Montpelier. ”I had never seen anything quite like it”, Zach Mercer looks back on his Top 14 debut

Just after the final, Zach Mercer confided in the Figaro in the maze of the Stade de France. Top 14 champion for his first season in France, the English number 8 impressed during the 2021/2022 financial year. For Le Figaro, he returned to his feelings with the famous piece of wood. For the daily, he says: “I will sit next to him (the Shield of Brennus) in the locker room and watch him carefully with the name of Montpellier engraved on it for the first time in the history of the club. To achieve this for my first season here is just amazing. I’m going to sit in the locker room and reflect on what the team has achieved and what I have achieved personally.”VIDEO. On Place de la Comédie, Montpellier fans and players celebrated the BrennusThen, the talented 24-year-old forward returned to his debut with Montpellier. In the Hérault, he impressed despite his young age. All the more, the Englishman has managed to win in a championship where his exported compatriots have sometimes marked the championship with their seal (Wilkinson, Ashton, Abendanon). With such a first exercise, the player could claim this category. In the interview with Le Figaro, he develops his vision of the Top 14:

French rugby is brutal! Wherever you go, against all the teams, it’s always very physical. You cannot escape. It’s hard on the body, but I really love it! How can you not love this rugby when you see the atmosphere in the stadiums? When you see what it represents for the French… I had never seen anything similar. What’s crazy is that I had never won anything in rugby, but now I could say that I won the Top 14.

VIDEO. Montpelier. The beautiful emotion of the “hungry” of Philippe Saint-André after the titlePowerful, skilful, fast and with a profile perfectly suited to modern rugby, he shone on the lawns of France. His talent even dazzled beyond the round. Rumors had reported a possible free pass granted to the third line to appear in selection. Currently, only players playing in the Premiership can claim to play under the leadership of Eddie Jones. If the rumor has not been verified, it has at least the merit of glorifying the qualities of number 8. Indeed, under the white tunic struck with the rose, a colossal pool seems present at his post. Knowing that Zach Mercer enters the debates by moving several thousand kilometers, the performance is all the more beautiful.

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