Among the twenty players born abroad who have worn the Blues jersey, three are from New Zealand. There was Legi Matiu and Tony Marsh in the early 2000s and then Uini Atonio, who retired internationally after the 2023 World Cup before backtracking a few weeks later. Preserved by Fabien Galthié's staff against Japan, the 34-year-old right pillar from La Rochelle is out again against the All Blacks, this Saturday, November 16 (9:10 p.m.), for the Blues' second match of the fall tour.
Tony Marsh, the Great Eight and the Grand Slam
Now aged 52, Tony Marsh is not the first Kiwi to have worn the tunic of the XV of France (Legi Matiu preceded him in 2000), but his time in blue is much more significant. Former three-quarter center of ASM Clermont, he wore the Blues jersey 21 times between 2001 and 2004. He, the native of Rotorua in New Zealand where he returned to live in 2009.
His first call-up with the XV of France came in 2001. He replaced Xavier Garbajosa (injured) but did not really feel legitimate. “I settle in at Château-Ricard on Tuesday morning. In my room, on the bed, there are things from the France team with a huge rooster in front of me on a t-shirt. And then I say to myself: “But what am I doing here?” he confided in an interview with The Team in 2018. You are not French. You're not Neo-Z either, what are you? And then do I deserve this jersey?…. ». The following year, he won the Grand Slam with the French team, remaining undefeated between November 10, 2001 and June 15, 2002.
This streak of eight consecutive victories will end in Argentina, during the post-Grand Slam summer tour. “We all leave our hotel to go to the stadium and then the bus breaks downhe tells The Team. We had to take taxis. The team and staff were scattered in taxis all over Buenos Aires. No biker to escort us, there were three of us per car. Some guys arrived three quarters of an hour after me. With the stress, the traffic, the context, it was hell! We all ended up there, super late. We had a very bad first period, then we came back in the second but we still lost by one point (28-27). »
During his international career, Marsh would face New Zealand twice. He will never succeed in defeating his country of origin. He lost in the small final of the 2003 World Cup (13-40) then (6-45) for his last with the Blues in 2004.
Uini Atonio, from third man to pillar of the XV of France
Before being called up for the first time in Blue by Philippe Saint-André, Uini Atonio applied for the New Zealand U20s, then was selected by the Samoans U20s. “In 2009, I was not selected with the Baby Blacks (New Zealand U20) for the World Cup so, I made the World Cup with Samoa (where his parents were born) . We lost against France in the match for 5e place »he remembers in an interview given to RMC Sport before the 2023 World Cup.
He has come a long way. He, who joined La Rochelle in 2011, experienced a meteoric rise until his first call-up to the French team to play the November tests in 2014. At that time, he only had seven or eight Top 14 matches to his credit. “I was on the list of 32! I believed it without believing it. I told myself they weren't going to take me. I didn't have my passport yet, I was young and I barely spoke French.”he rewinds to RMC Sport. Upon his arrival at the Blues, he was rather used as « impact player » in third behind Nicolas Mas and Rabah Slimani. “I was already happy to have this role in the French team. »
Then comes the 2015 World Cup. His name appears on the list of 32, but he only plays one match. Not satisfied, he aspires to be the incumbent in his position. Except that day won't come anytime soon. Worse, in June 2017 during the tour in South Africa, while France lost three times by more than 35 points, he took a serious blow to the head and was no longer called by the French staff.
“It’s the best thing that could have happened to mehe said to RMC Sport. I opened my eyes. » In 2018, Jacques Brunel took him to New Zealand for the tour where he started in all three matches. “We took 40 points each time but I think we had a pretty decent tournament. » Not enough, however, to be part of the trip to Japan to play in the 2019 World Cup. “I no longer wanted to go to the French team”he admitted until Fabien Galthié gave him a taste for the selection again and even convinced him to come out of his international retirement.
Legi Matiu, an express passage mourning the death of his daughter
Like Uini Atonio, Legi Matiu (55) is a native of New Zealand and originally from the Samoa Islands. But unlike Uini Atonio, his time in Blue was lightning: two small selections that the former second row of Biarritz Olympique honored in 2000, during the Five Nations Tournament when he had just lost his daughter.
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Despite this tragedy, he wanted to hold his place. Many would have been incapable of doing so. “I was dreading the moment when I would have to face his gaze in the privacy of the locker room and I wondered what I would be able to say to him. I admit that I almost broke down, my throat was tight and it wasn’t cinema”declared the coach at the time Bernard Laporte in 2002 to La Dépêche. More than 20 years later, he must not have forgotten.
