His all-star, try-scoring display also meant he will have been watched with great interest - and suspicion - by the All Blacks ahead of Saturday night's epic showdown in Paris.
The encounter at the Stade de France has a special meaning for the 27-year-old Mauvaka. His father, who died in 2018, was a fervent admirer of the All Blacks. As a child in New Caledonia, a French island territory in the South Pacific, little Peato would boo his distant cousins from the Indian Ocean. "When I watched a lot of rugby, I watched an All Black, Israel Dagg, who did monstrous goose steps," recalls Mauvaka in an exclusive interview with us. "He was too strong. I tried to copy him, even if the weight difference between us was a lot!"
The goose step, the secret weapon of the illustrious Dagg, has thus become the favourite move of Mauvaka the hooker. With his 112kg frame, Mauvaka laughs about it: "If you're an outside back, it's still shameful to be goose-stepped by a forward!" His ability to be more than just a complete hooker - to play from the front to the back of the pack - makes the Toulouse man a player apart. "This player is exceptional, with great technical qualities. He may be one of the best hookers in the world," said Scott Hansen, the All Blacks defence coach, in a press conference this week.
Hooker, flanker, winger
That Mauvaka was able to perform so spectacularly last week - admittedly against a team that right now is no match for New Zealand - was surprising. Due to the hasty exits of Thibaud Flament, injured after only half an hour, and François Cros, replaced at half-time due to a head injury, Mauvaka ended up playing the entire match. Such durability is a rare feat for an international front rower these days. Even more impressive, the hooker found himself in the back row in the 51st minute thanks to the arrival of Julien Marchand. And several times after that, up he popped... on the wing.
A defining moment came just after the hour: taking a pass from Antoine Dupont, Mauvaka took out one defender before being stopped a few metres from the Japanese line. "He didn't want to score," joked Dupont. "I couldn't take it any more; I was hoping to have teammates at my side to help me," replied Mauvaka, drained after an exceptional performance. He acknowledged his day of versatility it in the post-match press conference. "I'm not used to playing so much and especially finishing in the back row. Still, I had [more left in the tank] was less in the red than Greg!" he joked, referring to nearby number eight Grégory Alldritt, who replied to the quip with an: "It's fine - it's enabled him to find out what it's like to play the full 80 minutes."
A shining light for his teammates
Mauvaka finished the game as France's top tackler (24), was third in metres carried (87, behind only winger Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Dupont) and beat three defenders. "He's in good shape, he's on the same level as his previous season," observed Fabien Galthié after the match. "He's a very good performance leader, and I'd like us to take inspiration from his physical condition."
That he was in the thick of things in the match against Japan for France's opening Autumn Nations Series match is no surprise. "I started playing rugby in the centres and I started quite late," he explains. "I didn't know anything about rugby and running into each other wasn't really my style. I played more in avoidance. I went down position by position, but I always kept that game." As adept at securing the scrum and the lineout as he is at charging down the touchline, Mauvaka embodies an atypical hooker - the perfect complement to 29-year-old Julien Marchand, who was a more classic hooker's profile. Since the 2023 World Cup, Mauvaka has taken on a new dimension in the blue jersey.
A double against the Blacks
This performance against Japan could well earn him a place in the starting XV against the All Blacks, a team against whom he distinguished himself in 2021, during the first significant victory of the Galthié era (40-25). He then scored a double."I have a lot of good memories with the chance to have been able to play against that team. Any player dreams of playing against New Zealand. To have been able to play a match like that where I scored two tries. A lot of emotion. Proud and happy to have been able to play against the All Blacks," he told us.
France v New Zealand, Saturday 16th November, 20:10. Live on TNT Sports.
