His journey can make you dizzy but his words encourage calm, serenity, depth. So much so that he has become an example for others. Paul Alo-Emile, the mainstay of the Stade Français will once again be an essential cog in his team this Saturday afternoon (5 p.m.) at the Jean-Bouin stadium against Montpellier, in a decisive match to keep a hope of qualifying in final phase. More than that even, he will be the captain. Stripes acquired at the start of the season by this man from the end of the world, who was born twenty-nine years ago in New Zealand, grew up in Australia, wears the Samoa jersey and flourishes in Paris where he arrived in 2015.
“I learned that I was becoming captain the week before our first match against Castres,” he says.
I did not expect that.
There are great leaders in this team like Yoann Maestri, Paul Gabrillagues or Pablo Matera who is the captain of the Argentine selection of Pumas.
Hence the great honor that Gonzalo Quesada did me by choosing me.
He thinks I can add something and help the guys focus.
I must admit that I am not the one who talks the most and I am not used to big speeches before games.
"
"He is demanding of himself and of others"
Neither before, nor during, nor after for that matter. His words, declined in English with some, in French with others, are indeed rare but they weigh heavily. "He is not very talkative, he will not harangue everyone, but he commands respect," says Thomas Lombard, the general manager of the Paris club. Manager Gonzalo Quesada, who brought him in from Australia during his first visit to Stade Français, said nothing else: “We chose him as captain because he is the best example of all the values that are important to me, for coaches. He is demanding of himself and of others. He is respected by all, recognized as a leader. His behavior, his attitudes are completely in accordance with his words. "
His profile ?
A rock, both solid and mobile on the ground, and an anchor outside.
“His development is impressive, adds the coach.
When he arrived it was not easy for him.
He had a problem with one foot, he was a little overweight.
What struck me was that he made a huge effort to integrate.
He wanted to learn the language, the French culture, the customs.
"
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Married just before his departure for France, father of two children, Paul Alo-Emile, joined last season at the Stade Français by one of his little brothers, Moses, draws the calm that he dissipates around him from his faith born from reading the Bible. “I was 22 when I discovered her and it suddenly made my religious education concrete,” he explains. In my life as a rugby player, it helps me a lot. It's a sport that I love to play, it's my job, but it can't be everything in my life. To be a disciple of Christ is to tell yourself that there is hope, even when things are not right. It keeps me from staying angry. On the pitch, it's a bit like an inner strength that helps me. And outside, what matters is that each one respects the other. His words, his attitudes, his line of conduct lifted him up,without him looking for it, at the rank of natural leader of the Parisian workforce. A captain that Stade Français needed.