National. ‘Grabs things up very quickly’: After ten years, on loan from Nevers, Aviata Selago is already ready to help SOC

Administratively, there is still no doubt that Aviata Silago will qualify in time and return after ten years on the turf with the SO Chambéry jersey on his back, as of Sunday (3pm) at Stade Mager against Blagnac, 4^H national.

But one thing is certain, the 30-year-old New Zealand center, opening or bottom of Samoan descent, is already in the 23-man squad selected by Cyril Fillin to face a direct contender for the six qualifying spots at the end of the season.

He made his first practice with the Savoyards just on Tuesday, being loaned out until the end of the season by his club, the USON Nevers. Proof that his coach, who knew him upon his arrival at Savoie in 2013, at the age of 19, is highly regarded …

“Aviata, we know him, he has this ability to be versatile, to be able to play 10 to 15 and then, he’s a real rugby player, we saw him in first training this (Tuesday) morning, and he picks things up very quickly. He’s a player. He has good hands, likes to carry the ball, he also has good footwork and his left foot as well, it’s very interesting. I think he will bring us a lot at the end of the season in the opening or central positions.”

Mattéo Faucher, an independent who arrived from the same club, USON Nevers in November, and who had the same profile (left-handed, number 12 or first-goal scorer), having returned to Nevers definitively (he even appeared in the list of 23 on Friday evening in Aix-en-Provence). Aviata Silago took the opposite route in time for the SOC, when he had only 10 left in the position, Thibaut Moreno (Paul Altier had not yet been tried for the position and Jean-Luc Cilliers would be out until next season). Even if the former hope of Grenoble was strong in Cognac during the success of the SOC (26 of the 46 points from the first victory bonus of the season for the Savoyards).

>> Results, rankings and national calendar