XXXXXXXX 2017 49W
ITH A year still
to go on Peceli
Yato’s contract,
and the player
himself saying
“I really want to stay – it’s like
home”, it wasn’t exactly panic
stations for Clermont. But when
the back-row recently signed a
new deal with the club until 2023,
the rest of the Top 14 must have
had to pardon their French.
Quite simply, the Fijian back-row
has become one of the most
imposing figures in France,
racking up vast yardage with ball
in hand and bullying attackers.
Yato talks freely of the support
and love he has felt from the folk
of the Auvergne, of how he adores
his life there, and certainly there is
a sense that he is at one with the
famous side now. Yet it was not
an instantaneous rise to Top 14
dominance for the Sigatoka lad.
An émigré as a teenager, Yato
had to work through the initially
tough settling-in period in a
foreign country, sometimes
relying on the help of kids a few
years younger than him. He
explains as much after adroitly
handling a compliment chucked
at him about juggling languages.
“Seriously, my French is better
than my English right now!” says
Yato with a laugh. “It’s been seven
years for me now in France and it
was 12 years of learning English
in Fiji. I came to France at 18 and
I couldn’t speak any French. But
my family back home speak Fijian
at all times, so I didn’t get much
chance to speak English.
“Moving was kind of weird, first
of all because of the language. I
didn’t really understand anything,
I didn’t even know what was
going on in training. Luckily there
were a few students there in
the espoirs (youth section) who
usually helped me with my
French. I had to socialise with
them a lot and learnt casual
French – not proper French. I also
took a class which really helped.”
Much has been discussed about
the ethics of foreign powers
setting up shop in the Pacific
region and establishing rugby
academies. Yet, whatever your
view of these practices, Yato
was drawn across to a new life
in Europe and is appreciative
of the opportunity. He had to
learn quickly before this was a
possibility, mind you. He only
began taking the game seriously
at 17, but Yato credits Fiji-based
French coach Franck Boivert for
recognising his talent and quickly
dragging him up to the standard
that ultimately earned him a move.
Not that Yato was always set on
life as a sportsman. He had other
plans – and even initially hid his
athletic exploits – before it was
decided that a sojourn with rugby
was best for him and his family.
“I really wanted to become a
soldier,” Yato levels with us. “Itwasn’t a good idea for me to do
that, my dad wanted me to play
rugby (when the time came to
make a decision). I’m not sure
why, maybe he was afraid I would
get killed somewhere, so I would
get out playing rugby instead.
“I’m still a big fan of soldiers. My
father is a farmer and I grew up
on a farm back in Sigatoka.
“My dad really wanted me to
go to school, so I could help my
family. So I would come down to
the college, then I went to town,
took off my uniform and changed
my clothes so I could go to
training. I would play rugby, come
back again, put on my uniform
and go back home and my dad
didn’t even know I was playing
rugby. I was 17 by that time.”
The rest, as they say, is a history
of opponents strewn in his wake.
Of course, fans of the Flying
Fijians and more than a handful of
neutrals will hope the industrious
back-rower will be equally as
robust in the upcoming World
Cup, hammering into Pool D.
Yato has taken note of some
journalists proclaiming that this
time Fiji can wreak real havoc, but
the breakaway offers a serious
caveat, saying: “If the team want
to do that kind of damage it’s all
in the mindset.” He believes it is
time to fulfil some undoubted
potential and to sharpen the work
in each of Fiji’s team units.
Going on, he says: “It’s true we
have an exciting back row. But
like I said, it’s about how prepared
we are and if we have good
communication as a back row,
we will make work easier for the
others. So we have to work on
our fitness, we have to work on
our game plan. Because the team
rely on us – the back row is going
to be the ones who take control,
who are looking for the ball.
“The result will be good for us
if the back row do our job.”
There is one team Yato would
love to get in his crosshairs
should he take the field against
them in Japan: above all others,
he wants to beat the Wallabies.
He has lost to them before
but more than that, he says,
he wants to make history.
The irony is that after the
season he has had, the more
settled Yato feels, the more
nervous established sides
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