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Xavier Chiocci plays the first leg with Lyon and the return leg with USAP

USAP left pillar Xavier Chiocci played the first leg at Gerland with the Lyonnais. The reunion, Saturday January 29, 2022 (5 p.m.) with his former club is a source of motivation for the child from Valletta.

He is a man of few words. But each of his own weighs heavily. Xavier Chiocci, USAP’s latest recruit, is an “old-fashioned” pillar. Silent. Rough. Sometimes scabby. But when we grew up in Valletta…

When Giorgi Tetrashvili seriously injured his Achilles tendon on December 4 in Montpellier, the Catalan staff scratched their heads. So go find a good JIFF mainstay at the heart of the season… All the less obvious since Perpignan is neither Racing 92, nor Toulouse, nor Toulon… The name of Sébastien Taofifenua, former member of the USAP house, landed in Lyon after the relegation of Aviron Bayonnais, circulates in the bays of Aimé-Giral. It is on the side of Lyon that the eyes of Patrick Arlettaz turn. But the target player is not Taofifenua, rather the one he replaced at the head of the Lyon scrum, the Toulonnais Xavier Chiocci. The former international is lacking playing time at LOU. After 2-3 days of negotiation, the deal is closed. An international pillar who arrives in Perpignan after four months of competition is a godsend. “Do you realize, comments Patrick Arlettaz, succeeding in recruiting a pillar of the caliber of Xavier Chiocci, JIFF and international moreover, it is a small miracle for a club like USAP. » A month has passed. Chiocci arrived in Perpignan, driving his black Toyota in the colors of… LOU! The reasons for his choice? “I had less playing time in Lyon, I was not necessarily in my place… It bothered me a bit…” Pierre Mignoni planned to make him a right-hander. “The relegation of Bayonne gave us the opportunity to get Sébastien Taofifenua, who was not planned, explained the Lyon coach at the start of the season. As a result, we will try the experience of Xavier Chiocci as the right pillar, who has already helped out there last season. » The interested party did not necessarily see this permutation in a good light. Established twice on the right this season, it was for the left-handed position that he joined Perpignan, reassured by Patrick Arlettaz’s speech on this subject and that of Catalan intentions.

Child of Valletta

Since he put his suitcases in Roussillon, Xavier Chiocci has hardly had time to be unemployed. Everything happened really fast. A week after his arrival, he is a substitute for the match against Castres, at Aimé-Giral. Discovers a fervor that reminds him of his memories as a junior, when he faced USAP with RC Toulon. « Plus young, I often played against Perpignan with Toulon, he recalls. Here, it’s sanguine, it’s chauvinistic. The Catalans are hot-blooded. Their fervor for rugby, their enthusiasm for the club is a bit like that of Toulon. » He was not disappointed by his new destination.

In the blood and gold jersey, he was established only once, last Saturday in Gloucester. He was not on the match sheet against LOU a fortnight ago. Patrick Arlettaz certainly reserved him for next Saturday’s Top-14 match, which is far more important for USAP. The Catalan coach is satisfied with his recruit. “We feel that he is used to the high level, explains the Catalan coach. He has all the standards: melee, attitudes, hands… His experience is beneficial to us. Even if he is a little atypical, Xavier is a sensitive boy, we feel that the USAP criteria, a club with a family spirit and where the group is large, suit him well. »

Fed by the udder of RC La Valette, a suburb of Toulon, at the foot of Mont Coudron, Chiocci finds in Perpignan the human warmth of his training club, with a family atmosphere, where everyone knows him, appreciates him, and where he likes to relax. He even launched summer internships bearing his name, in 2019. A real success with the young shoots of the Var, unfortunately suspended because of the Covid-19. While waiting to find the green and black, it is in blood and gold that he continues his career, with the ambition of helping USAP to stay in Top-14. In the first leg, he only stayed on the pitch for a few minutes, sanctioned with a yellow card barely two minutes after replacing Demba Bamba… He would not mind erasing this memory against his former teammates. He has always preferred to prove actions over words. At Chiocci, silence is golden.

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