The way he goes beyond the ranks. It was also the way he caught the ball before warming up, before berating Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Anthony Jelonch, that they gave their strength to a maul, which would end in a goal that allowed the Blues to score their second. trials (14-0, 15), we almost forgot that Charles Ollivon, 32, had not worn a tricolor tunic for almost a year.
The first captain of the Galthié era in 2020 had to wait a long time before he could celebrate his 47th selection in the win against Fiji (34-21) this Saturday night. The RC Toulon player only returned to the club’s starting line-up in October against Racing 92, after nine months away from the field. Time to recover from a new serious injury: rupture of contracted right knee ligaments on January 4.
An unfortunate habit for a flanker with a career punctuated by a series of serious setbacks (shoulder, shoulder fracture and recurrence, crossed left knee), from which he consistently recovered, drawing admiration from his teammates wherever he went. And if in his absence some people sometimes overlook the magnitude of his influence, it didn’t take long for the natives of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle to recall their fond memories.
Confident in his “level of rugby”
Fabien Galthié never seems to forget the importance of his soldiers. Before the meeting, the coach said he was confident in his “level of rugby” after announcing him as a starter in a second-row position where he has never played for the Blues and knows little about (only one start in four games with Toulon this season). “After exchanging ideas with Charles and Pierre Mignoni (his manager at Var), it was something that seemed reasonable to us.”
However, the surprise was not that big. The Blues boss is known to appreciate these hybrid players, which allows him to respond to various injuries and match incidents. By shifting Charles Ollivon to this particular number 4 position, Galthié hopes to provide extra mobility going forward thanks to his massive carnage while maintaining a certain density in the scrum.
100% successful in his tackle
Once again, the player responded and played the entire match. In addition to his influence on the Blues’ second try, his ability to speak out and take others with him, the great Charles made the conquest much smoother and allowed the French XV to quickly pop the balloon without hesitation to release it into the hands of Maxime Lucu. He was very active and aggressive in defence, moving quickly to prevent Fijian arrows like Josua Tuisova from gaining pace.
His activity in carrying out rucks and tackles (17 to 100% success rate) did not prevent him from appearing more than once in support of his three quarters to guarantee the continuity of the game… An activity that would even be rewarded with a try (19th) recorded on a deep throw from “LBB”. And the man of the match award. The returns were devastating.
