Call it what you want, but in the harbour, it was seen as a small event. While he had participated in all of the RCT matches since the start of the season (i.e. 14 matches, which no other player in the squad had done), Kyle Sinckler was left to rest against Bordeaux. So if it is, with 719 minutes of play, “only” the 9e most used player in the squad (because the pillars are always coached at the start of the second half), it is an understatement to say that the solid 31-year-old English right pillar has more than found his place since his arrival at the offseason.
Normal, you might say, for a player of this pedigree (69 caps with England, 7 with the British Lions)? However, it is customary to say that recruits, and this is even more true for front-line players, always need several months to adapt to Top 14 games.
Lightning Adaptation
“Kyle is passionate, who constantly watches Rugby. Top 14, Premiership, he watches everything. So that's probably what helped him quickly understand the expectations and the game played in France”tried to explain his friend and compatriot, Lewis Ludlam. And Pierre Mignoni outbid: “When we recruited him, we knew that we were bringing in a player with a lot of experience, while knowing that the pillars always need a bit of time to adapt. But it was much quicker for him. Why? Firstly because he likes the scrum and then because he is an intelligent player, who knows the very high level, who takes care of himself… I would like him to do better in terms of discipline. don't just talk about penalties [15 concédées en Top 14]but also in the game and in defense. He is capable of doing it. But for the rest, he adapted in no time to the madness of our Top 14.”
A lightning adaptation all the more welcome since the Toulon Rugby club was deprived for more than three months of Beka Gigashvili, who had adductor surgery at the start of the season. As a result, without saving himself (14 matches, 12 as a starter), “Kylie” gained the respect of his teammates.
“Someone who loves others”
On the field, therefore, where his scrum handling was reassuring and his hands provided solutions in the running game, but not only.
“Kyle, he's completely crazy, continued hilariously Lewis Ludlam. You know, he's a great professional, very strict with himself. And on the pitch, he's fantastic, doing a monstrous amount of work between scrums, mauls, tackles… But off it, he's apart. Very funny. Between us, we call him the “king of the sauna”. Because he spends all his time there, but above all because no one wants to go with him, because we feel that he is ready to kill us.”
Pierre Mignoni, with a smile on his lips, continued: “Before his arrival, I had been told everything about him. Positive things, but not only that… And I can tell you that I discovered a great professional, who knows what he is doing, with despite everything a bit of a personality. quirky on a daily basis. I love this guy and his character, also because he is someone who loves others.” The idyll between the Toulon Rugby club and the English superstar who silenced all those who imagined that she was at the end of her race after a complicated end to the adventure in Bristol, could hardly have gotten off to a better start. And it’s all Mayol that savors!
