Pro D2. Portrait. Masivesi Dakuwaqa (Biarritz), in eight, he is already the boss

Tonight, Masivesi Dakuwaqa will make his fourth start at number eight, a position he has already established himself in. If it weren’t for a concussion suffered on the first day, he would certainly have taken part in all of BO’s matches since the start of the season and the dawn of the last match of this first blockwe can make the following observation: Masivesi Dakuwaqa did not take long to acclimatize to his new club and in the Pro D2 championshipwhich he discovers.It was Bernard Laporte who told me that it would make a great number 8.”, says Arnaud Dubois, who recruited him late in June.

He arrived in France thanks to Patrice Collazo

By signing with the BOPBDakuwaqa settled in a third club, in France, his first being the RCT, which he joined in 2019. It was Patrice Collazo, Toulon manager at the time, who had spotted the player. He says today: “I had seen videos of him when he played for the Western Force. I had also spotted him in Sevens tournaments, where he didn’t have the same physique. He was aggressive on the man, very strong with the ball, had big arms. Bringing him in was a gamble without being one… At the time, Toulon, with this profile, took much more experienced players. Financially, he didn’t cost much and he had this desire to come to France. I remember that, quickly, he had been very competitive with the ball in hand to break the line.”

It is on the wing that, on the Rade, Dakuwaqa discover the Top 14. He played 18 matches in his first year (15 starts) and scored four tries. The following year, the RCT manager moved his three-quarters to the wing of the third row.I had already done it with Levani Botia, recalls the technician. This kind of player, when you offer him that, doesn’t go backwards and it’s a position that was a bit closer to the position he occupied at 7. I think he performed better in the third row, because he has this ability to win a lot of balls and be at the heart of the game. In the end, he is more highlighted than on the wing, where he waits for the ball..”

Etcheto: “I even considered putting him as first center”

A loyal defender of the game of movement and attack, Vincent Etcheto got to know Dakuwaqa last year, when the Bayonne technician was called up at the bedside of an MHR very sick.There were a lot of non-JIFF players in our squad, it was complicated to put everyone in and Patrice (Collazo) often opted for a 6-2, because Masivesi could come in on the third line, but I even considered putting him as first centerrewinds the Basque. For me, this guy can play anywhere. If Biarritz turns well, I think he could be, in twelve, an anchor point. He has good hands, knows how to offload, has speed and big supports. On the wing, I find that he did not touch enough balls in Montpellier’s game, especially since there was a bit of waste.”
Patrice Collazo continues: “When there are 30 centimeters of mud in Aguiléra, if one day they don’t have Yann David, they will realize that “Masi” can do the same thing. In fact, we take him to play in a position, but we know very well, in a corner of the head, that he can slide from front to back or vice versa.” At Biarritz Olympique, in all likelihood, it is to bring a certain power on the exits of scrums and in the forward play that the Red and White have positioned him, until now, in eight. “We really wanted a powerful boy, who would allow us to move forward. If you look, all the Pro D2 teams have big carriers”, notes Jérôme Filitoga-Taofifénua, the Biarritz scrum coach.

It is unanimous

A regular follower of the Pro D2 championship, Collazo, who would have liked to bring him with him to Brive in 2022, analyses: “Masivesi will find his place in this team. He will always have trouble maintaining very, very big performances, but he will put in good performances and, at times, exceptional performances. It will depend, perhaps, on the surface of the pitch, if the match is played on a synthetic pitch, or on the teams he will face. He will know how to fight when necessary, play between the lines and break down defenses in other matches and he has already started to show his qualities. Afterwards, we feel, today, that he is still finding his place, but I think that the context of the BO, with this new dynamic, is extremely favorable for him. Masivesi is quickly becoming immersed in the culture of the club, does not stay in the background, mixes with the others.”

His partners, in any case, appreciate his qualities and his experience.He does us good in all areas of the field, we can use him with the ball or as a decoy”, notes Kylian Jaminet. “He brings serenity. When he speaks, everyone listens.”, adds Clément Martinez. It must be said that the native of Nadi (Fiji) often achieves unanimity in a group. “He’s a really great guyunderlines Vincent Etcheto. I have met a few Fijians in my career, most of the time they are cool, but he has all the good sides. He is cool, generous in his effort and he is very reliable and serious”. And this, even when the earth trembles. “Last year, guys were hiding, Etcheto continuesHe would speak in the group, he would arrive early in the morning, do his stretches, show that he really fit the mould of professional rugby, all the while keeping his Fijian freshness..”

Collazo: “The glasses had disturbed him enormously”

Over the years and adventures, between Toulon, where he launched it, and Montpellier, where he found it again, Collazo was able to measure the evolution of the man.At MHR, I found that he had reached a milestone in his individual preparation for matches, remembers the technician. In his first years at Toulon, he was already serious, but he was coming from the Western Force, which didn’t even play in Super Rugby. So there was a gap and he had trouble being consistent..” Six years later, Collazo still remembers Dakuwaqa’s first outing with the red and black jersey.Regarding his left eye (he is partially blind, editor’s note), he had to play with glasses and it had disturbed him enormously. He did not understand why, when until then, he had never had a problem with it. Despite everything, he had shown qualities, although we felt that he still had to acclimatize to the Top 14, which demands a lot from wingers in terms of play with and without the ball..” That was in 2019. Since then, Dakuwaqa has grown older and more experienced, and has made a name for himself in the world of French rugby, where he will try to make his mark this year in the Pro D2 championship.