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Toulouse target current All Black as replacement for Charlie Faumuina
By Ian Cameron
Toulouse are said to be on the hunt for a like-for-like replacement for giant former All Blacks prop Charlie Faumuina, who has announced his coming retirement from the sport.
Faumuina has confirmed that he will call time on his career at Toulouse come the end of the current Top 14 season.
The 6'1, 130kg Faumuina signed for Toulouse back in 2017 and has since enjoyed five fruitful seasons with the club.
The big tighthead turns 36 next month and is yet to decide whether he will continue on in France in a coaching capacity or if he will return to New Zealand.
Faumuina is one of the heaviest All Blacks of all time, with only the 136kg Neemia Tialata and 135kg Karl Tu’inukuafe tipping the scale at a heavier weight.
According to Midi Olympique, Toulouse are in the market for a replacement of a similar calibre and have their eyes on Nepo Laulala.
Last month Laulala committed to New Zealand Rugby (NZR) and the Blues through to the end of 2023. The 30-year-old prop has played 43 Tests and is one game away from bringing up 100 Super Rugby caps, having played 73 matches for the Crusaders and Chiefs, and 26 for the Blues.
A trained builder and the younger brother of former All Blacks centre Casey, Laulala was born in Samoa, educated at Auckland’s Wesley College and is one of eight siblings.
A spot at the French giants after the Rugby World Cup is stage in France seems to make a lot of sense for both parties.
Toulouse were crowned Top 14 champions last season and boast a playing roster that includes such talents as Julien Marchand, Antoine Dupont and Romain Ntamack.
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Latest Comments
You will never get another team to tour again. As an Irish supporter it was a good achievement for that team to win a test series in NZ. But it put a target on our back for the RWC. Jordan said that NZ strategy a year out turned to beating Ireland given the RWC draw and that tour. It was the right strategy and bar a red card in the final should have earned NZ a RWC title.
But was it worth Ireland’s while in terms of RWC prospects giving NZ that IP on us?
France may be thinking that they have three wins against NZ and giving them a full look at their set up may do more harm than good. As an Irish fan I know that winning that tour did not gain Ireland any respect from NZ fans. The opposite. So I don’t see many clear gains for France sending the A team especially in view of the fact that they have a series win in NZ already.
Go to commentsNot that I necessarily agree with him in this particular case, but I think Youngs is generally rated.
Not an England fan, but guy’s won four 6N titles (including one Grand Slam), won a Lions’ Series, and has a bronze and a silver from RWC, on top of being a test centurion, and the most capped player for his country.
Suffice it to say, that only yesterday he’s forgotten more about rugby, than you or I will ever know.
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