“If I stayed at home, I would cry every day”: back in Top 14, Mauvaka digests the World Cup

2023-10-30 00:48:56

The defeat of the Blues, against South Africa in the quarter-finals of the Rugby World Cup, is still in everyone’s mind. Several players, on vacation or on the Top 14 pitches, still have difficulty digesting it. This is particularly the case of Peato Mauvaka, who played again in the colors of Stade Toulouse this Sunday evening against Union Bordeaux-Bègles (29-22). After the match, the hooker justified his rapid return to competition, even though he had played the majority of the World Cup matches in the absence of Julien Marchand, injured in his hamstring.

“It’s nice to see the guys from Toulouse again,” admitted Peato Mauvaka on Canal +. I was supposed to be on vacation but if I stayed at home, I was going to cry every day so I asked to come back straight after the shift. Ugo (Mola, the Toulouse manager) was kind, he let me start again but otherwise I had to be on vacation with the others. »

Still stunned two weeks later, the French international explained that he had lost his joy of living after the elimination of the Blues. “I like to show everyone around me that I’m still in a good mood but after the shift, I really had it hard so I preferred to get back quickly otherwise I was going to hang myself,” he said. -he declared, specifying that he had not rewatched the match against the Springboks and had not watched the semi-finals and the final of the competition.

Fortunately for the hooker, his return to the Top 14 was successful. Coming into play during the second half in place of Guillaume Cramont, Peato Mauvaka participated in the comeback of his team, who got off to a bad start after a delicate first period. “It’s nice to win again, it was a great Bordeaux team,” admitted the Toulouse player. They had announced that they were going to put in a lot of fight, the first half was a little complicated, we fell a little into their game. In the second half, we said to ourselves that we were going to play a little more rugby. We are happy to come out with the victory. » Enough to make him smile again, and find a face that we know well.