Julien Malzieu (born 4 May 1983 in

Le Puy-en-Velay Le Puy-en-Velay (, ; , before 1988: ''Le Puy'') is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Loire Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region of south-central France. Located near the rive ...

Haute-Loire Haute-Loire (; 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, Lozère, Canta ...

Auvergne Auvergne (; ; or ) is a cultural region in central France. As of 2016 Auvergne is no longer an administrative division of France. It is generally regarded as conterminous with the land area of the historical Province of Auvergne, which was dis ...

) is a 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 ...

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

competition.

Career

A tall and rangy

wing A wing is a type of fin that produces both Lift (force), lift and drag while moving through air. Wings are defined by two shape characteristics, an airfoil section and a planform (aeronautics), planform. Wing efficiency is expressed as lift-to-d ...

, 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 located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

against

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 ...

. 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 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 ...

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 ...

. He scored another try the next week against

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 ...

, but missed the 2009 Autumn internationals. He was recalled for the

2010 Six Nations Championship The 2010 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2010 RBS 6 Nations due to sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 11th series of the Six Nations Championship and the 116th international championship, an annual rugby union competition b ...

after injuries to

Aurélien Rougerie Aurélien Rougerie (born 26 September 1980) is a French former rugby union player who played on the wing and center for France and ASM Clermont Auvergne in the French Top 14 for his entire 19-year career. Career Rougerie was born in Beaumo ...

and

Benjamin Fall Benjamin Fall (born 3 March 1989) is a former French rugby player. He played as a wing. He was part of the 2008 IRB Junior World Championship playing for France playing 4 games and scoring 2 tries. He then played for Union Bordeaux Bègles in th ...

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 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 ...

to the forefront of European rugby. He is seen as a reliable points source for them as his prolific try scoring record shows. He played in the final as Clermont won the

title in 2009–10. His brother, Jérémy Malzieu was in the

squad, but now plays for Saint-Etienne in the

Pro D2 The 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 introduced in 2000. It ...

. 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 was ...

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 Sportspeople 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 Montpellier Hérault Rugby players 21st-century French sportsmen