Louis Picamoles has brought the jersey of the XV of France 82 times.

-

CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP

  • Injured then placarded in Montpellier, Louis Picamoles has joined the Union Bordeaux-Bègles in recent days to offer himself a final challenge.

  • For the UBB, it is a reinforcement of weight on the ground, but especially outside with a player who will bring all his experience in this final sprint.

  • He could make his debut under the Bordeaux colors on Saturday for the Atlantic derby against La Rochelle.

He may still be "one of the most emblematic players of French rugby" as emphasized by his new team-mate and scrum-half Maxime Lucu, you should not count on Louis Picamoles to show muscles or speak louder than a other.

82 selections with the XV of France do not change a man.

The third row, new recruit of Union Bordeaux-Bègles, remains someone discreet who above all lets his talent speak for itself in the field.

Even when the Neo-Girondin looks back on the radical end of its history with Montpellier, its club of heart, it does not get carried away: “I am not revenge but it is true that I am hungry.

I have accumulated a lot of frustration over the last few months so there is a lot of excitement and I have a big appetite ”.

That's good, the UBB too.

Even if he will not be able to compete in the Champions Cup with Bordeaux, Louis Picamoles will have enough to eat with the Top 14 and this race to the finals.

For the UBB, it is a big blow before approaching the final sprint of this season.

A “real plus” for Lucu.

So what can the former 35-year-old French international still bring?

A luxury joker despite his injury

Already, he comes to replace Marco Tauleigne numerically because at the start, Louis Picamoles was only to arrive next season with a certain François Trinh-Duc in his luggage.

It is therefore a replacement of choice and in addition, with an identical profile to the injured third line of Bordeaux.

A very strong and powerful number 8 which "moves the team forward" according to Maxime Lucu and "able to play standing" specifies Christophe Urios, the manager of UBB.

Throughout his career, the Ex-Toulousain and Montpelliérain shone in this field.

Top 14: UBB on “red alert” before its exciting end of the season with Picamoles in reinforcement https://t.co/5zeZrb7tBm via @ 20minutesBord pic.twitter.com/D2pUNTHbPB

- 20minutesbordeaux (@ 20minutesbord) March 18, 2021

At first, it will be for him to find the rhythm.

Between his rupture of the cruciate ligaments in his left knee in 2019 and his benching at the MHR since his return a few months ago, Louis Picamoles has only played 19 games in two years.

He affirms that "things are getting better and better and that there is no longer any apprehension".

Moreover at UBB, we don't worry about that because “we don't become a small player like that” according to Maxime Lucu.

The scrum-half saw "a player who wants to show, to prove his worth even if we all know who Louis Picamoles is and that it is not me who will teach you what his qualities are".

His experience, another asset for UBB

But the big plus for UBB is surely what he will bring "beyond his talent" recalls Rémi Lamerat.

“It will bring freshness and a different eye, it's important for us, continues the Bordeaux center, it has a lot of experience (more than 300 Top 14 games) and the youngest will be able to feed on it.

It is above all a state of mind that he brings and I am very happy to find this old scoundrel!

"Like Christophe Urios a week earlier, Rémi Lamerat also highlights" the calm, serenity and confidence "of a Picamoles as an additional asset for a team already very solid since November (four defeats in its last 17 games) .

For his part, the one who has played nine VI Nations Tournaments and three World Cups remains modest: “Yes I may have a little experience, yes I have lived through the final stages but I will not take the word like that.

I'm going to do things naturally, as since the start of my career, I've always worked by feeling.

After having eaten his black bread for two years, Louis Picamoles is hoping for a new start in Gironde, surely the last in a long career.

And UBB intends to make the most of it, starting with this Saturday during the Atlantic derby against La Rochelle.

Sport

Top 14: UBB on "red alert" before its exciting end of the season with Picamoles as reinforcements

Sport

Top 14: Picamoles and Trinh-Duc soon reunited in the UBB jersey for a last challenge?

  • Aquitaine

  • Bordeaux

  • Sport

  • XV of France

  • UBB

  • Louis picamoles

  • Toulouse stadium

  • Rugby

  • Top 14