Medicine, family of athletes, New Zealand…, discovering Manae Feleu, the captain of the Bleues

Manae Feleu (24 years old) is pursuing brilliant medical studies alongside his sporting career. Studious, the second row and captain of the France team is currently in fifth year. It was after studying in a high school in New Zealand that Feleu decided to come to France, and Dijon where she chose to study medicine and continued to grow. So far, the Grenoble player has managed to manage her schedule, between the rugby fields and hospital internships.

Originally from Wallis and Futuna, Manae Feleu was born into a sports family. His parents were PE teachers at college but, above all, his mother competed in the heptathlon at a high level and his father specialized in the decathlon. Passionate about athletics and sport in general, the young woman finally opted for rugby at the age of 11 before being followed by her sister Teani (21), also an international (on the bench this Saturday against to the Red Roses).

More than 3,000 kilometers from his parents, Manae Feleu decided, at the age of 14, to try his hand at New Zealand. “It’s a part of my life that made me grow, gain autonomy, I learned lots of things about myself and the world during this period,” the Grenobloise declared to France Bleu. It was with the Havelock North Rugby club, in the east of the country, that she trained before experiencing a difficult final year of high school marked by a year off following a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligaments.

“She is a fairly discreet girl but who always knew how to speak at the right time. She always has the right words. Everyone thought she gave off something when she spoke. We wanted to listen to it. She is very calm, very composed,” her teammate Romane Ménager recently confided. An analysis shared by Gaëlle Hermet, ex-captain and executive of the Bleues: “She brings us a lot of serenity. Manae is a quiet strength. She is calm, we want to follow her.”

Despite her athletic profile (1m79, 81 kg) and “light” for her position, Manae Feleu is a warrior, in the purest Polynesian tradition. “She brings a lot to the fight, she is a player who pushes forward and does the work from the shadows. We need her all the time,” says scrum half Pauline Bourdon Sansus. But the Grenoble player is also fast and very skillful with the ball in hand. The New Zealand school has visibly borne fruit…