Reinforcements in the third line of the XV Borg
Number eight seed New Zealand, and that definitely brings back good memories for Borg XV supporters. No, Corey Byway isn’t coming back again, this time it’s the arrival of Othello Heca-Terra. Born in Australia to New Zealand parents, he holds triple Samoan citizenship, hence New Zealand citizenship. He will, this season, be the only Bourges XV player to benefit from the C licence, which is reserved for non-EU players (read box below).
“We had already contacted him a few years ago, but it just wasn’t possible to do that at the time,” says the club’s technical director, Kevin Thuyler. “This year, there was talk of him coming along with his cousin, the prop, but we only had one player from New Zealand.” . »
Arrived from Australia and passed through Scotland
26-year-old Othello Heca-Tira is 1.87 meters tall and weighs about 115 kg. The third-line player finished his season a month early, in the Southern Hemisphere, playing for the Eastern Suburbs of Rose Bay, a club on the outskirts of Sydney. He also played a season with the Scottish club Jed-Forest (Premier) and with the Avondale Wombats of Dapto (Australia). “I like to scratch balls and play after contact. I hope to be able to help the team win matches quickly,” he declared after arriving in Bourges, as he already had free time to appreciate the historic centre.
After Arnold Gerber and Kgetho “Madot” Mabokela, this is the second of the last three fall recruits from Bourges XV. “These are players who are around the same age and have experience in rugby that gives them a stature for challenge and intensity,” continues Kevin Thoillier. They should bring their qualities to us in the face-off areas and in the scrimmage phases of the game where we are at the moment with difficulty.”
Bourges XV’s latest recruit, South African Arnold Gerber, will be useful to weather the storm
However, it will certainly be necessary to wait a bit before seeing the New Zealand rookie on the ground. Othello Heca Tira, who injured his shoulder at the end of his season in Australia, should not recover by Sunday to face Gennevilliers.
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5 Bourges XV players are considered ‘foreign’ (B or C licence) this season. They are from South Africa, Dale Hendrix, Arnold Gerber, Madut Mabukila, Tunisian Najmuddin Khalifa, and New Zealander Othello Heika Tira. Only four can be present at a time on the match sheet.
Philip Roach
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