Clément Mondinat (born 29 October 2003) is a French

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

player who plays as a

Fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

for Pau in 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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

and represents the France U20 team. He made his

debut with Pau on 1 October 2022.

Playing Career

Early Years

Clément Mondinat was born on October 29, 2003, in Marseillan, into a family passionate about

. Mondinat started playing rugby at the age of six with USC

Pouyastruc Pouyastruc (; ) is a commune in the Hautes-Pyrénées department in south-western France. See also *Communes of the Hautes-Pyrénées department A commune is an alternative term for an intentional community. Commune or comună or comune or oth ...

, his hometown club. He then moved on to Stado Tarbes PR before joining the academy of

Section Paloise Section Paloise (), often referred to simply as la Section or Pau (), is a professional rugby union club based in Pau, France. They are participants in the Top 14, France's premier rugby division, and also compete in the EPCR Challenge Cup. The ...

in 2019.

Professional Career

Clément Mondinat began his professional career in January 2021 during the 2021–22 Top 14 season with Section Paloise, making his debut in the

2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup The 2021–22 EPCR Challenge Cup was the eighth edition of the EPCR Challenge Cup, an annual second-tier rugby union competition for professional clubs. Including the predecessor competition, the original European Challenge Cup, this was the 26th ...

against

CA Brive Club Athlétique Brive Corrèze Limousin, also referred to as CA Brive, Brive () or CAB, is a French professional rugby union club based in Brive-la-Gaillarde, in the Corrèze, Corrèze department. Brive is a historical member of French rugby un ...

at just eighteen years old. In May 2022, Mondinat was called up to join the French U-20s training camp but did not feature in any official matches that year. The

2022–23 Top 14 season The 2022–23 Top 14 is the 124th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice, once at ho ...

marked a significant turning point for Mondinat. He impressed during the preseason Supersevens tournament and earned a spot in the senior squad for the summer friendlies, and played in the 2022-23 EPCR Challenge Cup. With the departure of

Antoine Hastoy Antoine Hastoy (born 4 June 1997) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a fly-half for Top 14 club La Rochelle and the France national team. Early life Antoine Hastoy was born on in Bayonne, France and was raised in the ...

, Mondinat, alongside Thibault Debaes, was seen as a potential successor to the experienced fly-half. In June 2023, he was selected for the

2023 World Rugby U20 Championship The 2023 World Rugby U20 Championship was the 13th edition of the premier age-grade rugby union competition. The tournament is hosted in South Africa for the second time, previously being held in 2012. The 2023 under 20 competition (alongside ...

, joining teammates

Théo Attissogbé Theo is a given name and a hypocorism. Greek origin Many names beginning with the root ''Theo-'' derive from the Ancient Greek word (), which means God, for example: *Feminine names: Thea, Theodora, Theodosia, Theophania, Theophano and Theox ...

Brent Liufau Brent Liufau (born March 21, 2004) is a French rugby union player who primarily occupies the positions of Number 8 (rugby union), Number 8 or lock for Section Paloise in the Top 14 competition. Lifau achieved victory in the 2023 World Rugby U20 ...

, and Hugo Auradou from Section Paloise. Though Mondinat started as a backup for the first two pool matches, he made a standout performance in the third match against

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

, where he was named Man of the Match. He was flawless with the boot, successfully converting all six of his attempts. At the conclusion of the tournament, Mondinat and his teammates secured the title after a dominant 50-14 victory over

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

in the final. Mondinat replaced

Hugo Reus Hugo Reus (born 21 February 2004) is a French professional rugby union player, who plays as a Rugby union positions#Fly-half, fly-half for Top 14 club Stade Rochelais, La Rochelle. Born and raised in Dordogne, France, he made his professional ...

late in the match to cap off the victory. After his

triumph, the

2023–24 Top 14 season The 2023–24 Top 14 competition is the 125th French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Format The top six teams at the end of the regular season (after all the teams played one another twice ...

posed new challenges for Mondinat. Following a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

surgery due to an injury sustained in the Supersevens, he was sidelined for ten weeks. Upon his return to action with the academy team, Mondinat suffered a thumb fracture in February 2024, leading to another period of recovery. This came at a time when Section Paloise was already without Joe Simmonds due to injury and had loaned Thibault Debaes to RC Vannes in

Pro D2 The 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 introduced in 2000. It ...

, leaving the club with only Axel Desperes available to play

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16� ...

. The 2024–25 season is expected to be a breakthrough for the young player. However, in August 2024, Mondinat suffered a meniscus injury that sidelined him for three months. The 2024–25 season was anticipated to be a breakthrough year for Clément Mondinat. However, in August 2024, he suffered a

meniscus Meniscus may refer to: *Meniscus (anatomy), crescent-shaped fibrocartilaginous structure that partly divides a joint cavity *Meniscus (liquid) In physics (particularly liquid statics), the meniscus (: menisci, ) is the curve in the upper sur ...

injury that kept him out of action for three months, delaying his progress. Despite this setback, Mondinat returned to the pitch in January 2025 and made an immediate impact. On 11 January 2025, he scored a try against

Dragons RFC Dragons RFC () are one of the four professional rugby union regional teams in Wales. They play in the United Rugby Championship and the European Rugby Champions Cup/ European Rugby Challenge Cup. They play their home games at Rodney Parade, ...

, contributing to Section Paloise's victory and securing their qualification for the knockout stages of the competition.

International Career

Mondinat was part of the France U20 team that won the

. He played four games during the tournament, including a standout performance against

where he scored a try and was named man of the match.

Honours

International

World Rugby U20 Championship The World Rugby Under 20 Championship (known as the IRB Junior World Championship until 2014) is an annual international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, World Rugby World Rugby is the governing ...

: 2023

References

2003 births Living people Rugby union players from Pyrénées-Atlantiques French rugby union players Section Paloise players {{Section Paloise squad