have not gone as smoothly for ROG since beating Leinster last year at the Aviva in the CC final. LAR had the Top 14 Final won till Raymond Rhule missed a simple tackle on the excellent Ntamack, and Toulouse reaped the rewards of just staying in the fight till the death. Then the disruption of the RWC this season. LAR have not handled that well, but they were not alone, and we saw Pau heading the Top 14 table at one stage early season. I would think one of the reasons for the poor showing would have to be that the younger players coming through, and the more mature amongst the group outside the top 25/30, are not as strong as would be hoped for. I note that Romain Sazy retired at the end of last season. He had been with LAR since 2010, and was thus one of their foundation players when they were promoted to Top 14. Records show he ended up with 336 games played with LAR. That is some experience, some rock in the team. He has been replaced for the most part by Ultan Dillane. At 30, Dillane is not young, but given the chances, he may be a fair enough replacement for Sazy. But that won’be for more than a few years. I honestly know little of the pathways into the LAR setup from within France. I did read somewhere a couple of years ago that on the way up to Top 14, the club very successfully picked up players from the academies of other French teams who were not offered places by those teams. These guys were often great signings…can’t find the article right now, so can’t name any….but the Tadgh Beirne type players. So all in all, it will be interesting to see where the replacements for all the older players come from. Only Lleyd’s and Rhule from SA currently, both backs. So maybe a few SA forwards ?? By contrast, Leinster have a pretty clear line of good players coming through in the majority of positions. Props maybe a weak spot ? And they are very fleet footed and shrewd in appointing very good coaches. Or maybe it is also true that very good coaches do very well in the Leinster setup. So, Nick, I would fully concurr that “On the evidence of Saturday’s semi-final between the two clubs, the rebuild in the Bay of Biscay is going to take longer than it is on the east coast of Ireland”

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S
Sam T 9 hours ago
Jake White: Let me clear up some things

I remember towards the end of the original broadcasting deal for Super rugby with Newscorp that there was talk about the competition expanding to improve negotiations for more money - more content, more cash. Professional rugby was still in its infancy then and I held an opposing view that if Super rugby was a truly valuable competition then it should attract more broadcasters to bid for the rights, thereby increasing the value without needing to add more teams and games. Unfortunately since the game turned professional, the tension between club, talent and country has only grown further. I would argue we’re already at a point in time where the present is the future. The only international competitions that matter are 6N, RC and RWC. The inter-hemisphere tours are only developmental for those competitions. The games that increasingly matter more to fans, sponsors and broadcasters are between the clubs. Particularly for European fans, there are multiple competitions to follow your teams fortunes every week. SA is not Europe but competes in a single continental competition, so the travel component will always be an impediment. It was worse in the bloated days of Super rugby when teams traversed between four continents - Africa, America, Asia and Australia. The percentage of players who represent their country is less than 5% of the professional player base, so the sense of sacrifice isn’t as strong a motivation for the rest who are more focused on playing professional rugby and earning as much from their body as they can. Rugby like cricket created the conundrum it’s constantly fighting a losing battle with.

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