Julien Malzieu (born 4 May 1983 in

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, literally ''Le Puy in Velay''; oc, Lo Puèi de Velai ) is the prefecture of the Haute-Loire department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Located near the river Loire, the city is famous for its c ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; oc, Naut Léger or ''Naut Leir''; English: Upper Loire) is a landlocked department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region of south-central France. Named after the Loire River, it is surrounded by the departments of Loire, Ardèche, ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; oc, label= Occitan, Auvèrnhe or ) is a former administrative region in central France, comprising the four departments of Allier, Puy-de-Dôme, Cantal and Haute-Loire. Since 1 January 2016, it has been part of the new region Au ...

) is a French

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In it ...

and sevens player for 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 French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

competition.

Career

A tall and rangy

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces lift while moving through air or some other fluid. Accordingly, wings have streamlined cross-sections that are subject to aerodynamic forces and act as airfoils. A wing's aerodynamic efficiency is e ...

, Malzieu burst onto the international scene in the

2008 Six Nations Championship The 2008 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2008 RBS 6 Nations because of sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the ninth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, the 114th series of the international championship. Fifteen ...

, scoring a try on his debut for

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

against

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

. However, despite his promising start he did not gain a regular spot in the side with coach Marc Lievremont giving many other players a chance. The next time he scored was during the 34–10 loss to

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

in the

2009 Six Nations Championship The 2009 Six Nations Championship, known as the RBS 6 Nations for sponsorship reasons, was the 10th Six Nations Championship, and the 115th international championship, an annual rugby union competition contested by the six major European national t ...

. He scored another try the next week against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

, but missed the 2009 Autumn internationals. He was recalled for the 2010 Six Nations Championship after injuries to Aurélien Rougerie and

Benjamin Fall Benjamin Fall (born 3 March 1989) is a French rugby player who currently plays for Montpellier in the Top 14 club competition. He plays as a wing. He was part of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship playing for France playing 4 games and scor ...

but just played a bit part role coming off the bench a few times. There is much competition in his position for

which has limited his time on the pitch so far. At club level he has played an integral role in the rise Clermont Auvergne to the forefront of European rugby. He is seen as a reliable points source for them as his prolific try scoring record shows. His brother, Jérémy Malzieu was in the Clermont Auvergne squad, but now plays for Saint-Etienne in the

Pro D2 Rugby Pro D2, also known as 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 in ...

. His other successes include being played as a starter in most of the recent

2012 Six Nations Championship The 2012 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2012 RBS 6 Nations due to the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 13th series of the Six Nations Championship. The annual northern hemisphere rugby union championship wa ...

games in which he scored a try in the first game against

References

External links

RBS 6 Nations profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malzieu, Julien 1983 births Living people People from Le Puy-en-Velay Rugby union players from Haute-Loire French rugby union players France international rugby union players Male rugby sevens players ASM Clermont Auvergne players Rugby union centres Rugby union wings