Toulouse have found an up and coming star in the form of 18 year old hooker Christopher Tolofua. He featured strongly in their 19-13 win over Racing Metro on the weekend, with two big carries in particular in what was his first Top 14 start.
The French giants suffered a hooker crisis recently as Gary Botha is out with a long term leg injury, while William Servat will be unavailable because of the Six Nations. Their cover, Georgian hooker Akvsenti Giorgadze then ruptured his groin, so he will sit out for 6 months.
They’ve since brought in another Georgian hooker, Jaba Bregvadze, but Guy Noves has turned to young Tolofua, and so far it’s proved a success. He had a storming game against Racing Metro, including two big carries (one which was huge) and seems to be slotting in nicely.
“He’s managed the last fortnight,” Noves told a French newspaper. “He was looked after by the old guys, especially Johnston, who took him under his wing. But he’s got physically enormous density.
“We knew he had potential. You hope for a performance like that but until they play, you never know. He’s got a great future. That’s why we’re keeping him,” he added.
Tolofua, who only turned 18 a month ago, is already part of the French academy and could possibly go on to be a permanent fixture for the national side in years to come. His standing start charge on unfortunate Argentinian fullback Juan Imoff is one of the biggest collisions we’ve seen this season.
Imoff left the field two minutes later. Tolofua had another impressive carry earlier in the game, as did Racing Metro center Francois Steyn, so those two have also been included in the clip below.
Sign In