Junior Kpoku

Junior Kpoku signed for Exeter in August 2023 and left in October, after about two months, for family reasons. He speaks fluent French, which made the move to Paris a good deal less disruptive than it sounds.

Note on his current club: Kpoku is still listed in Racing 92‘s squad data. He was loaned to RC Toulon in January 2026 and signed there permanently in June 2026, on a contract to 2029.

Lock or blindside, 2.04m and 119kg, and 20 years old.

He was born in Newham, in east London, into a family of Congolese origin, and is the youngest of three brothers who all play professionally. Joel and Jonathan came before him.

England called him into the under-20 squad in January 2024 and his club gave him a senior debut the following month, in the derby against Stade Français. In March England won the under-20 Six Nations, beating France away 45-31 with a bonus point on the final weekend.

That summer brought the junior world championship. He played every match of it, England won, and he was among the outstanding forwards in the squad alongside Henry Pollock.

The Paris club extended him to 2027 in January 2025 and then loaned him south a year later, at which point the loan turned into a five-year contract. Three clubs and two Top 14 squads before his twenty-first birthday.

A very tall, heavy second row who can cover the back row, and one of the more sought-after English forwards of his age group, now committed to French rugby.