Northern Edition

Select Edition

Northern Northern
Southern Southern
Global Global
New Zealand New Zealand
France France

'Huge... rapid... I don't think I've seen a more complete athlete'

Sekou Macalou of France reacts during the Rugby World Cup France 2023 match between France and Uruguay at Stade Pierre Mauroy on September 14, 2023 in Lille, France. (Photo by Aurelien Meunier/Getty Images)

Stade Francais centre Joe Marchant has said that he has not seen a more “complete athlete” in his career than his teammate Sekou Macalou.

ADVERTISEMENT

The Frenchman is nothing short of a modern-day rugby phenom, capable of playing flanker, No8 and, staggeringly, on the wing.

The 1.94m, 102kg powerhouse was perhaps most famously deployed out wide for Les Bleus for 70 minutes against South Africa in 2022, and while he has never been listed as a starting wing by Fabien Galthie, he has this season for Stade Francais.

Video Spacer

Damian de Allende talks about the plaudits heaped on him by his teammates

Video Spacer

Damian de Allende talks about the plaudits heaped on him by his teammates

That is where Marchant has experienced first-hand Macalou’s athletic prowess this season after joining at the close of the World Cup.

Joining Le French Rugby podcast recently, Marchant raved about his teammate, and his disbelief at his lack of playing time for France.

Sekou Macalou
Sekou Macalou

“I don’t think I’ve seen a more complete athlete,” the England centre said.

ADVERTISEMENT

“Sometimes when you see a back row who’s quite quick, you think they’re probably not that strong or they’re probably not that big when you get up close. He is huge. You stand next to him and you feel tiny.

“He’s rapid. Any speed scores he’ll kill you on all of them, and he’s playing in the forwards and you’re thinking ‘this isn’t really right’.

“You graft as a back trying to get quicker and trying all these things, being able to take people on on the outside and he just does it so easily.

“His try against Pau, he was playing back row at the time but he literally steps someone, does them in a phonebox, then goes on the outside. The fend he put on the winger right at the end, you see international wingers doing that and everyone is like ‘that’s just what they do’. He’s doing that as a back rower.

ADVERTISEMENT

“I’d love to see him get a really good crack with the French squad, but there’s just so much good competition around.”

Though Macalou was part of France’s World Cup effort last year, he was used sparingly before missing out on the Six Nations. But he has been ever present for Stade Francais this season as they finished the regular season in second place with a 23-20 win over Toulon on Saturday.

Marchant and Macalou both started in the win over Toulon, and will enjoy a week off before returning for the semi-finals.

Related

ADVERTISEMENT

LIVE

{{item.title}}

Trending on RugbyPass

Comments

0 Comments
Be the first to comment...

Join free and tell us what you really think!

Sign up for free
ADVERTISEMENT

Latest Features

Comments on RugbyPass

H
Hellhound 28 minutes ago
France put World Cup pain behind them with unbeaten run in November

France is starting to look like they are finally over their WC headache, although they were lucky that NZ had a very bad game. The Argies as usual is one game good, the next bad. If they can sort that out and be more consistent, they could become contenders for the WC.


NZ, Argentina (if they are more consistent), and now the Wallabies too is in an upward curve (can they be consistent?), as well as Fiji(as inconsistent as Argentina) looks like possible contenders. The Boks will be as usual a huge threat to defend their title. Things are looking up for the South, so the North should rightfully beware of the Southern Hemisphere threat.


With the French looking dangerous, the English with their close runs (mostly a mindset problem) and the Scottish seems to be the NH main contenders. The Irish is good, but not excellent anymore. They are more overbearing and with their glory days mostly gone with old players hanging on by a thread, by 2027 if they don't start adding in the younger players, they won't make it past yet another WC Quarter final. The problem is that their youngsters, while good is nothing special.


That is just 8 teams without the Irish that can become real WC contenders. Lots of hickups to be sorted still for these teams, excluding the Boks to become a threat. Make no mistake, the top Tier is much closer than people realise and the 2027 WC will be a really great WC, possibly the best contended WC ever.

1 Go to comments
LONG READ
LONG READ Lamb to the slaughter? Italy aim to 'get stuck into' All Blacks Lamb to the slaughter? Italy aim to 'get stuck into' All Blacks
Search