Paul Jedrasiak

He was 1.90m at thirteen and two metres at fourteen. Clermont found him at the Tours pole espoirs and kept him for fourteen years.

Paul Jedrasiak was 1.90m at thirteen and two metres at fourteen. He was still at the rugby school in Châteauroux where his mother volunteered.

Second row at Castres, 2.00m and 121kg, and he played 203 matches for Clermont before he got here.

He was born in Montluçon to Jean-Pierre Jedrasiak, whose parents came from Poland shortly before the Second World War, and Liliane Guillemard, of Italian descent. He started at eight at RAC Castelroussin, went through the regional selections to the Tours pôle espoirs, and Clermont took him into their academy in 2010. His first professional contract came in 2013 and his debut on 2 September that year, off the bench against Bayonne.

France capped him on 6 February 2016, in the opening match of that Six Nations against Italy, brought in to cover the withdrawal of Geoffrey Palis. He came off the bench in a 27-0 win.

Ten caps in all, and the pattern of them is telling. One appearance in the 2017 Six Nations. A recall that summer to replace his Clermont teammate Arthur Iturria on the South Africa tour, after he had already been picked for the French Barbarians. Then Jacques Brunel preferred Sébastien Vahaamahina and Iturria for 2018 and that was largely that.

With Clermont he won the Top 14 in 2017 and the Challenge Cup in 2019, and lost French finals in 2015 and 2019 and a European final in 2017.

He was told at the start of 2023-24 that he would be leaving, and joined Castres for 2024-25.

A lineout forward and a fourteen-year one-club man until he wasn’t.