Melvyn Rates

Melvyn Rates has won the under-20 Six Nations twice, the second time with a Grand Slam, and was voted the best young player in French rugby in May 2026. He turned twenty in March.

Winger, 1.80m and 84kg, on Montpellier‘s books.

Valence is his home town and the Drôme raised him: Union Sportive Rhône XV at Bourg-lès-Valence first, then Valence Romans, then the FC Grenoble academy, where he extended his contract in the summer of 2024. That is three clubs inside one département, which is how the region keeps hold of its own until somebody richer arrives.

He was capped by France under-20s in early 2025, coming in for the third round against Italy, and finished the tournament a champion. It was only France’s fourth title at that level.

Montpellier bought him out of Grenoble that off-season, at nineteen, and waited five months before using him. The Top 14 debut came in November 2025 against Racing 92.

The following spring produced the rest of it. A second under-20 Six Nations, this one a clean sweep, then a junior world championship final that France lost, then the Midi Olympique young player award. His club reached a French championship final in the same season and lost it too.

Whether the body catches up with the record is the open question. At 84kg he is light for a professional wing and will have to add to that. Everything else about the profile is unusually far ahead of schedule, and two Grand Slam-era junior sides have already been built around players like him.