Loann Goujon (; born 23 April 1989) 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 ...

player. He currently plays for

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

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 ...

, normally playing at Flanker or Number 8.

Career

Goujon first started playing rugby in 2003 at Junior rugby level. From 2003 to 2005 he played for his local side RC Combronde, before playing for RC Vichy at the age of 16. At the age of 17 he was recruited by

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 play for the Junior side, and by the age of 19 he was promoted to the senior squad. Although he played for Clermont's second team between 2008 and 2011. During this time, he was selected for the France U20's team to play in the

2009 Six Nations Under 20s Championship The 2009 Six Nations Under 20s Championship was a rugby union competition held between February and March 2009. France won the tournament but no team won the Grand Slam or Triple Crown. Final Table Results Round one Round two Round three ...

. He played in all five games in what was France U20's first Championship title. He was later selected for the

2009 IRB Junior World Championship The 2009 IRB Junior World Championship (known as the 2009 IRB Toshiba Junior World Championship for sponsorship reasons) was the second annual international rugby union competition for Under 20 national teams, this competition replaces the now de ...

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 ...

, where he was part of the team that beat Wales U20's 68–13 to claim 5th place. For the

2011–12 Top 14 season The 2011–12 Top 14 competition was a French domestic rugby union club competition operated by the Ligue Nationale de Rugby (LNR). Home-and-away play began on August 26, 2011. Two new teams from the 2010–11 Rugby Pro D2 season were promoted to ...

, he was offered a full professional contract by

Vern Cotter Vernon Anthony Cotter (born 27 January 1962) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He currently coaches the Blues (Super Rugby), Blues in Super Rugby. He started his coaching career at Bay of Plenty including winning the Ranfur ...

, and was made an official member of the Clermont senior side. He debuted professionally on the 17 September 2011 against Racing Métro in a 22–11 victory. In July 2012, he was loaned to

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 ...

, to gain some game time and experience. Surprisingly, he played in all but 2 matches in that season, making 23 starts. He remained with the club for the 2013–14 Rugby Pro D2 season, and was a key figure in the team that gained them promotion to the

for the 2014–15 season. Having put in strong ball carrying performances for La Rochelle, he was called up to the France national side for the

2015 Six Nations Championship The 2015 Six Nations Championship, known as the 2015 RBS 6 Nations because of the tournament's sponsorship by the Royal Bank of Scotland, was the 16th series of the Six Nations Championship, the annual rugby union tournament. It was contested by E ...

by coach

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and was most recently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wi ...

. Although he was a late call-up, being added to the squad as injury cover for

Louis Picamoles Louis Picamoles (born 5 February 1986) is a former French professional rugby union player who most recently played for Bordeaux Bègles in the Top 14. Picamoles's usual position was at number eight. Club career Picamoles began his club career ...

. He made his international debut off the bench 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 ...

in the opening week of the Six Nations, though he replaced captain

Thierry Dusautoir Thierry Dusautoir (; born 18 November 1981) is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career. Dusautoi ...

on the 79th minute.

References

External links

ESPN Profile
1989 births Living people Sportspeople from Albertville Rugby union players from Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Emlyon Business School alumni French rugby union players France international rugby union players Rugby union flankers ASM Clermont Auvergne players Union Bordeaux Bègles players Lyon OU Rugby players 21st-century French sportsmen {{France-rugbyunion-bio-1980s-stub