On a field, impossible to miss it: with his red helmet and his legs of fire, Gabin Villière knows how to be noticed. A player as restless as he is daring. The type to register his first international try for his first cape in Blue, against Italy (36-5), before shaking the vice-champions of the English world at Twickenham (22-19 ap), in the final of the Autumn Cup of Nations.
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Not bad for a winger with measurements that do not stand out in modern rugby (1.84 m, 88 kg). “Honestly, I would not have really considered him as someone with any aptitude for rugby,” said Englishman Ben Mercer, ex-Bath and Villière teammate in Rouen, in the French third division. “But Gabin had this raw sporting talent which he managed to polish and to which he added the competence”, adds the player turned writer.
From scrum half to winger, from rugby sevens to the XV of France
In Rouen, he slipped from the scrum half position to that of winger, scored 26 tries in 23 Federal 1 matches and took part in the Norman club’s rise to Pro D2. “When he arrived at the club he couldn’t pass, he couldn’t play kicking… It wasn’t really the ideal position for him. We put him in the middle but he didn’t have the technical qualities. for that either so we stuck to the wing, “recalls his coach at the time Richard Hill.
The reconversion has been good since Villière is spotted by the French rugby team … seven. “We were looking for finishing players, players capable of scoring. He is also a particular player because he does not necessarily do the right choice all the time, but never mind, he plays it thoroughly. And, as he plays it thoroughly, it turns into a great success “, explains Sevens rugby coach Jérôme Daret.
“He never falls, he’s very solid to the touch and likes defending a lot. He’s very strong in the contest, he’s very determined to score. You can’t take him, you can grab him but he keeps advancing all the time. He is hyperactive, a player who needs to eat the ground, the space and the ball “, adds Daret. This insatiable hunger, Villière transposed it to Toulon, the club with three European titles, which he joined in 2019. And where the pocket winger made his hole. By dint of envy, as often.
“In the field, he is very calm but you must not go and titillate him because he has the answer. He is not someone who is going to look for the little beast. He runs a lot and the seven has no doubt him Served a lot. He is very active in the field and he fills us with a lot of holes “, underlined his teammate in club and in selection Louis Carbonel.
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The proof a few weeks ago when his incredible rescue on Virimi Vakatawa, then already in the in-goal, offered a victory to the RCT on the ground of Racing 92 (29-23). A comeback in extremis, like the 25-year-old player. The Italians are warned: Gabin Villière does not have time.
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