XV of France. Why Uini Atonio was called up by the staff, but did not play against the All Blacks

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It was from the stands of the Stade de France that right pillar Uini Atonio attended the match France-All Blacks. Announced forfeit by William Servat at the start of the week, the La Rochelle captain was finally called by the staff the day before the match. The reason: intended as a replacement, George-Henri Colombe was ill on Friday.

Colombe played France-All Blacks with gastro

“I got sick Friday morning, I had gastro. The staff called Uini to cover any eventuality until the morning of the match,” admitted George-Henri Colombe, the pillar of La Rochelle (6 caps), in an interview with Parisian.

Designated as a replacement, Colombe had to hold out for 70 minutes on the pitch, the fault of Tevita Tatafu's early injury (he was out of the last match against Argentina). “My stomach hurt and I knew it was going to be long and hard. It was a very important match, I didn’t want to have any regrets,” he stressed, adding that “his mentality had taken over.”

Post-match? Colombe mentions having left the field very quickly. “I quickly stopped by to see my loved ones, then I went to the locker room to go to the toilet.” Caught in the scrum several times as soon as he entered the game, George-Henri Colombe was able to rectify the situation, while scraping 2 balls from the ground then blocking Will Jordan up high in the final action of the match.

Atonio back for France-Argentina?

George-Henri Colombe will take advantage of this start of the week to heal. Is this the famous “virus present in Marcoussis” that Fabien Galthié spoke about? No certainty. In any case, Damian Penaud and Sébastien Taofifenua, both affected by this virus, were not called to prepare France-Argentina.

One last test of the fall where we should see Uini Atonio on the field again. Complaining of discomfort in a calf and having given up a good part of the collective sequences for two weeks, the experienced right pillar (62 caps) should be fit. Facing the Pumas pack, the French XV will really need him to block the right flank.

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