Julien Saubade (born 5 November 1983 in

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

) 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 ...

footballer, currently playing for the

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

rugby club Racing Métro in the top level of French club rugby, 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 ...

. His usual position is on the wing. Saubade was originally playing with

Biarritz Olympique Biarritz Olympique Pays Basque (; ), usually known simply as Biarritz, is a French professional rugby union team based in the Iparralde, Basque city of Biarritz in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques, Pyrénées-Atlantiques department of Nouvelle-Aquitaine ...

, where he had been developed, though he moved to

US Dax Union Sportive Dax Rugby Landes, also known as US Dax, is a French rugby union club currently playing in Pro D2, the second level of the French league system. They were founded in 1904. They play at Stade Maurice Boyau (capacity 16,170). They w ...

, playing 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 ...

, initially for the 2003 season, but he ended up staying there until July 2005, since he could not get the opportunity to play in Biarritz's first team. He was the second division's top scorer with 12 tries. The club did not seem to be ready to trust him despite his selections in the French U-19 and then U-21 teams (alongside Julien Arias and Arnaud Marchois whom he was to join in Paris). Therefore, he moved to Paris to play for

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 ...

, among the ''élite'' of French rugby. At the start, the transition from the

to the

was quite hard for him, and Saubade made several unusual mistakes for such a promising player like him, notably one which made Paris' coach,

Fabien Galthié Fabien Galthié (; born 20 March 1969) is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played much of his club rugby for Colomiers, and later on i ...

, furious and which cost his team to lose a match in

Montpellier Montpellier (; ) is a city in southern France near the Mediterranean Sea. One of the largest urban centres in the region of Occitania (administrative region), Occitania, Montpellier is the prefecture of the Departments of France, department of ...

. As a consequence, Saubade was advised to readapt through the

' ''Espoirs'' (Juniors) team for a time, to gain experience from training with many of his new international teammates, to work physically, and then, thanks to some injuries among the starters he was given another chance to show his talent again and he seized it well. During the

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament conte ...

and after, he played all the matches, and scored 6 tries. Saubade also played in his club's semi-final of the 2005–06 Top 14, which they eventually lost to

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

, 12 to 9 and in

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 ...

matches. He moved to the other major Paris club, Racing Métro, for the 2009–10 season, and has remained there since.

External links

Julien Saubade
on '' lequipe.fr'' 1983 births French rugby union players Living people Rugby union wings Rugby union players from Bayonne Biarritz Olympique players Racing 92 players Stade Français Paris players 21st-century French sportsmen {{France-rugbyunion-bio-1980s-stub