The Oscars are Hollywood!

It’s historic! Never in the history of this sport have all the world champion captains been brought together in the presence of the trophy. It is now done and to the delight of the three hundred privileged people who will flock to the Gabriel pavilion, at the foot of the Champs-Élysées, this Monday (7 p.m.) for the 69th Midi Olympique Oscars ceremony. An evening that will bring together all the stars of our game, but also the greatest French actors of the moment (the names of Omar Sy and Jean Dujardin are whispered to each other…) and some of the greatest French bosses, all welcomed on site by the 92 members of the Potel et Chabot team. An exceptional reunion, not far from the French World Cup.
But the attractions of the evening will be them. World rugby champion captains: David Kirk (1987) who enabled New Zealand to win its first World Cup in its garden at Eden Park, beating Serge Blanco and his associates, including Franck Mesnel, in the final, which did not leave Eden Park without a follow-up: a great idea, a brand that has become an international reference, the acquisition of the highest poles in the world at auction and

A blade of grass as a bonus! It’s still Nick Farr-Jones (1991), this brilliant Australian scrum-half, conductor of a band of gifted rugby attackers without limits; or François Pienaar (1995) for eternity! His image and that of his country, forever inseparable from Nelson Mandela who comes forward to give him the cup, that of fraternity for an entire people, a country that drives apartheid before the eyes of the whole world.

Eales Mr. Clean, Johnson the Cleaner!

Another immense gentleman and a great athlete in the pure Australian tradition, double world champion, please! I named John Eales (1991, 1999), elegance and absolute class. We remember a wonderful story of the friend Jean-Pierre Rives, who had hosted him in Paris a few years ago: “From the first evening, the dishes were done, my shoes put away, the pants ironed. He is incredibly educated and infinitely kind despite being over 2 meters tall. You don’t want him to leave anymore, he’s a lord…” John Eales, considered to date as one of the greatest champions in the history of sport in Australia, has nominated his country to organize the next edition of the World Cup and enjoys incredible popularity in his country.
Let’s move on to Martin Johnson (2003), another double meter. We will never know who stole his smile box from him in the playground at school, but we would not judge that he took real pleasure in becoming, for the time of a match, the most hated Englishman. in the world.

What a player, formidable leader of an English pack who martyred the whole world in 2002 and 2003. The real leader was him! An immeasurable aura: not a word, no need; his look alone was enough to tape you to the wall. Jonny Wilkinson, hardly more talkative, one day of great confidence, had had this good word: “With Martin, I often have more time to express myself on the pitch. »
He is not the best known of world champion captains, but he was no less formidable and feared: the hooker John Smit (2007) who is in the pure tradition of true exceptional South African leaders. Always present in the big events and the hardest fights.

Lomu: “You can replace any All Black, not McCaw! »

What about Richie McCaw, living legend of the AllBlacks, only captain, double world champion (2011, 2015), world record holder for selections, the greatest third line in the history of his sport and a worthy representative of his country. McCaw is the soul of the Blacks. There was a before with him and now, an after without him… Jonah Lomu had a sense of formulas that hit home: “You can change, any Black, except him! » This is to say the impact he had during the joyous decade of the men in black and that he still has today, with his successors who always and again seek to resemble him: McCaw is unique, irreplaceable and so frustrating for his opponents. Also annoying for those riveted in front of their television set, with this innate talent for marking the referee’s pants.
McCaw rarely leaves his southern islands and his helicopters (pilot training). His whirlwind trip to Paris, before embarking on a world tour through Japan, looks like a real event. “Entrusted” by the Midi Olympique Oscars, he was the guest of the Canal Rugby Club this Sunday. A Canal + team will also be following in his footsteps, this Monday all day and will concoct a documentary on him and his acolytes including Siya Kolisi, the last world champion captain to date and who also joined Paris this Sunday. The decor is set, it promises to be exceptional. A moment of rugby grace…