Aaron Grandidier Nkanang was born and raised in London, but his rugby life has taken a twisting route to Olympic rugby gold with France.
"Running out on to the pitch for the first game, looking up at a packed Stade de France, 70,000 people. I had goosebumps. It was unbelievable."
By the time Aaron was born, five months into a new millennium, they had moved south of the river, but London was always home. It was only at the age of 16 - a point where other prospects are already locked into pathways and professional clubs - that he started to take it seriously, finding he had caught up physically and his time on court had sharpened his footwork and handling.
He got more than echoes back. He visited Brive, Toulon, Castres and Oyonnax. He signed with Brive, mentioned his Sevens experience and the French selectors were soon on the phone.Grandidier Nkanang moved to Brive in 2019 after becoming frustrated by the lack of English professional clubs willing to take him on
"There are a lot of little habits from Sevens that I need to iron out the game, it is going to be a big learning curve to get to that level," he says.
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