Big bad Skelton: La Rochelle’s wrecking ball

Big bad Will Skelton. If one player has represented the biggest stumbling block to Leinster’s European ambitions over the last three seasons it is the giant Wallabies lock. He has become Leinster’s ogre.

Three seasons ago, while Billy Vunipola was the main thorn in Leinster’s side with his bulldozing try, huge carrying game and intercepts, in tandem with Maro Itoje, the 6′ 8″ lock who was a key figure in Saracens imposing their power game when winning the 2019 final in Newcastle with his ten carries for 23 metres and 18 crunching tackles.

Skelton had already moved on to La Rochelle due to the well-documented financial irregularities which had condemned Saracens to a season in the Championship when they beat Leinster in the re-arranged 2019-20 quarter-final behind closed doors but in last season’s semi-final at Stade Marcel-Deflandre, Skelton’s impact was even bigger.

The Australian made 42 metres from 11 carries overall in his big 80 minute shift, and no-one did more to turn the game in the final quarter. He peeled off a line-out maul to plough through Ed Byrne and Ross Byrne for their first try, and after Victor Vito charged off the base of a scrum, Skelton and Danny Priso each made further inroads before Gregory Alldritt was driven over the line with Skelton latching on for their decisive second try.

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Skelton’s impact this season has perhaps not been as big, in large part to being restored to the Wallabies’ squad for their end-of-year tour, and a niggling calf injury.

Whereas he played every minute of their Champions Cup campaign last season, Skelton has only started two of their seven games en route to this season’s final, the opening pool win over Glasgow and the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Bordeaux-Begles.

He missed their Top 14 showdown with Toulouse and both the quarter-final and semi-final wins over Montpellier and Racing 92 before returning to play the last 15 minutes of their bonus point win over Stade Francais last Saturday.

On Monday his head coach Ronan O’Gara reported “nothing sinister after the game but he did 15 minutes in a slow-paced game, you know. But the positive is he hasn’t had a reaction. Today was just a clarity session and he was able to walk. Tomorrow will probably tell more and accordingly if it keeps going to plan, we’ll see how much we can get out of him at the weekend.”

That suggests another impact role off the bench, or maybe a starting role to extract every minute out of him, all the more so given doubts about Vito. For, although Skelton’s from hasn’t been quite as impressive (he played 1,776 minutes last season as against 1,135 minutes this season), La Rochelle are a better team with their lock in it. Far better.

While La Rochelle have made light of his absences in the Champions Cup, in the Top 14 his influence has been profound judging by the stats. In 14 games with Skelton in their line-up, La Rochelle have won 11 and lost three, equating to a wining ratio of 78.5%. In 11 games without him, they have won three and lost eight, which is a 27.3% winning ratio.

It’s no wonder. Skelton is a human wrecking ball with those charges and crunching tackles, and his offloading game is a significant weapon in his side’s arsenal, as is his power in both their offensive and defensive mauls. In tandem with hooker Pierre Bourgarit, he is employed at the front of their defensive line-out to smash opposition catch-and-drives, leaving them obliged to go long.

This season perhaps underlines that Skelton was better value for both Saracens and La Rochelle when in international exile. However, after a five-year absence from the Test arena, Skelton was recalled by Wallabies coach Dave Rennie for their end-of-year tour last November.

Even then, he was only used as a second-half impact replacement in the defeats by Scotland, England and Wales. His 2015 World Cup having been cut short by a shoulder injury, at 30-years-old Skelton has still only played 21 Tests for Australia, and of those only six have been starts.

New Zealand born of Samoan descent, Skelton moved with his family to Sydney when he was ten, and having played for Sydney University was brought into the Waratahs academy in 2011. He missed pretty much all of 2012 with a fractured foot before Michael Cheika brought him into the Waratahs team in 2013 and he rejected overtures from Graham Henry to make his Australian debut against France in June 2014.

The move to Saracens put his Test career on hold but it was undoubtedly to Skelton’s benefit. When he returned to Saracens for pre-season training in 2018 his weight had risen to over 23 stone and he had what he called “a light bulb moment”.

Setting some new goals with his wife, and helped by Saracens’ training staff, he employed his own nutritionist. He downloaded a simple app, myfitnesspal, which counts calories. He started weighing everything he consumed and followed the regime diligently. On a normal day 2,500 calories; before a game 3,200. He lost 30 lbs in ten weeks and the official La Rochelle website now lists his weight at 125kg.

The delicate balancing act in keeping such a big man fit becomes tricker with each enforced absence. By his own admission, Skelton still loves his food. But the longer Skelton plays in Marseilles next Saturday, O’Gara and La Rochelle will feel a whole lot better about their chances.