History made as 2.03m, 145kg France-qualified monster sits down Manu Tuilagi
If there is one thing scarier than a 145 kg player sitting down none other than Manu Tuilagi, it is a 145 kg player that has qualified to play for France.
It is Toulouse lock Emmanuel Meafou, who has caught the eye of plenty of spectators over the last year. Then again, at 2.03m and 145kg, it is pretty hard to miss him. As a comparison, that is the weight of about 17 Cheslin Kolbes.
To put into perspective how powerful he is, he not only made all 110kg of Tuilagi look like a scrum-half recently, but swatted the centre away with frightening ease in Toulouse’s win over Sale Sharks at the AJ Bell Stadium recently in the Heineken Champions Cup. It was all on the way to him scoring a try himself in the same passage of play- not bad indeed.
The fact that he will be able to represent France at this World Cup, already favourites to win, is a terrifying thought for every other country.
Take a look at his carry:
A Sale, @EmmanuelMeafou laisse sa carte de visite à
Manu Tuilagi. 💥💪Une percution à ajouter à son CV qui a de quoi impressionné en haut lieu 🔴⚫️ ▶️ 🇫🇷 ?
Et il s’offre même un essai #ChampionsCup dans la foulée 🏉💪 pic.twitter.com/jWSkR1iW2e
— Champions Cup France (@ChampionsCup_FR) January 14, 2023
BRB, just adding Emmanuel Meafou to our list of #HeinekenChampionsCup players we wouldn’t want to tackle… 😅 pic.twitter.com/cZwjhPrQXy
— Heineken Champions Cup (@ChampionsCup) January 14, 2023
The 24-year-old Australian born lock is currently plying his trade with the French giants, having arrived there in 2019 via a fairly circuitous route that saw him attempt to play in the NFL- where he was required to bulk up to a whopping 160kg. His 140kg, 2.03m frame is slender compared to that, but he still packs a punch on the rugby field, as Tuilagi experienced recently.
Speaking on Le French Rugby podcast last year, Meafou said that he wants to play for France, which is an exciting prospect for Fabien Galthie.
“Oh man, I want to play for France,” Meafou said. “France is definitely on my radar. There’s been a little bit of discussion around it and I’ve been working around getting my passport, but I want to play at top level.
“I’ve been here now for over three years now so I would definitely love to play for France – if that came up I would definitely say yes to that. Until then, I want to play some good rugby for Toulouse and see what comes from it.”
