Analysing the 37 stone battle between Ben Te'o and Mathieu Bastareaud

Analysing the 37 stone battle between Ben Te’o and Mathieu Bastareaud

One of the biggest battles (literally) at the Parc des Princes will be in midfield when Ben Te’o will line up against the imperious Mathieu Bastareaud.

The 31-year-old has been told by his coach to get at the Frenchman early on, in a not too dissimilar style to the way he rattled New Zealand’s Sonny Bill Williams in the first Lions Test.


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And the powerful Worcester centre has admitted he is up for the immense challenge.

He said: “He’s strong and has an offload. I watched him the other weekend against Italy and he was very destructive.

“I’ve come up against him before and I want another crack at him. I’m up for it. The only way to stop him is by fronting up physically.”

So just who has the advantage in this heavyweight clash?

See the stats below. Credit to talkSPORT for the graphic.


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