Shalva Mamukashvili : "I want to be ready as soon as possible"

Georgian international player Shalva Mamukashvili arrived last Tuesday at Berg as the injury cover of Jean-Charles Orioli, who suffered knee ligament rupture. He gives his first impressions on rctoulon.com
Shalva, you’ve just arrived at the club. How are you feeling? Have you already been able to get to grips with the game plan and the tactics?
For a new player, it’s never easy to arrive in the middle of a season and to learn all this, especially when you play as a hooker, as there are many things to acquire. But I’m doing my best, I’m already learning the tactics and I want to be ready as quickly as possible. And, of course, Mamuka [Gorgodze] and Levan [Chilachava] are there to help me, as we are close friends. They help me find my place within the club.
You are Jean-Charles Orioli’s injury cover, but would you like to stay longer at the club?
I don’t know yet, it’s too early to say. For the moment, I’m concentrating on what I have to do till the end of the season. We’ll see afterwards.
How do you see the way Toulon’s season has unfolded?
Quite frankly, I haven’t really been focused on Toulon lately. I was playing for Montpellier and I kept focused on the work I had to do there. I just know that Toulon is major team in the Top 14 and, as in all teams, there can be ups and downs. But when this team is on top of the rankings, it can be the class of the field.
You already played in various leagues: the English Premiership (with Sale Sharks), the Celtic League (with Glasgow Warriors) and the Top 14 (with Montpellier and, now, Toulon). How do those leagues compare, according to you?
The Top 14 is harder. The game is not as fluent as in the Premiership, but there is more contact – harsh contact. The whole game is more aggressive and you have to work more on the physical aspect. Those are different leagues, but the level is very high in both.