Julien Saubade (born 5 November 1983 in Bayonne) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

footballer, currently playing for the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...

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 Basque city of Biarritz, Nouvelle-Aquitaine which competes in the Pro D2, the second division of French rugby. Biarritz p ...

, 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 in ...

, 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 and Arnaud Marchois whom he was to join in Paris). Therefore, he moved to Paris to play for Stade Français, 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 Stade Français' ''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 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 prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

, 12 to 9 and in Heineken Cup 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