At 22, the promising center of Bordeaux-Bègles, from the island of Futuna, will once again be a holder within the XV of France, which faces Scotland, Sunday, February 26, at 4 p.m., for Relaunch in the tournament.
by Clément Martel
Yoram Moefana is a funny paradox. Outside the grounds, his thin mustache and his reserved smile in no way hid his discretion. On the meadow, on the other hand, the young center of the French male rugby team is nothing more shy. “Yoram is a false calm, decides Christophe Urios, the coach who launched him at the Union Bordeaux Bègles (UBB). In life, he is extremely reserved, but on the ground, it is a Lion with terrible aggressiveness. “Sunday February 26 at 4 pm, the player will once again be a holder in the XV of France, to face Scotland in the Six Nations Tournament.
A 22 years old and after two initial meetings-victory in Italy (29-24) then defeat in Ireland (19-32)-where he did not particularly illustrate, the native of Futuna, in Polynesia, will be keen to shine. “Never, I would never have imagined myself here one day, to wear the jersey of the French team,” says Yoram Moefana, interviewed at the start of the tournament. Because if he has often burned the steps, the player also made a long trip which started very far from the tricolor XV.
“I arrived in Limoges, in 2013. It was winter, and at the beginning, it was really hard,” recalls the player. Landed on the island of Futuna in the luggage of his uncle, Tapu Falatea – right pillar passed in particular by Castres and Agen -, Yoram Moefana discovered the metropolis at the age of thirteen. And landing is not easy for the one whose family is divided between Wallis and Futuna, New Caledonia … and the French rugby championship – another of its uncles, Sipili Falatea, three years older, evolves By his side in Bordeaux and within the XV of France.
In the wake of his uncle’s career, the player makes his classes in Colomiers (Haute-Garonne), in the outskirts of Toulouse, before landing in Bordeaux. And wherever he goes, Yoram Moefana leaves a trace. “I really did not have the idea of becoming a professional rugby player, however relates the player, who introduced himself to the oval on his native island, but did not join France in order to make a career . My parents sent me here was above all for studies and discover another culture. “
First player born in the 2000s in blue
Very quickly, it is the National Center for Marcoussis Rugby (Essonne), which he first discovers among young people. “At the start, he was faced with us during the oppositions against those under 20,” explained Fabien Galkié in 2022. Aware of the young man’s potential since taking office at the head of the Blues, the coach invites him, to In the fall of 2020, to join the tricolor group – the player then only had a few games with Bordeaux in the legs, where he “let his qualities burst, and marked tests”, recalls Christophe Urios. During the Fall Cup, in 2020 -“invented” tournament to adapt to the pandemic linked to the COVVI -19 -, Yoram Moefana became the first player born in the 2000s to evolve in the blue jersey. “We did not hesitate to tenure it, because he naturally imposed on training. Despite his shyness, his potential was obvious,” extended the tricolor coach at the start of the 2022 tournament.
You have 57.94% of this article to read. The rest is reserved for subscribers.