Six Years After Walking Away, a Former France Captain Returns — and Bordeaux Just Lost Its Season

Jefferson Poirot said he’d lost the fire. He walked away from the French national team at 27, just months after a painful World Cup exit, declaring he wouldn’t take a cap unless he could give everything. On Friday, at 33, he’ll pull on a France jersey again — and the story of how he got here says more about French rugby’s depth chart than any comeback narrative.

Poirot is one of nine Bordeaux-Bègles players named to Fabien Galthié’s 28-man France A squad for this week’s clash with England A in Vannes. The reason so many Bordeaux players are involved isn’t just talent — it’s timing. Bordeaux finished eighth in the Top 14 after a last-minute home loss to Clermont on June 6, failing to make the play-offs. While Toulouse, Racing, Montpellier, and Stade Francais prepare for semi-final battles in Marseille, Bordeaux has nothing left to play for but pride — and a chance to audition for Galthié’s Nations Championship squad.

The squad list is a mix of familiar faces and fresh ones. Bordeaux’s contingent includes midfielders Yoram Moefana and Nicolas Depoortere, plus seven forwards — Pierre Bochaton, Marko Gazzotti, Temo Matiu, Boris Palu, Maxime Lamothe, Sipili Falatea, and the returning Poirot. But the real buzz surrounds an uncapped winger of Cameroonian descent: Castres’ Christian Ambadiang, who joins the group alongside three other Pau backs — Axel Desperes, Fabien Brau-Boirie, and Grégoire Arfeuil.

Why Poirot’s Return Matters

Poirot captained France in 2018 and earned 36 caps before calling it quits. In 2020 he told reporters, “I feel my motivation is not at its maximum. I always promised myself I would be at 100 percent when playing for France, to not lie. Les Bleus, it’s the Holy Grail.” That kind of self-awareness is rare in professional sports, but the game doesn’t stop waiting. Now, with France preparing for a three-test southern hemisphere tour against New Zealand, Australia, and Japan in July, Galthié needs experienced bodies. Poirot’s six-year retirement ends this Friday.

This A match serves as a dress rehearsal for the new Nations Championship, which kicks off next month. Galthié will name a 42-man squad after the Top 14 final on June 28, and players involved in that final could still travel — though they won’t be eligible for the July 4 opener against the All Blacks in Christchurch. That means the players getting minutes in Vannes have a real shot at making the travel party.

The A Squad — Who’s In

The full roster shows a deliberate mix of experience and experimentation. At prop: Sipili Falatea, Régis Montagne, Jefferson Poirot, Emerick Setiano, and Reda Wardi. At hooker: Maxime Lamothe, Lucas Martin, and Barnabé Massa. In the second row: Mickaël Guillard, Boris Palu, and Tom Staniforth. Back-row options include Pierre Bochaton, Esteban Capilla, Marko Gazzotti, Temo Matiu, and Killian Tixeront. The half-back pairing draws from Baptiste Jauneau and Nolann Le Garrec at scrum-half, with Axel Desperes, Antoine Hastoy, and Louis Le Brun at fly-half. Midfield options are Fabien Brau-Boirie, Nicolas Depoortere, and Yoram Moefana. On the wings: Christian Ambadiang, Grégoire Arfeuil, Théo Attissogbe, and Mathis Ferté.

Clermont and Pau each contributed four players. La Rochelle, eliminated in the play-offs by Stade Francais, sent three — Reda Wardi, Nolann Le Garrec, and Antoine Hastoy.

France enters the Nations Championship as reigning Six Nations champions after edging England in Paris last March. But the real test — and the real story — is whether Poirot’s return is a brief encore or the start of something longer. For one Friday night in Vannes, it’s just good to see a man who walked away come back on his own terms.