RC Toulon coaches have been stunned by the pace of winger Ga\u00ebl Dr\u00e9an, who has broken speed records at the club.<\/p>\n
Dr\u00e9an has been a star performer for Toulon since the 2022\/23 season, making 65 appearances and crossing for 37 tries, and eventually caught the eye of the French<\/a> national team, earning a call-up to the Les Bleus squad for the 2026 Six Nations.<\/p>\n He was a late call-up to the run-on team for the clash against Italy and marked his debut with a try.<\/p>\n France\u2019s rising star<\/p>\n His raw pace is a standout feature of his game and something that took the Top 14<\/a> club\u2019s backs coach, Andrea Masi by surprise.<\/p>\n \u201cFrom the very first training session, I was surprised by his speed,\u201d the 95-cap former Italian international told RugbyRama<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cHe had some incredible bursts of acceleration.\u201d<\/p>\n Masi says that while the raw pace was a real asset when Dr\u00e9an started out in the Top 14, he has become a more rounded player.<\/p>\n \u201cNow, he\u2019s much smarter in his movement. He gets to the loose ball because he makes better running decisions,\u201d he added.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s also become an excellent one-on-one because he\u2019s worked on a move that has become his signature: the fend-off. He\u2019s developed an incredible technique for this move; he works on it every week.\u201d<\/p>\n Dr\u00e9an was voted as the Top 14 Revelation of the Year last season and has continued that sterling form this campaign, crossing 14 times in 18 matches for Toulon, which includes five Champions Cup tries.<\/p>\n While Masi is happy to have a rocket of a winger on attack, he is equally pleased that he is a force on defence.<\/p>\n \u201cHe loves the physical aspect, the collision, the big attacking tackles,\u201d\u00a0he said, adding that he \u2018is ready for the international level\u2019.<\/p>\n Juan Ignacio Brex \u2018absolutely stunned\u2019 the Stormers didn\u2019t do the \u2018obvious\u2019 and expects \u2018something special\u2019 from Franco Smith<\/a><\/p>\n But it\u2019s not just the back coach who has been stunned by the winger, but Anthony Couderc, too, the club\u2019s head of research and development in the performance department.<\/p>\n \u201cHe\u2019s the fastest player I\u2019ve ever worked with. His top speed record was 36.8 km\/h last season, while this year his defensive recovery against Munster reached 35.6 km\/h,\u201d\u00a0he explained.<\/p>\n Want more from Planet Rugby? Add us as a preferred source on Google to your favourites list<\/a> for world-class coverage you can trust.<\/p>\n Quicker than Kolbe<\/p>\n Toulon have had their fair share of rapid backs in the past, including double Rugby World Cup winner Cheslin Kolbe<\/a>, but even the Springboks\u2019 jaw-dropping pace doesn\u2019t compare to Dr\u00e9an.<\/p>\n \u201cAccording to our data, during the 2022-2023 season, Cheslin reached a top speed of 36.2 km\/h,\u201d Couderc added.<\/p>\n Furthermore, the head of research and development says that Dr\u00e9an is a rare talent with his impressive acceleration and explosiveness.<\/p>\n Over 10 metres, he clocks in at 1.54 seconds with almost a tenth of a second quicker than the next-best at the club.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s really rare.\u00a0Most backs top out at 5.10, with an average around 4.90,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n \u201cGa\u00ebl therefore possesses this dual quality: top speed and explosiveness.\u201d<\/p>\n