Clément Poitrenaud (born 20 May 1982 in

Castres Castres (; ''Castras'' in the Languedocian dialect, Languedocian dialect of Occitan language, Occitan) is the sole Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Tarn (department), Tarn Departments of France, department in the Occitania (adminis ...

, Tarn) is a former French

rugby union Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union in English-speaking countries and rugby 15/XV in non-English-speaking world, Anglophone Europe, or often just rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that orig ...

footballer. His usual position is at fullback but he also plays at centre. He most recently played for South African side the in

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It has previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Super Rugby started as the S ...

, having represented in the French

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 National Rugby League (France), France National Rugby League, also ...

club competition between 2000 and 2016, and between 2001 and 2012, including at the

2003 Rugby World Cup The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England national rugby union team, England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispu ...

in Australia and the

2007 Rugby World Cup The 2007 Rugby World Cup () was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by F ...

in France. He has since transitioned into a role of partner, father and coach.

Rugby career

Toulouse / France

He played his first

Heineken Cup The European Rugby Champions Cup (known as the Investec Champions Cup for sponsorship reasons) is an annual rugby union tournament organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the top-tier competition for clubs who compete in a pre ...

match during the 2000–01 tournament, against Welsh side, the

Cardiff Blues Cardiff Rugby () are one of the four professional Welsh rugby union teams. Based in Cardiff, the team play at Cardiff Arms Park. Originally formed in 1876, from 2003 to 2021 the first team was known as the Cardiff Blues before rebranding back ...

. He scored his first Heineken Cup try coming off the bench in a match against the

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century History of Germany, German woodcut depicting Saracens ''Saracen'' ( ) was a term used both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings between the 5th and 15th centuries to ...

, and did the same in the subsequent match against the Cardiff Blues. Toulouse won the Top 14 in 2001, defeating

ASM Clermont Auvergne Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne () is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two t ...

34 to 22 in the final at

Stade de France Stade de France (, ) is the national stadium of France, located just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis, Seine-Saint-Denis, Saint-Denis. Its seating capacity of 80,698 makes it the List of football stadiums in France, largest stadium i ...

. Poitrenaud made his debut for France during 2001, and was part of the French side which defeated the

Springboks The South Africa national rugby union team, commonly known as the Springboks (colloquially the Boks, Bokke or Amabhokobhoko) is the country's national team governed by the South African Rugby Union. The Springboks play in green and gold jersey ...

20 to 10 in Paris. He earned a further two international caps for France that year, playing in the subsequent victories over

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country comprising mainland Australia, the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania and list of islands of Australia, numerous smaller isl ...

Marseille Marseille (; ; see #Name, below) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Bouches-du-Rhône and of the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur Regions of France, region. Situated in the ...

and

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

Saint-Étienne Saint-Étienne (; Franco-Provençal: ''Sant-Etiève''), also written St. Etienne, is a city and the prefecture of the Loire département, in eastern-central France, in the Massif Central, southwest of Lyon, in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes regi ...

. Toulouse made it to the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final examination or finals, a test given at the end of a course of study or training *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which d ...

of the 2002-03 Heineken Cup, and defeated

USA Perpignan Union Sportive Arlequins Perpignanais, also referred to as USA Perpignan or Perpignan, is a French professional rugby union club founded in 1933 and based in Perpignan, in the Pyrénées-Orientales department. They compete in the Top 14, France' ...

to win the cup. Toulouse were also finalists of the domestic competition, but were defeated by

Stade Français Stade Français Paris (known commonly as Stade Français, ) is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French ...

. Poitrenaud returned to the national side in early 2003, to play in all of France's matches during the

2003 Six Nations Championship The 2003 Six Nations Championship was the fourth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship, and the 109th international championship overall. The annual tournament was won by England national rugby union team, England, who completed a Gra ...

, which included losses to

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

Ireland Ireland (, ; ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe. Geopolitically, the island is divided between the Republic of Ireland (officially Names of the Irish state, named Irelan ...

, with wins over

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

and

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. In the lead up to the

Rugby World Cup The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World championship, world champions of the sport. The tournament is administer ...

he appeared in three matches for France; in the losses to

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

, the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks, is the representative men's national team in the sport of rugby union for the nation of New Zealand, which is considered the country's national sport. Famed for th ...

and England. He was called up to the French squad for the

in Australia. He played in the 51–29 victory over

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

as well as the 41–14 in over the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

during the pool stages. France played the All Blacks in the third place match. He played in the 24 to 21 win over England in Paris. France would eventually win the

2004 Six Nations Championship The 2004 Six Nations Championship was the fifth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Overall, this was the 110th series of the inter ...

. Toulouse made it to the final of the 2003-04 Heineken Cup, but were defeated by the London Wasps in the final. The scores were tied going into the last minute when Wasps player Robert Howley kicked the ball to the corner; Poitrenaud stood over the ball waiting for it to bounce into touch but it stayed in play and Howley chased the ball down and touched it down for the winning tr

Poitrenaud played another four times for France later that year; playing in matches against the United States, Canada national rugby union team, Canada,

and the All Blacks. Toulouse were finalists of the 2004-05 Heineken Cup, and met fellow French club Stade Français (who defeated Toulouse in the domestic final of 2003). Stade Toulousain won the

match A match is a tool for starting a fire. Typically, matches are made of small wooden sticks or stiff paper. One end is coated with a material that can be ignited by friction generated by striking the match against a suitable surface. Wooden matc ...

18 points to 12. He did not play any tests during 2005, or during the

2006 Six Nations Championship The 2006 Six Nations Championship was the seventh series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship to be held since the competition expanded in 2000 to include Italy national rugby union team, Italy. Including the previous incarnations as the Ho ...

, but played in the wins over

Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...

and the Springboks in June 2006. Poitrenaud sustained a broken ankle during a match between Toulouse and Perpignan on Saturday 16 February. He was expected to be sidelined for at least three months with this injury and as a result missed out on France's remaining matches in the Six Nations championship. This came only a few days after he was recalled to the France national team by Marc Lievremont. The general manager of Toulouse Guy Noves made some controversial statements regarding Clement's injury, he has commented that, ""Clement's injury is not down to bad luck but because the players are becoming exhausted," "Even if he didn't play in the Six Nations matches he still played the two championship games that took place at the same time

Poitrenaud played in his third victorious Heineken Cup Final in 2010 Heineken Cup Final, 2010 when Toulouse defeated

Biarritz Biarritz ( , , , ; also spelled ; ) is a city on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department in the French Basque Country in southwestern France. It is located from the border with Spain. It is a luxu ...

Sharks

After initially announcing his retirement after the 2015–16 season, Poitrenaud joined South African

side the for the 2017 season.

Trivia

* "Poitrenaud" is the gallicizing of ''peitrenaud'', which means "with his chest thrown out" in the

Occitan language Occitan (; ), also known by its native speakers as (; ), sometimes also referred to as Provençal, is a Romance language spoken in Southern France, Monaco, Italy's Occitan Valleys, as well as Spain's Val d'Aran in Catalonia; collectively, ...

. ''Poitrail'' indeed means "chest" / "torso" in French language.

References

External links

Clément Poitrenaud
on sporting-heroes.net
Clément Poitrenaud
on ercrugby.com
Clément Poitrenaud
on

IMDb IMDb, historically known as the Internet Movie Database, is an online database of information related to films, television series, podcasts, home videos, video games, and streaming content online – including cast, production crew and biograp ...

.com {{DEFAULTSORT:Poitrenaud, Clement 1982 births Living people Sportspeople from Castres Rugby union players from Tarn (department) French rugby union players Stade Toulousain players Rugby union fullbacks France international rugby union players Sharks (rugby union) players French expatriate rugby union players French expatriate sportspeople in South Africa Rugby union centres Expatriate rugby union players in South Africa 2003 Rugby World Cup players 21st-century French sportsmen