the essential
A key recruit of the Columérin summer, the 30-year-old former Australian international brings the experience of a career marked by his multiple experiences and his religious faith. Meet for the seventh day of the second division championship at Michel-Bendichou: 7 p.m.
Cutting with Rugby has never been a problem for Caleb Timu. Putting the oval ball aside for a while, he knows that. At 30 years old, the solid 3rd center line recruited this summer by Colomiers has had a great career on the pitch, interrupted at times by life choices or the ups and downs of everyday life. Caleb Timu indeed has a very different path from his colleagues in professional rugby. The native of New Zealand, who arrived in Australia at the age of 4, has carved out his path.
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In rugby but also in faith, he is a member of the church of “Jesus Christ and Latter Day Saints” whose followers are generally nicknamed “Mormons”. At 19, Caleb Timu chose to put rugby aside for a while. For two years he devoted himself to religious mission, preaching in New Zealand and the Cook Islands to share the faith of his church. “It was an important step for me, for my faith,” confides the 3rd line Columérin. “I put rugby aside to live an experience rich in meetings and learning. »
From missionary to Uber driver
At 21, he returned to the Brisbane Broncos, in XIII, where it all began for him. “It was very hard to come back, especially physically,” admits Caleb Timu, on the verge of the NRL but who will ultimately join the XV and the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby where the beginnings will not be easy, forced to work outside of rugby .
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“I was a young player of 21, my wife was continuing her studies, she was expecting our first child and we had just settled down. I had to find a job to supplement our income,” continues Caleb Timu, who will therefore become an Uber driver in the evening, to be compatible with training during the day. “This job allowed me to pay for my studies. This work has also been an enriching experience. You meet so many people. I am happy with these experiences, they make you mature and love rugby even more, appreciate the chance I have to travel,” he insists when he looks back on his journey.
This impressive career includes two selections with the Wallabies in 2018, matches in Super Rugby with the Queensland Reds, and seasons in the Top 14 under the colors of Montpellier, Bordeaux-Bègles and Clermont. “The Top 14 is the best competition in the world,” he says without hesitation. A nice path that he continues today in… Pro D2, in Colomiers, a club he joined last summer after remaining eight months without playing, his World Cup joker contract having ended in November 2023 in Clermont.
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After eight months without a club, he returned to Brisbane, until Colomiers asked him to strengthen his team. “I was surprised but I didn’t hesitate to come, I really wanted to come back to France,” confides Caleb Timu, who came to bring this power, this crossing capacity which the Columérins have lacked a little in recent seasons.
His experience, his serenity and his kindness within the group are praised by his teammates, delighted with such reinforcement which brings them extra soul. And which makes us say that Colomiers now has faith in Caleb Timu.
