'Monstrous' France newbie Yoram Moefana has earned his stripes

Such is the French rugby’s strength in depth, the inclusion of a 21-year-old winning his fourth cap raises scarcely an eyebrow

French centre Yoram Moefana in action for the country's U20 side in 2019. Picture: Getty Images

Such is the French national rugby team’s strength in depth in almost all positions these days that the inclusion of a 21-year-old winning his fourth cap and with 130 minutes of international gametime to his name raises scarcely an eyebrow.

But, with France having a deep spring of centres for coach Fabien Galthie to call on, selecting Yoram Moefana in place of the injured Jonathan Danty deserves more than just a first glance.

Moefana, who has just 33 appearances — with 23 starts — for Top 14 side Bordeaux to his name and six in the ProD2 with Colomiers, earned what will be the second international start of what is still very much a fledgling career with a strong 22-minute cameo off the bench last Sunday, in which he delivered the final pass for France’s last two tries when he came on for Danty against Italy.

His task this week is as big as the one he faced on his first international start in November 2020. As he did when he came on last Sunday, he will play 12, opposite Bundee Aki, a difficult-enough challenge for players who have rather more top-level experience than he has, let alone international outings. But he knows what to expect.

“Ireland are one of the best international sides in the world,” Moefana told Midi Olympique this week, parroting the party line that the visitors remain favourites, despite Johnny Sexton’s injury. “They have a very aggressive defence and in attack they know what they’re doing.

“In midfield, I expect to face a big challenge from Bundee Aki and Garry Ringrose, two guys who have played very well since the start of the season. They’re two strong opponents.”

Coach Galthie, too, has no doubt his young midfield talent is ready to do more than talk the talk.

“He’s a player the staff have been following since the beginning of our mandate in February 2020,” the coach said when he announced the squad on Thursday.

“At the time, he was with the U20s, and he worked with us at senior training camps.

“We’ve seen him progress with Bordeaux and when we had to enlarge the group for the Autumn Nations Cup, we didn’t hesitate to start him because he was already impressive in training. His potential was obvious then and he performed well in the final against England.”

The showpiece of the hastily arranged competition at the end of Covid-hit 2020 was Moefana’s first international start.

France were widely criticised before the match for fielding an inexperienced squad — the result of an awkward fudge between the clubs and the union amid a row over player release. But that 23 — with just 68 caps in total, 30 of them belonging to Brice Dulin — took an England side with more than 800 caps in the starting XV to extra time. Moefana, with seven senior appearances for Bordeaux and France at the time, earned his stripes that day.

“He was supposed to go on tour with us in Australia but he got injured, and he’s been performing well again this season,” Galthie went on. “He trained with us in November. Technically, physically and psychologically, without forgetting his talent, he is ready to meet all the requirements of this game.”

The decision over who should partner Fickou in midfield against Ireland was a binary one between Moefana and Virimi Vakatawa: audacity and youthful daring versus, somewhat ironically, certainty and experience.

Vakatawa has faced Aki three times already, and plays his club rugby alongside Fickou. Going with him would have offered the comfort of familiarity, for all that his form has dipped and yawed as he struggles to shake a niggling knee injury that saw him miss the November internationals.

Released to his club last weekend, Vakatawa played a full game for Racing, scoring a try. It was a strong performance — but it was far from Vakatawa gold. It’s not hard to see how Moefana, despite his youth, had moved ahead of him in the pecking order.

He’s only going to get better, according to his club coach Christophe Urios. “He’s an easy player to manage because he knows where he wants to go and what to do about it.

“He is a learner. Always reliable. But also amazing — because he is as reserved, even shy, in life as he is aggressive on the field.”

France’s strength and conditioning coach Thibault Giroud agrees. “He has a rare ability to project himself very quickly, to reach maximum speed over a very short distance. He has monstrous power in relation to his weight.”

There’s no doubt the young man, who left home in the South Pacific island of Fortuna at the age of 13 to follow his uncle, prop Tapu Falatea, to France in search of a new life, still has much to learn. Rugby, after all, is a simple game full of complexity.

“He’s an intelligent player who can make a difference thanks to his speed, but he’s also improved his reading of the game,” Bordeaux attack coach Frederic Charrier, UBB’s backline coach, told Sud Ouest this week.

“At 21 years old, his progress remains important. He needs to mature. He always wants to win his battles, but he can sometimes lack a clear head.”

But Charrier, like Galthie, expects his young charge to step up against the combined Aki-Ringrose threat. “It’s the kind of match that will make him grow,” he said. “Yoram will be ready. He loves this kind of challenge.”