Julien Saubade (born 5 November 1983 in

Bayonne Bayonne (; eu, Baiona ; oc, label= Gascon, Baiona ; es, Bayona) is a city in Southwestern France near the Spanish border. It is a commune and one of two subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department, in the Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

footballer, currently playing for the

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. ...

rugby club Racing Métro in the top level of French club rugby, the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

. His usual position is on the wing. Saubade was originally playing with

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Rugby Pro D2, Pro D2, the second division of ...

, where he had been developed, though he moved to

US Dax Union sportive dacquoise, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Nationale, the third level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They wear ...

, playing in the

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as Pro D2 is the second tier of rugby union club competition division in France. It is operated by Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR) which also runs the division directly above, the first division Top 14. Rugby Pro D2 was i ...

, initially for the 2003 season, but he ended up staying there until July 2005, since he could not get the opportunity to play in Biarritz's first team. He was the second division's top scorer with 12 tries. The club did not seem to be ready to trust him despite his selections in the French U-19 and then U-21 teams (alongside

Julien Arias Julien Arias (born 26 October 1983) is a French rugby union coach and former player, he is currently the co-head coach of Stade Français in Top 14 with Laurent Sempéré. His usual position was on the wing. Prior to playing for Stade Français P ...

and

Arnaud Marchois Arnaud Marchois (born 24 June 1983) is a French rugby union footballer, currently playing for Lyon OU in the Top 14. His usual position is at Lock. Prior to joining Lyon OU he played for Stade Français where he won the Top 14 in 2003, 2004 ...

whom he was to join in Paris). Therefore, he moved to Paris to play for

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

, among the ''élite'' of French rugby. At the start, the transition from the

to the

was quite hard for him, and Saubade made several unusual mistakes for such a promising player like him, notably one which made Paris' coach,

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, he is currently the head coach of the French national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later ...

, furious and which cost his team to lose a match in Montpellier. As a consequence, Saubade was advised to readapt through the

' ''Espoirs'' (Juniors) team for a time, to gain experience from training with many of his new international teammates, to work physically, and then, thanks to some injuries among the starters he was given another chance to show his talent again and he seized it well. During the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

and after, he played all the matches, and scored 6 tries. Saubade also played in his club's semi-final of the 2005–06 Top 14, which they eventually lost to

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger Regions of France, region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania. The city is on t ...

, 12 to 9 and in

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Heineken Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

matches. He moved to the other major Paris club, Racing Métro, for the 2009–10 season, and has remained there since.

External links

Julien Saubade
on '' lequipe.fr'' 1983 births French rugby union players Living people Rugby union wings Sportspeople from Bayonne Biarritz Olympique players Racing 92 players Stade Français players {{France-rugbyunion-bio-stub