For what was his third consecutive start in the Top 14, with another 80 minutes of play on the clock, the Basque from Saint-Pée…
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For what was his third consecutive tenure in the Top 14, with another 80 minutes of play on the clock, the Basque from Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle delivered a performance worthy of those he had been chaining with the XV of France since the World Cup 2019. Of those who had made him the captain of the Blues at the start of Fabien Galthié’s mandate.
The rows of stats he stacked tell the story. Two balls stolen in touch, 39 meters gained ball in hand in 12 races and, above all, a presence at all times. His 11 tackles make him the best defender in this bitter showdown. “He plays 80-minute matches, it’s beautiful what he does… If his club is doing well today, it may be partly thanks to his performance…”, greets Karim Ghezal, co-coach forwards of the Blues.
Auto-confinement
“He immediately regained very high level standards”, supports Patrice Collazo, who was manager for three seasons in the Var (2018-Oct. 2021): “He is back at his best level. Even more since he has regenerated mentally. Every time he came back from injury, which unfortunately happened to him several times in his career, he came back stronger. »
It may still be a bit too early to tell. But it is difficult not to agree when Patrice Collazo praises the power of the “strength of character” of his former player. When he left the Castroise lawn almost 10 months ago, Charles Ollivon probably thought he was in bad luck. He who had overcome two heavy shoulder blade injuries that mortgaged the rest of his career, in 2017 and 2018, was once again cut off at a time when the stars finally seemed to be permanently aligned.
“He immediately turned to what he could control. He was always super positive”
“Of course he took a hit at the time: very quickly, we see that it hit him. But as soon as he had the diagnosis, he switched to something else, testifies the former manager of the RCT and Stade Rochelais. Charles has a very special relationship with injury. He isolates himself a bit from everything because he needs to be alone, needs to manage his injury in his own way: you have to let him do it because, unfortunately in this case, he knows himself. »
A propensity which may explain why, when he was one of the main media faces of the XV of France, he withdrew. Oh sure, he was spotted in Marcoussis where he spent two days at the start of the tour last November when the captaincy was handed over to Antoine Dupont.
Esprit basque
And during the last tournament which allowed the Blues to achieve the Grand Slam, Fabien Galthié again had the opportunity to insist on the importance of the role that the Basque flanker would have to play within the France group. But during his injury, Charles Ollivon favored discretion, systematically and politely rejecting maintenance requests.
“He locks himself in a restricted circle of people whose opinion he needs to have,” observes Patrice Collazo. He “crosses” the wound: “I had that, I’m going to do that, I’m going to go there. » And when he has something in mind… As he often says, « I am Basque! He will speak when he gets things right. »
“He will be one of the men at the end of the season. With Toulon and very quickly with the French team…”
Charles Ollivon therefore focused on the essential, namely himself. The third line took advantage of his convalescence to have his shoulder “cleaned”. And spent three weeks at Cers de Capbreton. “It’s a moment that will allow me to regenerate, I’m sure, he said last December in a video produced by his club. It will help me later. »
“The brand of the greats”
The expression of a faith in himself that is not feigned. “We stayed in touch during his recovery, I even met him for a coffee last January in Lyon, says Karim Ghezal. He is a player who immediately turned to what he could control. He was always super positive. “Patrice Collazo decrypts:” Charles does not show any of his doubts and his emotions. That’s how he rebuilds himself and comes back stronger: that’s the mark of the greats. The fact of relying only on himself reinforces it. »
The result is there. In a revitalized team, which will try to maintain its dreams of qualification on the UBB pitch on Sunday, he has regained his place. “When he plays, I don’t see any apprehension, appreciates Patrice Collazo. You can tell he’s hungry. And when Charles is hungry like that, he is able to go after collective and personal goals very quickly. He will be one of the men of this end of the season. With Toulon and very quickly with the French team…”
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