Saint-Sébastien-de-Morsent, FRANCE: The best second division in world rugby returns for a new campaign on Thursday with onlookers in the league almost unanimously agreed on one thing, who the champions will be.

Monday’s Midi Olympique published the paper’s annual poll of head coaches from ProD2, with Provence leading the way with 14 votes out of 16 as for who will be promoted.

Here Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch has a look around the second-tier before Biarritz welcome Nice to the Basque country in the season opener.

Les favoris

Last season’s losing finalists Provence are the frontrunners having missed out on promotion last season by four points to the dominant force of Vannes and then a loss to Perpignan a week later in the play-off.
The experienced Philippe Saint-André and cigarette-smoking assistant Julien Dupuy have added well-travelled props Aurélien Azar and Pascal Cotet while Canada back-rower Tyler Ardron brings versatility and an old head.

Goal-kicking Portugal full-back Manuel Vareiro will face fresh competition from Argentina’s Martin Bogado, who arrives from Oyonnax.

NBA superstar Victor Wembenyamba trained with Saint-André’s side during the summer and even watched a pre-season game, he could do a job at second-row for the outfit eyeing a first promotion to the Top 14.

They have also increased their budget by 5% to €22 million, €5million more than the next biggest spenders, Brive.

Les Corrèziens are one of the other two clubs to win a vote in the poll, despite Courtney Lawes’ departure.

Gregory Patat’s arrival as head coach has given their promotion hopes fresh impetus.

I had lunch in one of the city’s indoor food markets in August, on the way back from a week’s holiday in the Tarn, and CAB’s black and white flags were everywhere to see.

I was at Le Stadium in 2019 for Brive’s PorD2 semi-final win over Vannes, the last time they won promotion, and the celebations post-match were with some of the best I’ve experienced, accompagnied by Trois Cafés Gourmands.

Relegated Montauban were the final side to receive a nod, having said au revoir to 18 players including iconic fly-half/ full-back Jerome Bosviel.

Fly-half Enzo Hervé has signed on-loan from Castres as injury cover for ex-Ospreys playmaker Jack Walsh as they attempt a return to the Top 14 at the first time of asking.

Les outsiders

Valence-Romans and Colomiers were the big surprises last time out while Oyonnax and Grenoble have the squads to threaten the top six places at least.

Béziers’ South African revolution continues with the arrival of ex-Sprinbok prop Gurthro Steenkamp as head coach and are my dark horses for an upset over the Ironman of a campaign that is ahead of us.

Soyaux-Angoulême, Biarritz, Agen, Dax and Nevers should be safe in the second-tier.

La descente

New boys Narbonne were given eight votes in the relegation scrap despite the handy addition of ex-Australia No. 8 Caleb Timu while Nice, after a summer soap opera including relegation to Nationale, had three votes.

Gareth Baber has assembled, on paper, a very solid squad for their return to the deuxiéme division with Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s younger brother, Samuel having joined from Grenoble adding to names suchs as lock Adrian Motoc and flanker Hugo Sarrasin.

Steenkamp’s Béziers gained one vote as did Aurillac, with the league’s lowest budget of €5.5 million, while two coaches decided against voicing their opinions.

Les joueurs

In addition to the formerly mentioned players there are a few other standout names looking to make an impact this season.

Fiji winger/ centre Setaraiki Bituniyata was superb for Provence last season and I’m interested to see how France under 20’s lock Bobby Bissu goes on loan from Bordeaux-Begles at Stade Maurice-David.

Béziers have done interesting business including ex-All Black centre Malakai Fekitoa, Wales No. 8 Mackenzie Martin and another UBB man on-loan in 20-year-old fly-half Joseph Laharrague.

I’m backing Portugal full-back Simão Bento to do well at Colomiers, Wales under-20’s lock James Fender at Grenoble and Kiwi winger Liam Coombs-Fabling at Oyonnax.

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Ex-Oyonnax fly-half Zack Holmes and former Vannes winger Gwennaël Duplenne refereed at last weekend’s InExtenso Super Sevens in Biarritz, just weeks after retiring.

If you want to see what life is like as a ProD2 player, drop former New Zealand centre Francis Saili a follow on Instagram. He’s vlogging his life at Nice after moving south from Vannes.

Ex-All Blacks winger Sevu Reece says he signed for Perpignan as he relished the challenge of changing their status as eternal relegation battlers. Sounds easy right?

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Rugby à toucher: Touch rugby. One of the highlights from my summer was playing rugby à toucher with some friends on a one-post pitch in the tiny village of Bournazel, an hour north of Castres. It had a mairie, a church and the rugby club and its scrum machine. Unique.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Chateau les Vignals: This organic vineyard near Gaillac is well worth a visit if you’re in the area. The backdrop to an apéritif earlier this month was incredible and a glass of their Soif-Art white from 2025 went down a treat.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday with a Top 14 preview. Before then, feel free to fill in this survey about what more you want to see from the newsletter.

It kicked off 11 months ago with Chambéry hammering Bourg-en-Bresse in the third-tier’s opener and finished on Saturday with France thumping Japan to secure top spot in the Nations Championship’s northern hemisphere table.

Toulouse claimed a record-extending 25th Bouclier de Brennus holding off a resurgent Montpellier, Bordeaux-Bègles defended the Champions Cup before Ben Tameifuan became an Instagram hero, Vannes edged Montauban to return to the Top 14 and Fabien Galthié clinched the third Six Nations title of his seven-season tenure.

Here are Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch’s awards before the more official ceremony at La Nuit du Rugby, held at the historic velvet-clad L’Olympia theatre in central Paris, on September 28.

Top 14 player

Jack Willis was once again a massive part of Toulouse title success, being named player of the game in the June’s final. Antoine Dupont had a hot and cold season, especially in the Champions Cup while the likes of Emmanuel Meafou and Santiago Chocobares were also prominent parts of the triumph.

Pau’s backline including Théo Attissogbe, Émilien Gailleton and youngster Fabien Brau-Boirie were highly impressive, Clermont fly-half Harry Plummer was superlative from the tee and Bayonne back-rower Esteban Capilla had a fantastic start but my stand-out was Montpellier full-back Tom Banks.

The Australian scored six tries and played more minutes than anyone else in his maiden Top 14 season having arrived as a late gap-filler for Joan Caudullo. Banks, 32, is a top priority of mine in terms of interviews in the coming months, considering a home World Cup is on the horizon.

ProD2 player

Fly-half Lucas Meret was the league’s top scorer in Valence Romans’ surprise run to the play-offs, Fijian winger Setaraiki Bituniyata was prominent in Provence’s parcours to the final but Vannes scrum-half Michael Ruru was my pick.

The 35-year-old Kiwi played all but four games of the Bretons’ incredible campaign, crossing 14 tries, three more than any of his team-mates.

He will face competition for the No. 9 shirt at Stade de la Rabine from Simi Kuruvoli, even if the Fiji half-back will miss the start of the new term with a suspension.

Les Bleus’ player

Judging a full France Test season is difficult with Fabien Galthié’s hand being forced with his selection for the July window.

It started with the morale-blow of the South Africa defeat despite Thomas Ramos’ solid boot. Bielle-Biarrey scored eight tries in 11 appearances including four in less than an hour of the Six Nations decider with England while Matthieu Jalibert, Charles Ollivon and Jean-Baptiste Gros were also crucial cogs in Galthié’s machine.

However, my stand-out was Yoram Moefana. He missed the November series through injury but returned for the Six Nations before starring in the Nations Championship July series.

There is plenty of competition for both midfield shirts before the World Cup but the quietly-spoken 26-year-old, who eats KFC as a cheat meal, is 99% guaranteed the No. 12 jersey.

The question for Galthié is who plays outside him?

Les Bleues player

I wrote about make-up wearing, wannabe wrestler prop Ambre Mwayembe before another Le Crunch defeat in May.

Her off-the field personality is incredible and her carries on the field are equally impossible to miss.

Emilie Boulard was at her finishing best during the World Cup and fellow winger Anais Grando crossed five times in the Six Nations in her maiden Test campaign but lock Madoussou Fall caught my eye the most.

The 28-year-old was at her rampaging best during the Six Nations with her monstruous physical presence rarely seen in the women’s game.

The Bobigny product is also part of Bordeaux’s all-conquering club set-up. When will see an Élite 1 v Professional Women’s Rugby Super Cup?

Men’s youngster

There was no strict criteria for this award last year but this season I’m introducing the rule the player has to be able to have featured in the espoirs, France’s flourishing under-21 club category.

Montpellier captain Lenni Nouchi turned 22 in November in a superb campaign where he proved he was able to challenge Francois Cros for the starting No. 6 France shirt.

Toulouse centre Kalvin Gourgues now 21 made his France debut after just seven club appearances and Stade Francais centre Noah Nene was a massive part of the Parisians’ return to la demi-finale.

Despite all the talent, a third centre caught my eye. Fabien Brau-Boirie scored nine tries across 23 Pau appearances before claiming Les Bleus’ highly-coveted No 13 shirt outside Moefana this month having only turned 20 in December. The former Tarbes academy member has been compared to ex-France midfielder Yannick Jauzion, no pressure FBB!

Try

Jiuta Wainiqolo could not stop scoring last season. 18 tries in 22 league games for a struggling Lyon was a superb return including a couple of corkers at Toulouse and La Rochelle.

Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored a few beauties too, especially in the Champions Cup and for France but my favourite was Shingirai Manyarara’s touchdown at Clermont on the penultimate day of the regular Top 14 season.

The Zimbabwe No. 8’s finish highlighted what is so unique about French club rugby in terms of players.

Subtle off-loads from Fijian backs in Vinaya Habosi and Wame Naituvi, some delicate intervention from a French youngster in Léo Carbonneau, which could have won the next award, before a clinical finish from an individual from a Tier 2 country.

Oh, and it silenced the ever-vocal Stade Marcel-Michelin crowd and helped Racing back to the barrages.

Assist

A Thomas Ramos kick pass to set-up a try is par for the course these days, despite the unreal one the full-back pulled out of his Gallic back of tricks in the Six Nations title-clincher. Antoine Dupont never fails to surprise and his pass for Sanitago Chocobares in Toulouse’s win at Toulon was lovely.

Jeremy Ward’s chistera was as subtle for Stade Français centre partner Noah Nene but Théo Attisogbe’s one-handed effort for Émilien Gailleton was la crème de la crème.

Moment

Witnessing Les Bleus winning the Six Nations, following on television a bunch of influencers filling out Stade Atlantique for Crunch Creator, hearing the Peña Baiona live at Stade Jean-Dauger for the first time and going on RMC Sport’s Entre les Potos podcast before France hammered Wales (encore) in the Six Nations to name just a few.

Despite all of them, my stand-out moment was watching a good friend play for sixth-tier, Fédérale 2, Emak Hor in the Basque Country during his final season.

That part of the world reminds me a lot about Cymru, especially when it comes to its relationship to rugby and the way a local community gets around a local club.

Emak-Hor are based between Biarritz and Maxime Lucu’s hometown of Saint-Pée-sur-Nivelle and thinking about how he has been welcomed in Euskadi by team-mates, coaches, volunteers and supporters makes me very proud of the sport. Aupa Jojo!

Hors-catégorie

With the Tour de France in full-swing this award deserved full attention. Racing 92 hooker Jannick Tarrit’s headbutt was crazy (thanks for the reminder Asunam), some of Fabien Galthié’s press conferences were mind-bogglingly philosophical while Bayonne lock Alex Moon’s homemade Le Coq Sportif branding on his scrum-cap made me laugh. The winner though is Stade Français winger Penisai Dakuwaqa’s haircut for the semi-final in Marseille. The Fiji winger messaged Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch to say it took him six hours to finish. Unreal commitment, giving Giovanni Habel-Küffner a run for his money!

Merci as always for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back on August 25 looking ahead to the new ProD2 season after a holiday in west Wales, the Auvergne and the Tarn.

Before then I will send out a survey for your feedback before the new season, so get ready to let me know what you would like to see from the newsletter in the coming months.

Bonnes vacances!

Arlettaz took over from Laurent Labit after the 2023 Rugby World Cup in a surprise move from Fabien Galthié but the 29 points in 23 minutes in Brisbane underlined the Catalan’s ability.

This weekend, Les Bleus head to Tokyo with a chance to finish their campaign on a high and prove the performance, especially with ball in hand, seven days ago was more than just a one-off.

Before joining Galthié’s set-up former Test centre Arlettaz had worked as attack coach with Montpellier, Narbonne and Perpignan and was promoted to the main job with his home town club in 2020.

He helped USAP to Top 14 promotion before avoiding relegation through the play-off the two following campaigns thanks to an ambitious gameplan even with the threat of the drop.

Since cigarette-smoking Arlettaz headed to Marcoussis he has experienced a trend seen across the game with higher scores across Test rugby.

At Suncorp Stadium, Les Bleus took their try tally for the year to 42 with four Tests left to play, a figure which Labit only beat once.

They had never scored six tries in one game against one of The Rugby Championship sides under Galthié before that.

In the second-half, Les Bleus’ attack, as a collective, finally clicked under 54-year-old Arlettaz with individuals like Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Antoine Dupont having made the difference individually in the past two years.

The main reason behind the spark was the use of two fly-halves, Romain Ntamack and Matthieu Jalibert as double playmakers.

The Top 14 champion and Champions Cup winner used the width of the pitch fully, balancing pass distances perfectly before making clinical decisions.

Their success even opened a debate regarding Thomas Ramos’ previously unquestionable claim on the No. 15 jersey.

Arlettaz has deployed two ball-playing types in the jerseys in the past with the likes of Tristan Tedder, Jake McIntyre and Benjamin Volavola having been used there at Stade Aimé-Giral.

The midfield combination of Yoram Moefana and Fabien Brau-Boirie brings out the best from the pair while wingers Théo Attissogbe and Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang highlighted their world-class finishing ability.

Grandidier-Nkanang’s doublé on debut came from assists provided by Ntamack and Jalibert.

Maxime Lucu keeps the tempo going from scrum-half, even if it is a tad slow for some, while monsters in the pack like Emmanuel Meafou and Lenni Nouchi set a platform with powerful carries.

Perpignan-born Arlettaz has a more relaxed approach to coaching than Labit and is happy to be just and assistant by building a friendly relationship with players (and the media).

Les Bleus’ efficiency with ball in hand has been helped with law changes benefitting the attack but Arlettaz seems to be getting the best out of his squad too.

He has high expectations from his talented side for this weekend, without even thinking about the lethal options of Bielle-Biarrey, Dupont and Ramos who are set to be added to the back-line in November.

France are unbeaten against Japan under Galthié, it is likely to stay that way this Saturday especially with Ntamack and Jalibert given free reign under the affable Arlettaz.

Prediction: France by 10

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Emmanuel Macron visited a junior summer camp in Loudenvieille in the Pyrenees last week as he was in the area watching the Tour de France. Bayonne have been there on a pre-season training jaunt this week. For sure.

Ben O’Keeffe will referee Saturday’s game. Fabien Galthié cheekily said this week he was not aware of the controversy around the Kiwi since the 2023 World Cup quarter-final. We see you Fabien, we see you…

France face holders South Africa for the under-20s world championship title in Georgia on Saturday. L’Équipe looks at Les Bleuets’ back-rower Raphaël Audebert, the son for ex-Clermont flanker Alexandre Audebert.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Souffrir: verb: to suffer. Fabien Galthie admitted on Thursday his side are going to souffrir on Saturday due to the speed of Japan’s play as well as the hot and humid weather conditions.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

La Rouelle de Tarn: This goat’s cheese with a hard outer crust and soft inside, especially in warm weather, is made in the same department as where Castres are based. Their new signing Dalton Papali’i might have to avoid the stuff as he recovers from a nasty Achilles tear. Get well soon.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Wednesday with my awards for the 2025/2026 season. What were your highlights from the campaign?

A nice addition to Fabien Galthié’s tenure has been the mention of each player’s first club on squad lists and on the back of their jerseys.

On Saturday, Saint Olave’s Grammar School and Old Elthamians from south-east London will appear on a France 15s shirt for the first time, thanks to an Olympic gold medallist.

Aaron Grandidier-Nkanang was born in Bromley to a Nigerian father and mother from the Savoie before picking up a rugby ball in year seven at the school, having previously played only basketball.

His performances in National League One for the club as he studied at St Mary’s University caught the eye of Brive in the Top 14 in 2019 after Loughborough University ignored his messages for a trial.

After a handful of appearances for Les Corrèziens he was brought into France’s sevens set-up and made his debut for them three years later.

In 2024, he became known to a wider public, helping France to an Olympic gold medal on home soil, alongside Antoine Dupont.

He returned to playing 15s full-time with a move to Pau, under Sébastien Piqueronies, known for his trust in players.

He has scored 11 tries in 42 appearances for Les Béarnais and his performances, especially this season, led to a call-up to the Autumn Nations Series squad in November.

Grandidier-Nkanang spent a few weeks training in Marcoussis, and returned to south-east Paris last month to prepare for the Nations Championship and with Damian Penaud ruled out of the rest of the tour, the Bromley boy is given the chance to start for Les Bleus this weekend.

The 26-year-old was a big part of Pau’s push to the Top 14 play-offs this season with his ability under the high ball, a weakness in recent seasons for France, a massive asset.

He is part of an almsot all-French back-line at Stade du Hameau, which includes Théo Attissogbe, Fabien Brau-Boirie, Émilien Gailleton and Grégoire Arfeuil and is a big part of the squad off the field.

One of AGN’s club team-mates sent Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch a WhatsApp this week to say his fluency in French and English helps him get along with everyone in the set-up.

I first met Grandidier-Nkanang at the 2024 Nuit de Rugby as France’s Olympic team were the main attraction and his ability to switch from his subtle London accent to perfect français was impressive in interviews.

He has flourished at Pau, especially with gametime thanks to Piqueronies and despite the incredible competition for a spot on the wing for Les Bleus he has forced his way into the team.

France are unbeaten against Australia in three games but their best run in the fixture was the four straight wins between 1948 and 1967.

I’d put a few €uros on Grandidier-Nkanang to help them claim a fourth victory this weekend.

Prediction: France by five

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

My highlight from after France’s loss to New Zealand was Tom Staniforth’s speech. He was still pretty buzzing about his debut on Monday, texting Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch “I still can’t believe it”. Here’s a translated version of the video made by the talented people at France Rugby.

The Tour de France passed through Antoine Dupont’s hometown of Castelnau-Magnoac this week. Chez Jean is Dupont’s restaurant there, I want one of those Adidas treefoil t-shirts.

Public prosecutors in Aix-en-Provence have opened an investigation after members of Salon-de-Provence’s women’s team say they were filmed in the shower by players from the men’s outfit. Awful stuff.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Rugbystiquement: The French way of using ‘rugby-wise’ so well done by Staniforth. It’s a concise way of doing it, and you can even finish letters and e-mails with it instead of ‘yours truly’.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Sauce Samourai: The best thing to dip your chips into, especially mixed with mayonnaise. No contest. I had some while watching my wife playing a touch tournament last weekend, délicieux.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday to preview Les Bleus’ final game of the Nations Championship against Japan.

Uini Atonio’s retirement has given him a headache at tight-head prop with the likes of Demba Bamba, Régis Montagne, Tevita Tatafu, Moses Alo-Emile and Dorian Aldegheri vying for the No. 3 spot.

At the base of the scrum, Galthié is still trying to pin down his first-choice No 8.

In the past year, the head coach has entrusted five players in the position including the out-of-favour Gregory Alldritt, the injury-prone Anthony Jelonch and Charles Ollivon, who has more experience as a flanker.

On Saturday, Bordeaux-Bègles’ Marko Gazzotti will make his first Test start in the jersey as France start their Nations Championship campaign in New Zealand.

The 21-year-old has just finished another superb club season, helping UBB to the defence of their Champions Cup in swashbuckling fashion, making the position his own by benefitting from Pete Samu’s departure and Jean-Luc du Preez’ concussion problems.

Gazzotti grew up in the foothills of the Alps, to parents of Italian and Lithuanian heritage, and joined Grenoble’s academy in 2019 having started his rugby at local club Aix-les-Bains, the postcard town on the banks of Lake Bourget.

His first taste of international rugby came with France’s under-18s three years later, alongside then club team-mate hooker Barnabé Massa, who is on the bench to face the All Blacks.

He made his senior debut for FCG as an 18-year-old before returning in the blue jersey with the under-20 Les Bleuets a year later and his performances at the junior World Championship caught the attention of Laurent Marti.

UBB president Marti decided to buy the promising Gazzotti out of the final year of his FCG contract, reportedly paying between €500,000 and €700,000 for an explosive youngster who could cover across the back-row but specialised as a No 8.

During his first campaign at Stade Chaban-Delmas and its sold-out crowd he played 15 games while also featuring for Les Bleuets before doubling the appearance number the following season.

After barely 15 months in the south-west he was handed his first cap by Galthié, coming on for Paul Boudehent in a snowy Stade de France against Argentina in November 2024.

He has failed to add to his tally since then but his performances with Bordeaux-Bègles, especially in the Champions Cup, have made him one of club rugby’s leading No 8s, just two months out from his 22nd birthday.

It is difficult to stand-out in a team full of outstanding players like Louis Bielle-Biarrey or Matthieu Jalibert and Gazzotti gets around his work in a quiet but efficient way, offering good support lines and smart carries.

His chances of making an impact this weekend will be helped by forming an 8-9-10 all-UBB axis with Maxime Lucu and playmaker Jalibert.

The last time France won in New Zealand, Louis Picamoles packed down at No 8 in 2009’s victory, which helped him consolidate his claim for the jersey for the following decade.

Can Gazzotti do the same?

Prediction: New Zealand by three

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Another great France No 8 in Sebastien Chabal invites you to an annual Potato Festival in Soucieu-en-Jarrest, near Lyon in September. See you there Caveman.

Fiji fly-half Ben Volavola talks to What A Lad about his playing career including his time at Bordeaux-Bègles, Racing 92, Perpignan and Agen.

Four of Bordeaux’ presidents promised to get a tatto if they won a fourth-straight AXA Elite 1 title. Les Lionnes did that on Sunday, over to them now…

BONUS: I spoke to ex-New Zealand and Stade Francais scrum-half Brad Weber about the new All Blacks head coach Dave Rennie as well as Les Bleus’ nines. Weber’s a great talker and one of the sport’s many good guys.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Patate: Potato. Yes it means the humble potatoe but can also mean a punch in slang. I highly doubt there will be a bust-up in Christchurch this weekend, however.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Chateau Simon, Graves: Had a glass of this cold white wine to wind down from the Top 14 final late on Saturday night/ early Sunday morning. Proper thirst-quencher.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday to preview Les Bleus’ second game of the Nations Championship against Australia.

Montpellier’s success in 2022 has been sandwiched by les Rouge et noir’s dominance as they now sit on the verge of a record-extending 25th title.

On Saturday, the two clubs meet at a humid Stade de France with Toulouse almost certain of victory after an impressive domestic campaign.

Ugo Mola’s side scored a record 981 points in the regular season, crossed the whitewash a leading 134 times and lost just eight games.

They did it all despite a two-point deduction for salary cap irregularities, spending parts of the season without players such as Antoine Dupont and Juan Cruz Mallia and bounced back from a Champions Cup quarter-final loss to Bordeaux-Bègles.

One of their league losses came to Montpellier (44-14), knicknamed Les Cistes or rockrose after the flower that grows nearby, in September, in their heaviest defeat since 2021.

Joan Caudullo’s outfit dominated the game up-front, as they have done against a majority of Le Championnat this season, and restricted Toulouse’s expansive, high-scoring gameplan, with Wales lock Adam Beard being named Midi Olympique’s player of the week award for his performance.

Beard’s gametime has been restricted by the consistent form of fellow second-rows Florent Verhaeghe and Tyler Duguid.

Elsewhere in pack, No 8 Billy Vunipola, flanker Lenni Nouchi and try-scoring hooker turned tight-head prop Christopher Tolofua have been very impressive and they all played a big part in the Challenge Cup triumph last month.

Fly-half Domingo Miotti has scored 257 points this season, coming of age after suffering a strange knee injury last term.

However, the stand-out performer over the past months has been Australia full-back Tom Banks.

No-one in the Top 14 has played more minutes than the 32-year-old.

He also tops the metres gained standings having joined MHR almost as an emergency signing last summer.

Geoffrey Doumayrou has done wonders with the defence, conceding a league low of 587 points, and is being touted for the same position with France in the build-up to next year’s Rugby World Cup.

Former head of the academy Caudullo, from local town Jacou, took over with Montpellier in the doldrums months after the relegation play-off win over Grenoble.

He has built a coaching staff with club greats including Doumayrou and has implemented a simple yet effective game plan.

They deserve to be in the final after a gruelling campaign, and have lost just three times since the end of December but beating Toulouse in a Top 14 is no mean feat.

Prediction: Toulouse by 12

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Toulouse lock Thibaud Flament talks about his wife suffering with endometriosis. It can be a hindrance in trying for a baby, but his partner is now pregnant, thanks to IVF treatment during the Six Nations. His club and Test team-mate Thomas Ramos is an ambassador for charity EndoFrance.

Ex-France hooker Agathe Gerin will retire after Sunday’s AXA Elite 1 final in Biarritz between holders Bordeaux and Clermont. The 64-time international tells Actu Rugby Clermont are the favourites even if Les Lionnes, like Toulouse, are aiming for a fourth straight crown.

The Bouclier de Brennus has had a makeover before the final. Looking mighty fine for a trophy created in 1892.

BONUS: Earlier this week, a pretty cool photo book showcasing rugby players in drag from across the world was published. I spoke to the person behind it, Blandine Vives, a lifelong Toulouse fan.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Favoris: adjective; favourite. Toulouse are massive favoris for Saturday’s game.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Mehmet: A kebab and natural wine restaurant in the 18th arondissement which celebrates its third birthday this weekend. I visited it this week with a Montpellier-supporting friend, he prefered talking about the Doner over his side’s chances on Saturday.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday to look ahead to France’s opening Nations Championship Test against New Zealand.

Île-Saint-Denis, FRANCE: Scrolling on social media helps me a lot with covering French rugby.

Last week, I found out Clermont scrum-half Baptiste Jauneau is an ambassador for Saint-Nectaire.

In April, I came across photographer Blandine Vives and her project Rugby Queens.

The book, out on Wednesday, features images of rugby players in drag from across the globe.

The 37-year-old’s inspiration came from watching her brother and his team-mates raise money with inclusive club Armada Montreal, trading gumshields for lipstick, wigs for scrumcaps and vaseline for mascara, by performing on stage in Canada in May 2022.

“Seeing their transformation, these rugby players with their big arms, big muscles then put on heels and climb onto a stage, stood out for me,” Toulouse'-bornVives told Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch.

“I found it crazy, I wanted to show the whole world that it existed, that you can talk about it,” she added in her subtle south-western accent.

Vives travelled across the globe meeting inclusive outfits in north America, Argentina, England and France for the 60 photos published across 112 pages.

“It’s been enthralling,” Vives said.

“I love this project. I’m lucky, the clubs welcomed me openly to their universe.

“They opened the doors to this extraordinary world, they were OK with me talking about it and that we shared their world with as many as people as possible.

“In Buenos Aires, I cried after they made a speech to thank me,” she added.

Vives grew up as an ardent Toulouse fan, heading to Stade Ernest-Wallon with posters of the likes of Frédéric Michalak and Clément Poitrenaud on her bedroom wall as a child.

She studied advertising between the city and Paris and has since became a freelance photographer, based in the capital.

“I had their scarf, I always wore red and black clothes to middle school,” she said.

“I’ve worked with Stade on a project for Peugeot.

“It was really cool, the whole team was there, Antoine Dupont and the gang,” she added.

The book’s editorial has been written by former Rouen prop Jérémy Clamy-Edroux, the first French rugby player to come out as gay.

Clamy-Edroux followed in the footsteps of another Toulouse icon in Gareth Thomas, when he made his announcement in 2021.

“I think there’s still apprehension, and homophobia still exists in sporting culture,” Vives said

“I think there’s still everyday homophobia.

“If LGBT or inclusive clubs exist it’s because there’s still a need to feel reassured in a calm environment, which means outside of that it’s not calm, and that’s not OK,” she added.

One sign of an evolution came in June 2024, when Dupont, the poster boy of French rugby, was on the cover of Têtu magazine, a monthly LGBT+ publication here in France.

Dupont is set to feature on Saturday at the Stade de France as Vives’ childhood side eye a record-equalling fourth straight Bouclier de Brennus, which coincides with Paris’ Gay Pride march.

“I find mentalities are starting to change,” she said.

“Thanks to people like Dupont who carry strong messages,” she added.

Merci to Blandine for her time, you can visit the Rugby Queen exhibition at Galerie M on 18 Rue Lally Tollendal in Paris until Sunday and buy the book online here. I’ll be back on Thursday to preview the Top 14 final!

Paris, FRANCE: Twelve months ago, Stade Français and their iconic pink jerseys, outspoken 85-year-old billionaire owner and 14 Bouclier de Brennus successes were on the verge of playing in the second division for the first time since 1997.

The Parisians avoided finishing in the relegation play-off by a point thanks to a win over Castres on the final day of the season, despite a budget of €45million.

At the end of the campaign I sat down, alongside fellow journalists from newspapers Le Monde and Le Parisien, with club president Dr Hans-Peter Wild in his plush suite at the five-star Le Bristol hotel in Paris’ 8th arondissement to de-brief the season.

Germany-born Wild, who made his money from soft drink Capri-Sun, backed English head coach Paul Gustard having sacked Karim Ghezal and Laurent Labit in the preceding months.

Wild’s decision to keep 50-year-old Gustard has paid off.

On Saturday, les Soldats roses head to Marseille to face in-form Montpellier in the Top 14 semi-finals having hammered La Rochelle in the play-offs last weekend.

Gustard has overseen a massive change.

Only relegated Vannes conceded more points than Stade Français in 2024-2025 but this season Gustard’s side have the fourth best defence in the league and only Toulouse have a better attack.

They only made four major signings including bringing ex-All Black Tawera Kerr-Barlow from La Rochelle while France training squad member Noah Nené returned from a loan at ProD2’s Dax.

Kerr-Barlow has been a constant figure even at 35 and his partnership with a reinvigorated Louis Carbonel at half-back has been key.

Carbonel could well finish as the league’s leading scoring, trailing Harry Plummer by 12 points in the standings.

Fiji winger Peni Dakuwaqa has been on fire even with a niggling knee issue while South Africa centre Jermey Ward has oozed class with and without the ball, how has he never got a Springbok cap?

Full-back Leo Barré is back to his best, scoring 12 tries in 25 league games, often combining well with Dakuwaqa on the counter-attack.

Highlights in the pack, with a solid set-piece, have been aplenty with flanker Romain Briatte, back-rower Yoan Tanga and iconic club captain in lock Paul Gabrillagues the stand-outs.

They have the second-best line-out in the Top 14 with Briatte often the chief operator controlling things in the air.

The men from the 16th arondissment, around the corner from Roland-Garros’ French Open courts, fully deserve a spot in the last four of Le Championnat.

They have only been out of the top six four times this season and have won five out of their last half a dozen games.

Only one team are on a better run in the league, however, Joan Caudullo’s Montpellier.

Prediction: Montpellier by three

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

A very emotional Benjamín Urdapilleta after missing Sunday’s relegation play-off, won by his Perpignan. He surely won’t make another retirement u-turn?

L’Équipe present three things about Castres winger Christian Ambadiang. The Cameroon-born flier is expected to start for France A against an England XV in Vannes on Friday night.

Here’s what the final of the fifth-tier looked like from fan’s persepective. Unreal support in Fédérale 1.

BONUS: I’m hearing Andrea Masi’s departure from Toulon could be very messy, keep your eyes peeled for some legal procedures.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Francilien: adjective; describes someone or something from the Île-de-France, or greater Paris, region. Two francilien clubs are in the Top 14 semis, could we have a derby in the final?

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Steak tartare at Le Cornichon: It’s one of Paris’ most recent hit spots, a modern twist on a vintage French café. The steak tartare and beef-dripping french fries were very good if a bit expensive but the terrine was overly-peppered. I tried it last Thursday with brother, it’s worth a visit for the design features.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday to preview the Top 14 final, the best day of the year!

They’re committed, devoted and hot-blooded which has however put them in hot water with the authorities this season.

On Sunday, more than 2,000 of them will make the almost four-hour, 300km journey along the Mediterannean coast to Aix-en-Provence.

The throngs of Catalans, in their iconic Sang et Or (blood and orange), will be hoping to see USAP retain their Top 14 status in the nerve-wracking relegation play-off, known as the Access Match, against Provence, who lost 18-14 to Vannes in last Saturday’s ProD2 final.

Laurent Labit’s side have been guaranteed to finish 13th in the table, for a fourth time out of five since promotion in 2021, since mid-April and ended up 22 points from safety.

The four-time Bouclier de Brennus winners have won just six league games this season, in another sorry campaign in Le Championnat, with a financial budget of €23 million, only relegated Montauban had lower.

Labit took over from the sacked Franck Azéma in November after nine straight losses cemented them to the bottom of the standings.

Dan Carter’s former outfit moved off the foot of the table in January, after a home victory over Toulouse thanks to Argentina No. 8 Joaquin Oviedo’s late try.

Oviedo has been one of the few consistent performers this season (I’ve often picked him in my fantasy team!).

Fellow back-rower Max Hicks has played the most minutes while top try-scorer in winger Jordan Lee Joseph and Oviedo’s compatriot in centre Jeronimo de la Fuente have also put their hands up during the campaign.

Labit, and Azéma beforehand, has been hampered by injuries, forcing him to play Benjamìn Urdapilleta, who turned 40 in March, at fly-half with the likes of Tommaso Allan, Jake McIntyre and Antoine Aucagne having been sidelined.

Giant lock Posolo Tuilagi, who signed a new deal last year despite a lot of interest from other clubs, has also had fitness issues but back-rowers Lucas Velarte, Matteo Le Corvec, centre Alivereti Duguivalu and young midfielder Diego Mascarenc have stood out.

Perpi president François Riviere, in the position since 2013, wants to help the 2009 Top 14 champions to avoid future relegation battles by strengthening the squad.

His recruitement for next season includes All Blacks Sevu Reece and Braydon Ennor and Italy prop Marco Riccioni but beating Provence is far from guaranteed despite the sizeabale travelling support.

Prediction: Perpignan by seven

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Some pretty cool scenes from Vannes and the town’s fort after the Breton club secured a return to the Top 14, beating Provence in the second-tier final.

Youth scout Turnover presents his under-23 ProD2 team of the season. Keep an eye on Provence full-back Manuel Vareiro on Sunday.

Canal+ spend a day-off with Gael Fickou. The France centre shows the broadcaster’s reporter, and ex-Vannes centre Sacha Valleau around his flat near the Arc de Triomphe, his restaurant and office. The 32-year-old also confirms his move to Toulon while criticising Racing 92’s gameplan.

My highlight of the week has been Clermont and France scrum-half Baptiste Jauneau becoming an official ambassador for Saint-Nectaire cheese. Is he a laitier or fermier man?

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

La furia catalane: term; Catalan fury. It describes the Perpignan fans’ passion. Since September it’s being used by the clubs to help promote better behaviour by their supporters. Espect flairs, smoke bombs and plenty of flags on Sunday. La furia, oui, le respect aussi.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Calisson d’Aix: A small soft biscuit made out of confit fruit and almonds associated with the town of Aix-en-Provence. According to some, they date back to 1454.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back a little earlier next week, on Wednesday, looking ahead to the Top 14 semi-finals in Marseille.

Paris, FRANCE: Talented players from Fiji can be found across France.

There are six at Castres currently, former Test winger Metuisela Talebula has just finished a season in the sixth-tier and there are another half a dozen in the Racing 92 squad.

Centre Josua Tuisova, wingers Wame Naituvi, Selestino Ravutamada, Vinaya Habosi as well as back-rower Lekima Tagitivalu and No 8 Nathan Hughes have helped the side from the plush western Parisian suburbs to the verge of the play-offs.

On Saturday, in the final round of the regular Top 14, les fidjiens will form a big part of Racing’s side as they host league leaders Toulouse, knowing a victory would gurantee a knock-out berth.

Tuisova, the 32-year-old human canon ball who is more than a decade into his time in France after spells with Toulon and Lyon, is the biggest name.

Nightmare-maker Tuisova joined les Ciel et blanc in 2023 and had been relatively quiet this season.

He crossed twice against Toulon earlier in the month but had shown his class on a few times in assisting tries to team-mates while already in the dead-ball area.

The 29-time international then put in a very influential performance in last Sunday’s shock win at Clermont, scoring once to catapult the 2016 champions (yes it has been that long since that final at the Camp Nou) into the top six for the first time since mid-February.

The crucial moment from the victory at Stade Marcel-Michelin however was Naituvi’s break and off-load, which set-up Zimbabwean No 8 Shingi Manyarara, for a try of the season contender.

The 30-year-old arrived the same time as Tuisova at the club founded in 1882 from then second-tier Mont-de-Marsan and has been in clinical this term, crossing five times in just nine games.

Manyarara’s effort was started by another lethal finisher from the Pacific in 26-year-old Habosi, who also moved to les Hauts-de-Seine after the last World Cup.

Habosi has been used at midfield too by head coach Patrice Collazo but his time at La Defense Arena has been overshadowed after being arrested in September 2024 over allegations of domestic violence.

The final member of the Fijan four among the backs is Ravutaumada, who arrived this season.

He has claimed six tries, with a double coming at the already-relegated Montauban, in his maiden campaign with the club.

The 26-year-old combined well with Naituvi againt les Sapaciens but has yet to fully show his talent which was, along with his dreadlocks, on show at the last World Cup.

If Tuisova, Naituvi, Habosi and Ravutaumada ever need advice from a compatriot they do not need to look far, Fijian-born former All Blacks winger Joe Rokocoko is the attack coach at Plessis-Robinson.

Among the pack, ex-England No. 8 Nathan Hughes has been the stand-out performer and has arguably been their best recruit.

The 35-year-old has crossed the whitewash nine times and contributed immensely with his ball-carrying, having arrived after three seasons in Japan.

Versatile Tagitativalu is the final Fijian in the Racing ranks, and has played 24 games this season, more than any of his compatriots, after heading north from Pau.

Despite their contribution it is highly possible not all six of them will be on the field against the champions at the weekend.

Racing are facing a six-point deduction if they fail to meet JIFF (French academy product status) criteria with only Tuisova and Tagitagivalu benefitting from the status.

Prediction: Racing 92 into the play-offs, just.

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Vannes face Provence in the ProD2 final on Saturday. L’Équipe looks at why the league’s promotion format won’t be changing soon, especially with the hefty Canal+ deal running until 2032.

Let Clermont tight-head prop Régis Montagne explain to you why he has gone back to school to train as a plasterer. ‘The Panda’ could well be a big part of France’s Nations Championship campaign.

With the rumours regarding defence coach Shaun Edwards’ departure from the France set-up, Sud-Ouest claim Christophe Laussucq’s future in the same role at Bordeaux-Bègles is uncertain, with his contract up in 2027.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Nœud papillon: A butterfly knot, or a bow tie, iconically worn in pink by Racing 92’s squad before the 1987 final.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Gateau nantais: I cycled in the Loire valley last Saturday, finishing up in Nantes. Here’s the local sweet speciality. The dash of rum gives it a lovely kick.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday to preview the Top 14 semi-finals and the promotion/relegation play-off. Can Perpignan avoid the drop again?

Vannes started their march on promotion to the Top 14 nine months ago with a 30-30 draw at Brive on the opening game of the campaign.

On Thursday, they host Oyonnax, who dispatched Valence-Romans in the play-offs, having finished at the summit of the second division, knowing they could be just 80 minutes from promotion back to the top-tier.

In the other démi-finale, second-placed Colomiers welcome Provence after Philippe Saint-André’s side beat Les Corrèziens in the other barrage.

All four have a shot at promotion before a potential other go with June 14’s promotion/relegation play-off against Perpignan.

Vannes, who were promoted from the then fourth-division in 2006, finished the regular campaign with just five defeats, scoring a record 1,092 scored and set a ProD2 best of 11 games unbeaten in April.

Their ability to rotate their deep squad helped the Bretons throughout the 10-month slog.

Only centre Eliot Roudil played more than 1,600 minutes, putting him 35th in the league overall, while Oyonnax had four players in there.

Jean-Noël Spitzer’s side have been clean discipline-wise, only four players have been shown cards, while their set-piece has been efficient if not perfect.

Stand-out performers include scrum-half Michael Ruru, fly-half Maxime Lafage and back-rower Simon Augry in Spitzer’s 21st season in charge.

Youngsters like prop Rayane Tafili, fly-half Jean Cotarmanac’h, centre Robin Taccola and full-back Joachim Senga Kouo have shown there is a bright future, even if Senga has already agreed to join Pau next season.

It’s hard not to be charmed by RCV.

They have solid foundations, plenty of local businesses suupporting them, including crisps company Bret’s, they sell out their town-centre Stade de la Rabine and represent the whole of Britanny.

The first threat to their promotion comes from the Jura mountains in Oyo and the league’s second best attack.

Winger Karim Qadiri has scored 15 tries this season, ex-South Africa back-rower Uzair Cassiem has carried well, while flanker Kevin Lebreton (he’s from Castelnaudary not Brittany sadly) has tackled non-stop.

In the other last four, Colomiers have French club rugby’s best defence while Provence are unbeaten in six games, since the start of April, which included a stunning win over Vannes in May.

Finishing top of the ProD2 does not gurantee success in the play-offs, but the Bretons should have enough to go up, even before the dreaded Access Match.

Prediction: Vannes-Colomiers final

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

If you want to see more about Vannes, RugbyPhysio has another behind-the-scenes documentary. He spent 48 hours with the club earlier this season. It’s superb.

Stade Français show you how to keep cool during a heatwave, Mr Freeze ice lollies. The Parisians have trained in 33C degrees this week in preparation for hosting Bayonne on Saturday, with a win securing a play-off spot.

L’Équipe report Bordeaux-Bègles turned down the opportunity to visit Emmanuel Macron at the Elysée palace to celebrate their Champions Cup double as their players were too tired. They now need just a win to claim a Top 14 play-off spot.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Conquête, Défense, Ruck: Set-piece, Defence, Ruck. Pretty simple, and what Bordeaux-Bègles lock Adam Coleman had tattooed on his hip after the win over Leinster.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Morbier: A semi-soft cows’ milk cheese that looks a blue cheese but in fact has a vein of ash in the middle. It benefits from regional protection and is made nearby Oyonnax, in the Jura, Doubs and Ain departements.

Merci for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back on Thursday to preview the final round of the Top 14’s regular season and the ProD2 final.

He grew up as the son of 32-time France fly-half Alain before joining the highly-scrutinised and incredibly supported Clermont as a teenager.

He broke through as a centre with Les Jaunards, featured there for Les Bleuets and even made the first of his 59 Test appearances in the No. 13 jersey, with people expecting a lot from him.

The now 29-year-old then slowly switched to the wing with a move to Bordeaux-Bègles and became his country’s leading try scorer in November at No. 14.

Despite beating Serge Blanco’s 38-touchdown landmark in November, this season has been far from smooth for the laid-back character.

The biggest bump was his stunning omission from France’s Six Nations squad with Fabien Galthié preferring the likes of Théo Attissogbe and Gael Drean based on form and not past performances.

It led to some claiming Penaud’s time with le XV de France was over with a younger generation of wingers coming through.

Chess player Penaud, who calls a lot of his team-mates by their nicknames, was the rare missing element of UBB’s superstar backline from Les Bleus’s title success.

Centre Nicolas Depoortere returned from the tournament with a shoulder injury and South Africa’s bulldozer Nicolas Janse van Rensburg then suffered a knee issue a month later.

Standing in for Depoortere, Penaud scored after an hour as the Champions Cup holders beat Toulouse in the Top 14 as he made just his second start in the 13 jersey since January 2023.

During the game, Canal+ microphones caught his conversation with Maxime Lucu with Penaud saying he had to run more, hit more rucks and make more tackles than out wide.

Van Rensburg’s bad luck forced Yannick Bru’s arm especially before the busy schedule towards the end of the season but Penaud has made the numéro treize his own outside the more direct Yoram Moefana.

Pokeman card-collecting Penaud has transitioned seemlessly back into his old position having learnt from some of the best such as Aurélien Rougerie in the Auverge, despite some questioning his defensive ability.

In attack, he touches the ball earlier giving him more time to be a threat to defences which has allowed Bru to add even more pace to UBB’s lethal back-three with Madosh Tambwe or Salesi Rayasi.

Despite losing his status as consistent member of Galthié’s squad, Penaud remains a big name in France.

He has corporate deals with airline Vueling, Renault and pub chain Au Bureau as well as sponsorship from Adidas and has a very relaxed approach to social media.

Penaud might have only scored 11 tries this campaign, compared to his mammoth 27 last season, but over the past two months he has proved his ability to adapt and react to disappoinment.

A lot of eyes will be on him at San Mamés this weekend, but he is more than used to that.

Prediction: Bordeaux-Bègles by seven

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

L’Équipe explains Les Bleues’ latest second-place finish in the Six Nations. The daily sports paper put it down to a lack of patience in attack but also praised François Ratier’s gameplan using his squad’s strengths.

A week on from Le Crunch, Bordeaux’s Stade Atlantique will be sold-out for another France v England battle on Saturday at 9pm local time. Influencers, comedians, content creators and some former internationals including Matthieu Bastareaud and Nick Abendanon will face off in the ‘Crunch Creator’. It’s live on RugbyPassTV in the UK and Canal+ in France.

66-year-old UBB fan Alain Boukherma is cycling 400km over just three days from Bordeaux to Bilbao for Saturday’s final. Unreal effort.

BONUS: If there’s no bonus on a week like this, there never would be! I spoke to Maxime Lucu’s brother Ximun, as well as France, Biarritz and Bayonne legend Patrice Lagisquet about the influential scrum-half’s upbringing in the Basque Country.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Aupa: Uses to replace “Allez” or '“C’mon” in Basque. It’s often “Aupa BO” for Biarritz or “Aupa Baiona” for Bayonne but on Saturday it could well be “Aupa UBB” especially with a few locals in their squad.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Taloa: A corn pancake from the Basque country. I usually eat it savoury with some pork, or ventréche. I’ll try and taste some this weekend as I stay with friends near Biarritz for the Champions Cup final.

Milesker for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back early next week on Wednesday looking ahead to the ProD2 semi-finals. Euskal Herria!

Les Bleues loose-head prop Ambre Mwayembe is unmissable.

Her salon-perfect hairstyle, fake nails and lengthy eye lashes painted in black mascara help her standout wherever she is.

On the field she is just as remarkable with her powerful ball-carrying and aggression in defence.

In Bordeaux on Sunday she will be a big part of France’s attempt at stopping England winning a record-extending fifth straight Six Nations Grand Slam.

The Toulouse 22-year-old started playing aged 11 in Vizille, half an hour south of Grenoble having been born in Montpellier to Moroccan heritage and grew up dreaming of being a WWE wrestler thanks to fighting with her brother.

In 2019 she joined FCG before making her Test debut against Scotland in the Six Nations four years later.

Mwayembe made her place in the Les Bleues’ set-up with her sociable, sassy, colourful personality and impressive performances but missed the 2025 Rugby World Cup through injury having been part of the squad three years earlier.

She is more than ready to tease opponents on the pitch and launch a few ‘friendly’ jibes in the press.

The tight-head is the squad DJ alongside fellow prop Rose Bernadou and does stiletto dancing in her spare time, making for a pretty sociable character, without forgetting her step-dad dressing up as Obélix in Grenoble for France’s Six Nations opener against Italy.

During the tournament she has been impossible to miss, featuring in the top 10 for defenders beaten and only team-mate Manae Feleu has made more dominant tackles than the glamorous front-rower across the tournament.

She was named player of the match against Ireland scoring a try in 67 minutes of an all-round performance with and without the ball.

Mwayembe is a breath of fresh air, doing her talking on and off the field without being disrespectful.

She has already spoken about how one day Les Bleues will find a weak point in the Red Roses’ game, Sunday might just be the perfect time to do so.

Prediction: France by two

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

I never thought Mr Bean would feature in Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, but just let the master Squidge,explain…

After left-wing French assembly member Thoms Portes claimed French rugby lacked diversity, rugby journalist from right-wing newspaper Le Figaro, Arnaud Coudry, sarcastically pointed out he interviewed three rugby players this week from three very different backgrounds in just one day. Bien joué Arnaud.

Montpellier’ No 8 Billy Vunipola speaks very well on The Rugby Bunker. MHR head to Castres on Saturday in their aim for an automatic semi-final spot, with Pau and Stade Français their most likely rivals.

BONUS: You think ProD2 is dramatic? Keep an eye on third-tier Nationale’s final between Nice and Narbonne on Saturday at 1830 (French time). You can watch it live here (and I’ll have updates on my BlueSky account).

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Tiéde: adjective; lukewarm/ tepid. After last Saturday’s thumping win at Toulon, Toulouse head coach Ugo Mola warned his squad against being “tiéde” in the run-in as they eye a 25th Bouclier de Brennus with his side on the verge of reaching the last four. It’s the first time I’ve heard it being used in a rugby environment and it illustrates the French habit for philosophical thinking. Sacré Mola.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Jambon d’Auvergne: Dry salted ham from the Auvergne aged for at least eight months and this year it celebrates a decade of geographical protection by the European Union. It’s often forgotten about compared to similar cold meats from Bayonne or Parma but I put it right up there. I’m also a bit biased as I spent a year living off the stuff while working as an assistant d’anglais in a high school in the north of the region during my university days.

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday from the Basque Country before the Champions Cup final in Bilbao.

The German brand’s success, with a superb advertising campaign, made me think about the world’s other leading sports manufacturer in Nike, and its relationship to rugby in France.
On Saturday, Toulon host Toulouse at the Velodrome in Marseille in the Top 14 with both teams adorning the world famous ‘Swoosh’.

Apart from the two les Rouge et noir clubs and Racing 92 in Le Championnat, nowadays Nike has a rare presence in the sport in the country.

Nike’s first main appearance on a jersey in France was with Toulouse in 1990 and the 24-time champions have, apart from a three-year spell with BLK, adorned the iconic tick since.

During the peak years in the first spell with Nike they sold up to 70,000 jerseys per season, which would have put them up there with then-market leaders in the club game Munster and the Ospreys.

One highlight of the current run was Toulouse’s collaboration with the town’s football club as Nike released similar cream coloured jerseys for both outfits, who wore the shirts on the same weekend last month.

Lower league clubs Grenoble, Narbonne and Bourgoin have also worn Nike in recent seasons, but their agreements were thanks to a third-party.

Toulon joined Nike in 2021 while Racing returned in the same year after leaving in 2010, all three have extended their deals until 2031, just before the Rugby World Cup in Nike’s homeland of the United States.

Toulouse and their countless titles in Nike are iconic, as were the 12 years for the brand with France.

It took over from Adidas just before the 1999 World Cup before the German brand returned after the 2011 World Cup, and the agonising final loss to hosts New Zealand.

During the home tournament in 2007 between 400,000 and 500,000 Les Bleus jerseys were sold.

The current XV de France squad are again with Adidas but Nike remains present, but on the periphery, with three players from the Six Nations win over England wearing boots made by the Oregon brand.

Thomas Ramos, Théo Attissgobe and Pierre Louis-Barassi had Nike shoes while Louis Bielle-Biarrey has changed to Adidas in recent months.

Gael Fickou and Melvyn Jaminet are other big names but the majority of the main names wear the three stripes like Antoine Dupont, Romain Ntamack and Bielle-Biarrey, who had big roles to play in the 120th Le Crunch advertising campaign.

Nike is definitely in the shadows to Adidas nowadays but its very possible the result of this weekend’s game at Stade Vélodrome could come down to points scored by a player wearing Nike boots with Ramos and Jaminet likely to have the kicking responsibility for their outfits.

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Antoine Dupont’s agent Thierry Cazedevals tells RugbyPhysio Dupont and another of his clients Thomas Ramos met with Toulon before a potential move there during Fabien Galthie’s tenure (2017-2018) at Stade Mayol. Cazedevals in his strong ariégois accent also says most Top 14 clubs have done 80% of their transfer business for the coming season by December. (They also have a giggle at Toulouse’s BLK days)

Yep that’s Biarritz back-rower Remi Bourdeau with Nicole Kidman at Chanel’s fashion show in the Basque town last week. They even had a two-minute chat beforehand.

Montauban head coach Sebastien Tillous-Borde tells l’Equipe the Top14 season has been like being in a washing machine, before Saturday’s must-win trip to Montpellier in their hunt for survival.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Humiliation: No need for a translation, just the best way to describe Toulon’s last meeting with Toulouse in Marseille. A 50-16 defeat.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Petrin Couchette: One of my favourite bakeries in Marseille. They combine French savoir-faire with some modern international touches, and they do good coffee. If you’re near the La Canebière this weekend, get down there!

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday before a potential women’s Six Nations decider with Le Crunch and the final round of the regular season in the ProD2.

Fabien Galthié, Morgan Parra and even Antoine Dupont have been given the tag, but the original was Jacques Fouroux, who was nicknamed ‘Le Petit Carporal’.

This weekend, another in the long line of demis de mêlée used to bossing around forwards, controlling the game, and dictating tempo like a metronome is Baptiste Serin as he looks to steer Toulon into the Champions Cup final, when the three-time winners head to Leinster in the last four.

Serin, who turns 31 in June, grew up on the Atlantic coast near giant sand dunes and oyster fishermen with Bordeaux an hour in-land.

He joined Bordeaux-Bègles’ academy in 2012 as a teenager and after more than 120 senior appearances across sevens years he headed to les Rouge et noir.

Since 2019, he has made himself the leader of the team, becoming one of the club’s captains having experienced life at the tumultuous club under three coaching set-ups, saddling the end of Mourad Boudjellal’s presidency and the start of Bernard Lemaitre’s tenure.

One of Serin’s former Toulon team-mates told Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch this week, the talented half-back holds a lot of pull in the changing room, especially among the French players.

Serin’s ability to manage things on the field and create from nothing puts the role of the fly-half on the back-burner, illustrating why some talented fly-halves like Paolo Garbisi or Ihaia West have found it hard to settle at Stade Mayol.

He has scored 30 tries in 147 appearances and with his background as a fly-half (and even full-back in his youth days) offers a goal-kicking option.

Serin is a sociable character who is not afraid to voice his opinion among the squad, during games and in press conferences.

The 50-time Test scrum-half’s highlight so far with RCT was the 2023 Challenge Cup success in Dublin despite seeming to suffer a serious knee injury, threatening his place at that year’s World Cup.

Having heard some concerns about the issue in the mixed zone after the match I bumped into Serin in crutches outside a Burger King in the Irish capital at 3am.

He was happy enough to chat about the problem while enjoying the title celebrations as some of his team-mates where devouring some well-deserved fast food.

This season, Toulon have experienced another shaky campaign, with Serin coming through a shoulder issue to compete with Ben White for the starting No. 9 shirt.

Along with other stand-outs performers in White, flanker Charles Ollivon, winger Gael Drean and centre Juan Igancio Brex, he has helped Pierre Mignoni through a rough patch of five matches without a victory to four straight wins.

If it was not for France’s incredible ability to add to Fouroux’s lineage, including Dupont, Maxime Lucu and Nolann Le Garrec currently, Serin would undoutbedly have added to his Test caps.

Saturday offers Serin a chance to create another memory at the Aviva Stadium and take Toulon to their first Champions Cup final since their third-straight triumph in 2015.

Prediction: Leinster by five

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Former Toulon and France centre Maxime Mermoz tells Actu Rugby he is officially recognised as disabled as he suffers from an inflammed inner ear, causing severe dizziness. He blames the punches he received when playing rugby, including one blow from New Zealand scrum-half Piri Weepu at the 2011 Rugby World Cup.

From next season the Top 14 and ProD2 will have eight replacements instead of the the current 12 per game. The league also wants the shot clock down from 60 seconds to 45. A host of the sport’s big wigs met in Marcoussis to meet about the future law changes on March.

ProD2’s Valence-Romans are very unhappy at head coach Fabien Fortassin joining Brive next season. They say it was “heartbreaking” to have to agree for him to leave after three seasons at the helm. They’re fourth in the table, four points off Colomiers in second place and the final semi-final spot.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Bombe magique: Magic Bomb, or magic spray. Always handy after a little niggle during a game.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Cruffin: A croissant/ muffin. I picked one up from Base bakery in the 10th arrondissement with a lemon filling this week. (I also tried their chocolate viennoise and some doughnuts)

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next week to look at Nike’s relationship with the sport with Toulon hosting Toulouse in the Top 14 in a ‘Swoosh’ Derby.

A fresh-faced Louis Bielle-Biarrey months before the 2023 Rugby World Cup, Thibaud Flamet via Wasps and Buenos Aires two years earlier and even Gabin Villiere, who made his Test debut half a decade on from playing second-team rugby as a scrum-half in the French fourth-tier.

The next cab off his rank of ovnis (UFOs) could well be Vannes’ 18-year-old full-back Joachim Senga Kouo.

During this year’s under-20s Six Nations Senga Kouo, originally from Picardy, just to the north-east of Paris and joined the Breton club as a 14-year-old, scored three tries.

During the win over Scotland he made 222m metres, a record for the tournament since Opta started to collect the statistics in 2012.

A month later he made his Vannes senior debut, crossing for a 45-minute hat-trick in a ProD2 hammering over Béziers, and had a further two touchdowns denied by refereeing decisions.

In December, Midi Olympique reported Senga Kouo had signed for Pau and following his triplé for league leaders Vannes he confirmed the move to the Pyrenees.

He has been promised Top 14 gametime in their backline stacked with young Les Bleus like Théo Attisogbe, Emilien Gailleton and Fabien Brau-Boirie working under Sébastien Piquerionies.

Before that though, he will be a big part of the Bretons’ charge towards a Top 14 return putting him right on Galthié’s radar.

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

France are without their first-choice centre partnership for the Six Nations so Teani Feleu will make her first Test start in midfield against Ireland on Saturday. She tells L’Équipe its her “favoured position” having prevously featured among the pack.

Just a regular, bog-standard, average atmosphere with ultras in the eighth-tier in the Auvergne.

A little bit of a polemic in French rugby and the society as a whole started after a left-wing parliament member Thoms Portes claimed French rugby lacked diversity on this podcast.

BONUS: Toulouse will play in an identical kit to Toulouse FC as they both play at Le Stadium this weekend. Very cool.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Crack: Noun. A word taken from football to describe a future talent. Joachim Senga Kouo is 100% a crack.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Le Bistrot des Halles: A cracking little restaurant in central Paris, Châtelet. The owner is a massive La Rochelle fan, but one of the waiters loves Bordeaux-Bègles. They do great sandwiches to eat at le comptoir, or to go too.

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday looking ahead the Champions Cup semi-finals. Is there an all-French final on the cards?

The 53-year-old had success with Canada and an even more triumphant spell at Bordeaux.

It is hoped his more pragmatic approach will help Les Bleus get the monkey off their back of beating England, and potentially winning the Six Nations with an eye on the World Cup in 2029.

They started their march on the Red Roses and the Championship with a 40-7 win over Italy last Saturday, which was sealed by a clinical second-half after leading by just five points at the break.

Ratier’s first matchday squad included six uncapped players as he made 16 changes from the Rugby World Cup third-place play off loss.

Former Angoulême winger Ratier wants an expansive, more efficient gameplan to begin his tenure before really opening up later in the World Cup cycle.

Bordeaux fly-half Carla Arbaez is his chef d’orchestre and he has instilled a player feedback programme with each of the 30-or-so players on French Rugby Federation contracts where they review their club games with a national team coach on a weekly basis.

One of the half a dozen new faces is centre Aubane Rousset, who will make her first Test start against Wales this weekend replacing injured taliswoman Joanna Grisez.

Rousset is one of five Bordeaux Lionnes in the 23 with club connections throuhgout especially in the all-ASM Romagnat front-row.

Grenoble’s Téani Feleu is on the bench at centre, despite having played among the pack during the World Cup and the group of Toulouse players is spear-headed by scrum-half Pauline Bourdon Sansus.

Les Bleues are unbeaten against Wales since 2016, having scored at least 33 points in every match in the decade spell of dominance, and it would be hard to see anything else in Cardiff in Saturday.

Prediciton: France by 15

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Vintage sports brand Sports d’Époque have launched a collaboration with Ratier’s former side in Bordeaux with Michelin star chef Philippe Etchebest (France’s Gordon Ramsay) part of the campaign. Simple design, and the shirt can be yours pretty soon.

The Ligue Nationale de Rugby, which runs the Top 14 and ProD2, published their financial report for the 2024-2025 season. For the first time ever the LNR have also made public the club-by-club numbers with Stade Francais losing €16.4 million compared to an average of €3.6million loss per side in the first division.

The heart-warming story of the week was to see 39-year-old Vannes prop Paga Tafili playing alsongside his 22-year-old son Rayane in the Bretons’ win over Béziers, a first father-son combination in competitive professional rugby. Here’s the moment they both came off the bench.

BONUS: I spoke to Racing 92’s Kiwi centre Joey Manu before Sunday’s Parisian derby.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Passe apres-contact: phrase. The translation for off-load, but most people just use the original English term. Ratier wants his Les Bleues to keep making les passes après-contact but more efficiently. Chistera, is a different thing altogether!

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

La Tapisserie: A bakery serving really good coffee in Paris’ 11th arrondissement. My brother and I tried four pastries and they were all superb. The flat white was top-drawer too.

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday looking at a potential darkhorse for Fabien Galthié’s World Cup squad, who has been ripping it up in ProD2 aged just 18.

Props scoring tries are in vogue, especially after Rhys Carré’s Six Nations effort at Lansdowne Road.

Last weekend, 34-year-old Tameifuna jumped in on the front-row fun as UBB hammered Leicester Tigers to set-up an all French quarter-final with Toulouse this Sunday.

It came more than five years into the 148kg giant’s time in the south-west of France, where he has established himself as a hero among the thousands of fans who flock to club rugby’s biggest crowd to chant “Big Ben, Big Ben, Big Ben” to the smiling forward’s delight.

After making his name as part of an all-star New Zealand under-20s team in 2011 and winning back-to-back Super Rugby titles with the Chiefs in 2012 and 2013, Tameifuna moved to France, with Racing 92 in 2015.

He featured more than 100 times for the Parisians including lifting the Top 14 title at the Camp Nou in his first season before joining UBB in 2020.

His time in the capital peaked with the Bouclier de Brennus success but he also reportedly returned back from the 2019 Rugby World Cup 20kg overweight.

Since arriving on the banks of the Garonne he has become much-loved member of the squad.

Be it by showing off his extravant goal-kicking ability in training, leading the charge in the team’s diner club to adding serious heft to a Champions-Cup winning pack.

I’ve interviewed Tameifuna a few times but the memory that stands out most was how he spoke about the 2022 tsunami that hit Tonga.

He was emotional, raw and opened up like I have rarely seen from a professional athlete.

His passion for his country was highlighted when he wore the Tonga flag around his shoulder as he walked out for the 2024 Top 14 final.

(The banner was mistaken as just a hospital red cross by the French pitchside reporter live on TV after Tameifuna had struggled with an injury during the week).

This season, he has faced tough competition from South African Carlü Sadie for the pilier droit shirt as the two underline France’s troubles in finding Test level tight-heads in the Top 14.

Sunday’s franco-français encounter is a mouth-watering prospect with Tameifuna keeping good memories from the last time the teams met in Champions Cup.

Prediction: Toulouse by three

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

New France head coach Francois Ratier tells Midi Olympique his side will want to play with width at high intensity with the wingers coming off their flank as he prepares for his first game in charge of Les Bleues against Italy on Saturday.

It is always positive to see women’s rugby-specific advertising so this video from the sponsors of France’s Élite 1, AXA, is beauty. As is this from Renault.

A look at what life is like as Perpignan's groundsman at Stade Aimé-Giral. Yann also looks after the Catalans Dragons’ pitch across town.

BONUS: As it’s the first Jouez of the month, here’s un update to my Paris coffee shop map.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Pilier droit: term. Tight-head prop, or literally the right pillar, as Tameifuna is to the UBB scrum. (Loose-head prop then is the left pillar)

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Tapisserie: My brother’s in Paris this weekend visiting, and I’m looking forward to trying out this bakery with him. I’ll report back next week!

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Thursday after Les Bleues begin their Six Nations campaign.

Only five clubs have done it in three decades of the competition, most recently La Rochelle in 2022 and 2023.

This season UBB are aiming to join the elite group of outfits by welcoming Leicester Tigers on their path to Bilbao on May 23, 12 months on from the success over Northampton in Cardiff.

Once again this season they have reached the knock-outs as the pool stage’s top seeds but their perfect continental campaign has been a slight contrast to their Top 14 form.

After a rocky start including a hammering by Toulouse and a home loss to Pau Yannick Bru has calmed some nerves despite losing to Stade Français at Stade Chaban Delmas in January.

Saturday’s win at Lyon came a week on from trouncing Toulouse at a packed Stade Atlantique as perfect warm-ups for the Tigers game.

Injuries have impacted Bru’s side but scrum-half and captain Maxime Lucu and centre Yoram Moefana have returned inside the last three months.

Talisman Lucu partners the in-form Matthieu Jalibert, who has been on holiday in Brazil as a post-Six Nations break.

Les Bleus’ centre Nicolas Depoortere has been ruled out until the end of the season with a shoulder he dislocated twice but Damian Penaud has moved across from wing with ease.

Among the pack, second-rower Boris Palu, prop Ben Tameifuna, loose forwards Cameron Woki and Temu Matiu have stood out in recent months.

Bordeaux-Bègles are unbeaten against English opposition since January 2023 and a win against the two-time champions this weekend could set-up a mouthwatering tie with Toulouse in the last eight.

Prediction: Bordeaux-Bègles by 12

French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

Nicholas Depoortere is a special guest on Gaël Fickou’s Rugby Confidential this week. He’s pretty good mates with Louis Bielle-Biarrey and is suffering with his shoulder injury, he can’t even tie his shoelaces!

La Rochelle back-rower Paul Boudehent catches some oysters just off the Atlantic coast. La belle vie!

According to newspaper SudOuest, Fiji want to use Biarritz as their base during the Nations Championship. Frenchman Franck Azéma has also been linked with the head coach gig.

BONUS: Keep an eye on my Bluesky account for an interview Bordeaux-Bègles' centre Rohan Janse Van Rensburg before the Tigers game.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Poisson d’avril: term. Literally ‘The April Fish’ but means April Fool’s. There were plenty about this week in French rugby but maybe Castres announcing Celine Dion playing at Stade Pierre Fabre tops it. (She will be performing at Racing 92’s La Defense Arena however, forcing them to play home games next season across nothern France)

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Tigré: A soft small cake with tiger-like spots and a delish chocolate ganache in the middle.

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next week looking ahead to the Women’s Six Nations and the Champions Cup quarter-finals.

Back in July 2024, Montpellier were 80 minutes from dropping down to ProD2 after a catastrophic season.

The 2022 champions rescued their status in Le Championnat by beating Grenoble in a nerve-wracking play-off final.

On Saturday, Montpellier Hérault Rugby (MHR) head to Toulouse, trailing the behemoths of French rugby and league leaders by 10 points in the table with seven rounds of the regular season to play.

After the two-point win over Grenoble, Montpellier’s former hooker Joan Caudullo was promoted from assistant coach to the top job, under Bernard Laporte who had come on six months earlier as director of rugby to help out his old friend in billionaire club president, Mohed Altrad.

Caudullo, 44, filled his coaching staff with fellow ex-MHR players such as Antoine Battut, Benoit Paillague and Geoffrey Doumayrou with ex-All Black Benson Stanley aready in place.

In his maiden campaign Caudullo, who grew up nearby and played for local club Jacou in his younger days, lead Les Cistes (The Rockroses) to ninth, seven points off the places off and more crucially 12 from Perpignan in the relegation play-off spot.

This season, they are second in the table after claiming statement home wins over Toulouse and Bordeaux-Bègles and last Saturday’s victory at Clermont fired them to the automatic semi-final spot.

Caudullo’s squad includes the likes of France back-rower Lenni Nouchi, Australia full-back Tom Banks, who leads the league in terms of metres made and ex-England No. 8 Billy Vunipola, who has made the most carries in the Top 14 this season.

Vunipola and his questionable past off the field has led to Montpellier earning the nickname ‘The Convict Club’.

Props Enzo Forletta, Mohamed Haouas and Wilfrid Hounkpatin, lock Bastien Chalureau, centre Thomas Darmon, full-back Stuart Hogg and assistant coach Battut have had their extra-sportif issues.

The next challenge for Caudullo and his tight-knit gang is this week’s trip to Toulouse, who are unbeaten at home since last May.

A victory at Stade Ernest-Wallon and a fifth straight win would cement their status as front-runners for the Bouclier de Brennus.

Can Montpellier challenge Toulouse? Let me know below!

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French Press: The best of the week’s media coverage

L’Équipe’s Crunch podcast asks if Bayonne’s win at Montauban can re-launch their season.

Former Pau assistant coach Paul Tito on the What a Lad podcast. He praises the Top 14 “beast” and said it was the best thing for his coaching career. The ex-New Zealand Maori and Cardiff lock stayed in the Pyrenées without his family for 18 months during the Covid-19 pandemic.

A behind-the-scenes look at Élite 1 champions Bordeaux from Jenny Demay. You also get a snippet of new France head coach Francois Ratier.

BONUS: I spoke to Jonny Wilkinson this week about Steve Borthwick’s England, their fly-half dilemma and the Nations Championship.

Jeu de mots, jeu de mains: Gallic rugby vocabulary

Meilleur realisateur des points: term. Leading points scorer. Montpellier’s Argentina fly-half Domingo Miotti is second to Clermont’s ex-All Black Harry Plummer in the Top 14’s points scoring charts this season and has extended his deal with the club until 2028.

À table! Food, drink and anything in between

Le Bougainville: A classic French bistro in Paris, where I had lunch this week with my Dad and his wife. It’s near my office in the second arondissment, and the plat du jour options are always a hit.

Merci beaucoup for reading this week’s Jouez: The French Rugby Dispatch, I’ll be back next Wednesday looking ahead to the Champions Cup last 16. Can UBB keep marching on towards a second title?