France lock goes full NFL with crazy assist
Stade Francais and France lock Paul Gabrillagues had a split moment on Saturday when he planned to produce a textbook rugby pass. Then he had a change of heart.
His side had a four on three overlap when he received the ball close to the line against ASM Clermont Auvergne, and he shaped up to pass normally. But with two Clermont defenders basically standing on top of each other, he would have seen centre Sefa Naivalu in a lot of space. Then he went full Tom Brady.
If you look at the image below, anyone would believe that the 2 metre Frenchman was about to produce a very safe and normal pass:
A lot of people would be horrified with what he produced, as he hoicked the ball over his teammates in full NFL mode. Then again it was not a pass that any quarterback would be proud of. It was sort of a cross between a quarterback’s pass and a shot putt, but it was undoubtedly effective as Naivalu strolled in for a try.
Take a look:
#TOP14 – L’image de la J1 : Le quarterback
Il est sérieux Paul Gabrillagues ? 😅
On a dit que c’était la reprise du #TOP14 pas de la @NFLFrance … 🏈 Le “Tom Brady” parisien a fait fort avec cette passe inspirée lors de la victoire du @SFParisRugby 🎯 pic.twitter.com/KWfeZVDqft— TOP 14 Rugby (@top14rugby) September 3, 2022