Brits abroad

[francoisfou]

Here's an article from today's Telegraph about another Kpoku, who I didn't know is already playing for Racing. I wonder if Fabien Galthié is having him watched?

Youngest Kpoku brother plays for England U20s – but may have been lost to France already
Junior Kpoku discusses his move to Racing 92, training with Siya Kolisi and future ambitions at Test level

Is he French qualified by ancestry? I thought that Joel was having to wait his 5 years to qualify, which means Junior wouldn't be available until after the next RWC.

Puja

Don't think so. I do know that Joel's moving to Pau next season where he'll be playing alongside Sam Whitelock, who'll teach him a thing or two.

[Danno]

Just a note of thanks for you, francoisfou, I like these nuggets of news.

[francoisfou]

Just a note of thanks for you, francoisfou, I like these nuggets of news.

Jack Nowell must be enjoying life in and around la Rochelle as he's just signed and extension to his contract until 2027.
Also, he's back to full fitness after having broken his hand followed by a torn hamstring and is available for selection on Saturday afternoon in the Top14 fixture at home to current leaders Stade Français.

[TheNomad]

Have missed a bit of an update here - have the French fixtures kicked off again?

How have Marchant, Willis and Arundell been getting on? All would have a strong shout at starting for England right now

[francoisfou]

Have missed a bit of an update here - have the French fixtures kicked off again?

How have Marchant, Willis and Arundell been getting on? All would have a strong shout at starting for England right now

Yes, by next weekend there'll have been four rounds of the Top14 played this month.
The three players you mentioned have indeed been active, as have the likes of Jack Nowell, Dave Ribbans, Joe and Sam Simmonds (Joe is the leading points scorer in the Top14 this season), Kieran Brookes, Jack Singleton, Christian Wade, Harry Williams and Zack Henry.

[Mellsblue]

Bayonne is world’s best rugby ground
Elgan Alderman visits Manu Tuilagi’s new home and discovers a club full of bonhomie, berets and raw passion


It is just over an hour until kickoff and four Britons are standing in the Aviron Bayonnais club shop, bewildered by hospitality. Each has a jersey, beret, foulard and full-size rugby ball, and we will walk out without paying a penny. We are there as guests of a club director, who is welcoming arrivals by decking them out in ciel et blanc. This is what they do for outsiders in Bayonne. Provided you aren’t the opposition.

Manu Tuilagi will join Bayonne next season and they are also interested in Danny Care. This ends Tuilagi’s England career, but it will open up something singular. Of all the great cathedrals of rugby, Bayonne’s may just be the best in the world right now. Match day is spiritual; it’s all about bonhomie, song and making sure your invaders go home scowling. Are Bayonne the best team in France? Absolutely not. They are ninth in the Top 14, hopeful of the play-offs but not safe from relegation. But assessing Bayonne by conventional metrics would miss the point.

Stade Jean-Dauger is the 24th French ground in which I have watched rugby. By the end of our annual pilgrimage, that figure will stand at 25. Of that quarter-century, this is the one I was looking forward to most. For one day and night, I was a Bayonnais ultra. The invaders are La Rochelle. They are double European champions and, though they are not at full bore, they have Grégory Alldritt, Paul Boudehent, Jack Nowell and Brice Dulin in their XV. Had Antoine Hastoy not hit a post with a late penalty attempt, Bayonne might have lost. Yet divine woodwork intervened and Bayonne won 13-12.

The old stereotype of esprit de clocher, of protecting your town and winning at home at all costs, lives on in Bayonne. In the Top 14 this season, 20 per cent of matches have been won by the away team, compared with 37 per cent in the Gallagher Premiership. Bayonne have taken it to the extreme: at home, they have won all nine matches; away, they have lost all ten.

They were beaten at home in the league once last season, but that was in San Sebastián, not at the Jean- Dauger. Before 2023, I had no opinion of Bayonne. Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (BOPB), their rivals four miles away, seemed glitzier, better.

The gateway drug of change was music, firstly through La Peña Baiona, the Aviron anthem co-opted by all French rugby. It is a recent innovation, with lyrics by Dominique Herlax added to a 1970s song about Greek wine called Griechischer Wein, or Vino Griego in Spain. This led me to Ontuak, an informal group who sang about the culture of the oval-ball game. Even journalists are idolised through Les Pages du Rugby, an ode to reports of the weekend’s fixtures on a Monday morning. Among the Basque numbers is Hegoak. It tells of a bird who flew away, the narrator lamenting that he did not clip its wings, though that would prevent it being the bird he fell for. The song became a symbol of Basque resistance under Franco, when the language was being censored. These songs are as important to the match as rugby itself. Before the players run out at the Jean-Dauger, the lyrics of La Peña Baiona are on the big screen so everyone can belt it out.

Once La Rochelle were beaten, out came Hegoak. We five zealots would not have been Bayonnais ultras on Saturday without Hegoak. A cold email last year led me to Hervé Filatriau, known to all in Bayonne as Fifi. A former Bayonnais rugby man and Ontuak alumnus, he is the informal duke of the city. The first time we met last year, on a Sunday by Bayonne’s market halls, he was greeted by the mayor and Jean-Jo Marmouyet. The latter is his nephew by marriage, the former Bayonne back-rower who was infamously accosted by Lucien Harinordoquy, father of Imanol, during a Basque derby in 2011. On our return at the weekend, we find ourselves singing La Peña Baiona and Hegoak with Fifi outside Hôtel des Basses Pyrénées.

Hearing this, the club director we have just met escorts us to the club boutique, and the scene which began this article. Throughout this, my fellow Welshman and I are always quick to point out that our group comprises trois rosbifs et deux gallois. This is not just through patriotic fervour, the (very real) chance that we will be asked to sing Hymns and Arias outside Bar Tranquille after the match, or the desire to dish out the recently learnt French for wooden spoon (cuillère de bois). It is because Wales enjoys a special place here. As midnight arrives, two of us walk to the headquarters of Aviron Bayonnais, a rowing club by the Nive river. The address is 1 Rue Harry Owen Roe.

Roe was born in Taibach and played fly half for Penarth, impressing French tourists so much that he was invited to move to the Basque country as player-coach. Using The Modern Rugby Game And How To Play It by Gwyn Nicholls, the Wales centre, as his muse, he led Aviron to their first French championship in 1913. Bayonne’s exciting team were even called Les Gallois de France. Roe is buried in St Leon cemetery, near the Jean-Dauger, with his two wives, Marguerite and Jeanne.

You get a true sense of Bayonne only in person in the Top 14. In the Investec Champions Cup, they had the temerity to lose to Glasgow Warriors at home and draw with Munster at Thomond Park. They were stuffed by Northampton Saints at Franklin’s Gardens, and then did the same to Exeter Chiefs at the Jean-Dauger.

It is because of Europe that Biarritz always appeared to be the Basque No 1. The team of Sireli Bobo, Harinordoquy and Dimitri Yachvili were the nearly men of the 21st century, losing the Heineken Cup finals of 2006 and 2010.

They attracted Steffon Armitage, Iain Balshaw, Ayoola Erinle and Magnus Lund, and in the squad this season are Jonathan Joseph, Zach Kibirige, Charlie Matthews, Tyler Morgan and Billy Searle. Bayonne have seldom housed British players, with Tuilagi joining Mike Phillips in an exclusive club. They had never featured in Europe’s top flight until four months ago. That Biarritz play in the red, green and white of the Basque ikurrina, meaning Bayonne fans use a flag bearing their rivals’ colours, adds to the sense of hierarchy.

Bayonne were founded in 1906, seven years before Biarritz, and won the French championship in 1913, 1934 and 1943. During a later resurgence, they lost the 1982 showpiece. Biarritz were national champions in 1935 and 1939 before their golden age brought the Bouclier de Brennus trophy in 2002, 2005 and 2006, even if continental glory evaded them. Biarritz are in Pro D2 now, 12th out of 16 teams in the second tier. Ask Fifi anything about BOPB and you will get the pantomime response. “Biarritz do not exist,” he jokes, though he may really mean it. Is it a shame how much they are struggling? “I don’t understand the question.”

Given the rivalry, it is remarkable to recall there were talks of a merger in 2013 and 2015, both quickly shelved. Biarritz have explored a full-time move to San Sebastián and the club is on the lookout for a new buyer as Jean-Baptiste Aldigé and Louis-Vincent Gave will no longer be the president and owner next season. There are fears of liquidation.

Bayonne do not rely on one main backer, with almost 200 majority shareholders. “We are lucky, with a club in the centre of town,” Philippe Tayeb, the president, says. “That has led to an even greater marriage between the club and the fans. They’re there when we win and when we lose and that’s so important for the players. They are so loyal.”

As super as a Basque club would be, a Bayonnais ultra would rather fail alone than succeed together. They bleed blue and white and breathe rosé. Get there when you can.

[francoisfou]

Here's the Bayonne anthem La Peña Baiona,

[FKAS]

That does sound like a fun place to visit for a game.

I'm sure Manu will have a great time.

[Mellsblue]

Here's the Bayonne anthem La Peña Baiona,

Added to my French rugby clubs bucket list.

[Galfon]

Ribbans getting a couple of buddies next year at Toulon.
Neither much in Sooty Bear's mix this year, but not sure if it was chicken or egg.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/rugby-union/68686907

[Mikey Brown]

Yeah they’re just old enough where it feels a bit like them fully calling time on their England careers. A shame but not overly surprising after all the talk.

Ludlam I feel earned a bit more of a shot as a starter than he got, but Sinkler has been up and down for years at this point. It definitely feels like both had more to give though overall.

Does that mean Brookes is off? Would either be happy not starting?

[FKAS]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

[Mikey Brown]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

I don’t really understand that. We’re starting 36 year old Dan Cole for England. Sinkler was a world class tight-head who could also do incredible things in the loose. Of course he’s a loss.

Things worked out okay at blindside, but we turned to a 20 year old because our Kiwi import didn’t impress, then had to play a lock there.

I’m not arguing either were currently in the form of their lives, but it’s a lot of talent to let slip away.

[Puja]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

I don’t really understand that. We’re starting 36 year old Dan Cole for England. Sinkler was a world class tight-head who could also do incredible things in the loose. Of course he’s a loss.

Things worked out okay at blindside, but we turned to a 20 year old because our Kiwi import didn’t impress, then had to play a lock there.

I’m not arguing either were currently in the form of their lives, but it’s a lot of talent to let slip away.

I get both of your points. It is disappointing that they are not staying to fight for positions and they both could still do more for England, but the truth is that neither of them were getting selected over the 76 year old Cole or the Kiwi import/20 year old. One can argue that might've been unfair for Ludlam, but it is what it is - neither of them are current England players and their staying or going would likely have no impact on the summer tour squad without there being injuries.

Puja

[Mr Mwenda]

Yes, wasn't Sinkler getting banjaxed a key part of the meltdown at the 2019 final? A shame he never really returned to full form.
At his best he was brilliant - I'll always smile at O'Mahony calling him a stupid cunt. Ludlam also was always handy. A shame they're no longer in the mix goe England buy good luck to 'em.

[Puja]

Yes, wasn't Sinkler getting banjaxed a key part of the meltdown at the 2019 final? A shame he never really returned to full form.
At his best he was brilliant - I'll always smile at O'Mahony calling him a stupid cunt. Ludlam also was always handy. A shame they're no longer in the mix goe England buy good luck to 'em.

The move to Bristol sent him backwards. Never looked the same player after he announced he was leaving Quins - seemed to check out mentally for the second half of his last season and never checked back in.

Puja

[Oakboy]

Yes, wasn't Sinkler getting banjaxed a key part of the meltdown at the 2019 final? A shame he never really returned to full form.
At his best he was brilliant - I'll always smile at O'Mahony calling him a stupid cunt. Ludlam also was always handy. A shame they're no longer in the mix goe England buy good luck to 'em.

I suppose one could argue that fringe players in late 20s/early 30s choosing to follow the euro in France do England a favour - from the viewpoint of developing younger alternatives. It could force SB's hand a bit when he is tempted to recall the likes of these two if injuries strike. Maybe, it's no bad thing to make him take a few risks with young talent.

[FKAS]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

I don’t really understand that. We’re starting 36 year old Dan Cole for England. Sinkler was a world class tight-head who could also do incredible things in the loose. Of course he’s a loss.

Emphasis on "was" there. As Puja says he's regressed at Bristol. He's now looking weaker in the scrum and he was only solid at best. His impact around the field has dropped off and he seems to have lost his intensity. Cole despite his venerable age is still very good at scrum time and has a great work rate in defence and attack (though admittedly he spends all of the attack clearing breakdowns).

He dropped to second choice at the world cup and Stuart overtook him for the 6N. Heyes is being developed as the next one to come through with Stuart and Heyes both being quite a bit younger than Sinckler.

Sinckler will get a decent payday in the South of France. Best of luck to him, I suspect no Prem team was interested in putting forward a big offer for him.

[Captainhaircut]

Ludlam I like but reality is that we need better if we are going to match the top sides. And we have plenty of back rowers.

On Sinckler, this could end up working well for England. He’s not been good enough for a while but if he finds his form over there, he could be back available for the World Cup.

I think the France exodus stuff is overplayed. It’s mostly just older players taking a payday and it’s a good thing that they go and open up space for younger players to come in. The only ones I think we particularly miss are Willis, Marchant and Arundell. Not guaranteed they all got into the side either. Would like to see Junior Kpoku and Ben Loader come back too.

[Skalyba]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

I don’t really understand that. We’re starting 36 year old Dan Cole for England. Sinkler was a world class tight-head who could also do incredible things in the loose. Of course he’s a loss.

Things worked out okay at blindside, but we turned to a 20 year old because our Kiwi import didn’t impress, then had to play a lock there.

I’m not arguing either were currently in the form of their lives, but it’s a lot of talent to let slip away.

this is why Australia are gash. If you're not the first choice they don't care and they just bleed players (seriously just link to their forums) - competition and depth are what every country needs, sinckler is a loss even if he's just a benchmark for others to get past

[Puja]

Ludlam and Sinckler aren't really losses to England. Ludlam is a loss to Saints not sure Sinckler is a particular loss to Bristol.

I don’t really understand that. We’re starting 36 year old Dan Cole for England. Sinkler was a world class tight-head who could also do incredible things in the loose. Of course he’s a loss.

Things worked out okay at blindside, but we turned to a 20 year old because our Kiwi import didn’t impress, then had to play a lock there.

I’m not arguing either were currently in the form of their lives, but it’s a lot of talent to let slip away.

this is why Australia are gash. If you're not the first choice they don't care and they just bleed players (seriously just link to their forums) - competition and depth are what every country needs, sinckler is a loss even if he's just a benchmark for others to get past

Fair point and I would've liked to've kept them in the Premiership, but money is gonna talk. We do need competition and depth, but I would argue it's more important to have it in our domestic comp, so young players cut their teeth against Itoje, Genge, Earl, Ford, etc, than it is to still be able to have our fourth choice tighthead and seventh choice flanker available for England.

Puja

[francoisfou]

Round 20 of the Top14 will be under way this afternoon and there are a few Brits in action;

Racing v Clermont - For Racing 15 Henri Arundell
La Rochelle v Oyonnax - For LR 11 Jacques Nowell
Toulouse v Pau - For Toulouse 6 Jacques Willis (as an aside, Antoine Dupont wears 10 and Romain Ntamack is on the bench for his first match since his injury in the World Cup warmer against Scotland) No Joe Simmonds nor Dan Robson in Pau's 23 - maybe a weekend off?
Montpellier v Stade Français - For SF 13 Joe Marchant . A weekend off for Montpellier's Sam Simmonds.
Perpignan v Castres - For Perpignan 11 Ali Crossdale
Bayonne v Toulon Ko Sunday evening, teams still to be announced

[francoisfou]

Round 20 of the Top14 will be under way this afternoon and there are a few Brits in action;

Racing v Clermont - For Racing 15 Henri Arundell
La Rochelle v Oyonnax - For LR 11 Jacques Nowell
Toulouse v Pau - For Toulouse 6 Jacques Willis (as an aside, Antoine Dupont wears 10 and Romain Ntamack is on the bench for his first match since his injury in the World Cup warmer against Scotland) No Joe Simmonds nor Dan Robson in Pau's 23 - maybe a weekend off?
Montpellier v Stade Français - For SF 13 Joe Marchant . A weekend off for Montpellier's Sam Simmonds.
Perpignan v Castres - For Perpignan 11 Ali Crossdale
Bayonne v Toulon Ko Sunday evening, teams still to be announced

Bayonne v Toulon - For Toulon 4 Dave Ribbans,10 Dan Biggar and 16 Jack Singleton

[Galfon]

Top 14 - actuel
1. José Marchant (SF)
2. Jacques Willis (Toul'se)
3. Henri Arundell (R92)
4. David Ribbans (Toul'n)
5. Jacques Nowell (LR)

[Mellsblue]

Zack Henri in Thé Times:

Look out Farrell, there’s already an English fly half starring in France
Brighton-born No 10 Zack Henry has guided Stade Français to the top of the league, writes Chris Jones

Henry has worked his way up through the leagues in France, via a brief stint at Leicester, and says he loves the freedom he has to express himself at Stade
Next image ›
Next season Owen Farrell will hope to be pulling the strings at the summit of the Top 14 in France when he joins Racing 92. For now, there is already an English fly half doing just that elsewhere in Paris — but unlike the former England captain, he is no household name.

Zack Henry has faced many personal challenges on his unique journey to the pinnacle of the French top division, defying the odds to establish himself in the toughest league in the world. Early last season, while helping Pau avoid relegation, he was regularly flying back to England to be with his father Adrian, who had motor neurone disease (MND).

The Brighton-born 29-year-old lost his dad on Monday, October 10, 2022, and was told by Pau that he could miss that weekend’s game against Stade Français, but he opted to play, landing seven out of seven kicks. Now he is wearing the pink No 10 of Stade, having been offered a three-year contract to move from southwest France to the capital, where he has guided one of the leading clubs in world rugby to the top of the table.

After winning a silver medal with Team GB at the World University Sevens Championships, Henry played for Rouen and Nevers in France and had a season with Leicester Tigers before going back across the Channel to join Pau. He has been told that he is the first player to appear in the Fédérale 1 (French third tier), Pro D2 (second tier), Gallagher Premiership and Top 14 in that order.

“We were in a relegation battle with Pau and I was flying back and forth to see my dad,” he says. “I learnt to deal with the pressure of the relegation fight and no one knows what I went through with my family. It means this season, because I have gone through those lows, I can deal with stress on the pitch. I try to find the positives in every situation and bounce back.

“I broke my jaw early in my career and lost my teeth and was told I may not play again, then lost my dad to MND — all of these things I try to learn from. My dad loved Pau and came out to see me play with my family. I am very blessed he saw a lot of my rugby journey and I am out there for him now.

“I lost my dad on the Monday and played against Stade on the Saturday and hit seven out of seven kicks. We managed to avoid relegation and I was lucky to have an amazing group at Pau who helped me through what was a very tough experience.”

Besides the pressure of wearing the Stade No 10 jersey, Henry is also finding time to study for a master’s in sports psychology and understanding how he can improve mentally and physically remains a driving force in his busy life in Paris.

“My message is always about positivity and it has never been ‘France is better than England’ in my mind,” he says. “I just love it in France at all levels; the fans, how passionate they are and the stadiums. I enjoy the adventure of life, speaking French, visiting different cities.

“Maybe it is because I didn’t go through the traditional route of England age-groups and the academy system. My friends back home are not rugby players, so I have always been more of a free spirit.

“On the pitch over here they have really taken to me, and in France I am not Zack Henry, I am ‘Zack Henri’. There is a lot more freedom and it is true, to an extent, that French rugby is looser, but in the Top 14 it is pretty structured. However, I have always had more freedom in that structure to play space with either my running, kicking or passing game.

“Coaches here let me have the freedom to make those choices and people trust me to make decisions on the pitch, which I love doing.

“What I love about Stade is the ambition. We turn up at the training ground with all the trophies the club has won in the past and it is made clear every day that the ambition of the club is to be back at the top where it used to be and a force in Europe.

“I started in the Bath Uni fourth team and climbed the ladder in a crazy way and always asked every day, ‘How good can it get?’ If that level is Fed1 or Pro D2 then I just want to be the best version of myself. Now I am at this level then there is no reason why we cannot win trophies.”
During his season at Leicester Henry made 26 appearances — including coming off the bench in their 18-17 European Challenge Cup final defeat by Montpellier at Twickenham — before heading back to France in 2021. During that spell he played under Steve Borthwick and credits the England head coach with helping to develop his game.

“Leicester was the most positive experience possible,” he says. “People say that Leicester didn’t work out for me but I scored 150 points and Steve Borthwick is one the best coaches around and taught me a whole new style. I was in Pro D2 throwing the ball around having fun and Steve taught me what it is to be a No 10 at the highest level. I was learning off George Ford and Ben Youngs and had Ellis Genge and Nemani Nadolo around me.

“Externally it may have looked like I didn’t become Leicester’s starting No 10, but I learnt a whole different side of the game, which means I can put ambition to one side on a rainy day and create pressure with my kicking.”

Henry’s brother, Jake, played for Rotherham Titans and a number of English Championship clubs and joins their mother and sister visiting him in Paris, where he lives close to Roland- Garros, home of French Open tennis, and Stade’s Jean-Bouin Stadium.

“I went to state school until 16 and then got a scholarship to Hurstpierpoint College in Sussex and we played good rugby but I didn’t get picked up by anyone,” Henry says. “I went from the Bath Uni fourths to the firsts and got picked for the GB students sevens and we won a silver at the World University Sevens.

“I played in an England Students Development XV but didn’t make the full team and from that Richard Hill [the former England scrum half and captain] was at our training ground as a friend of one of the coaches and asked if I would like an opportunity in France where he was coaching at Rouen.”

Henry, whose Stade side registered a sixth away win of the season against Montpellier on Saturday to keep them three points clear of second-placed Toulouse, used to be part of a social media group for the small number of English players in France but that figure has now ballooned with Farrell, Manu Tuilagi, Billy Vunipola, Lewis Ludlam, Kyle Sinckler and Courtney Lawes among the latest to cross the Channel for next season.

“It is interesting to see the evolution of English players in French rugby,” Henry says. “Joe [Marchant] is loving it here at Stade and we have a really good dynamic at the club.

“The move to Stade came about because I was playing well at Pau and got a call from the club saying they needed a No 10 and it was my dream to play for them. The first professional rugby game I watched was Harlequins against Stade. I Looked at this team playing in pink jerseys and thought it would be great to play for them.”