Those skills were also honed in the sevens arena, which is where he also earned the Frodo nickname (small body, big feet).  “Gabin came to us from XVs and he was shy and quiet at first but he was very humble and he wanted to get better,” said Jean-Pascal Barraque, who captained Villiere in France Sevens. “Players are close in sevens and you develop so many skills on the field. It helped him become the player he is today because he wasn’t just standing on the wing  – sevens helped him learn to be a great defender.

“I remember he was very stressed before the Rugby World Cup Sevens in San Francisco in 2019 and I told him to believe in himself that he was a great player. And now look how far he has gone. I am so proud.”

But as well as what was clearly relentless determination, there was a quirky side to Villiere that endeared himself to team-mates. According to Mercer he was keen to learn English – his party trick was to exclaim “Sweet Jesus!” on the rugby field – and when Villiere lived below Mercer in Rouen he would regularly pop into the flat above with his homework to pick his team-mate’s brain. 

“Looking back, considering where Gabin is now, it is crazy to think he used to come up to us and act out these scenarios between a teacher and student in English and we would have to be the adjudicators and correct their English,” laughs Mercer. “He was very much a Normandy boy and used to go home to Vire to take part in a festival with his family where he would dress up as a rabbit. It was the town’s tradition, and he was never embarrassed.”

Villiere’s rise might come as a surprise, but Mercer believes his unorthodox route has helped him: “The fact he never had certain things drilled into him in an academy means he will do some things that may look weird to some people in rugby, but they are actually really clever things that can be difficult to be analysed and that is why he has become such a threat.” 

Barraque adds “because of the rucks and scrums in sevens Gabin developed really well physically to see the whole game, not all sevens players will be good at XVs but he is a wonderful example.”

As an Englishman, Mercer is torn ahead of Le Crunch: “Oh, it is hard because I really want Gabin to go well. Maybe he could score a couple of good tries but England win – then I could send him a good text after.”