Rugby is a big family, they say.
An adage which is even more valid for the Taofifenua, a line of rugby players without equivalent in the world of the tricolor oval.
For two generations, these warriors from Wallis, a small island in the Pacific, have made a name for themselves in the French championship.
With a pioneer, Willy, now 58 years old, who took the plunge in 1989 by signing at Stade Montois.
"
I am the first to have tried the adventure in metropolitan France.
The beginnings were very difficult.
We are very close in our family and we had to leave everything behind.
We always hesitate to leave the family cocoon.
But, in the end, I have no regrets, I lived unforgettable moments.
The hardest part, in the end, was getting used to the climate.
I arrived in the middle of winter and it was a shock, I used to be in shorts and a t-shirt all year round,
tells
Figaro
the former second row
.
My integration lasted 5-6 months, it was difficult, I was new.
I had a physique
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