In the seventh in a series celebrating the journeymen of French rugby, Le Rugby heralds a veteran second row who’s signed more transfer forms than Jacques and Barry have had steak frites lunches. Enough talk of food… tous grêlent Guy Jeannard!

Born in Toulouse in February 1972, Jeannard soon caught the rugby bug that envelopes most of the city’s population. He worked his way through the various age grades at the Stade Ernest Wallon, eventually earning himself a spot on the Toulouse youth squad in 1990. Although unsuccessful in gaining a full time contract once his three years were up, Jeannard had coupez ses dents at one of the world’s great clubs.

Not wishing to leave the good life in Toulouse, Jeannard opted to stay local and join Pro D2 side Blagnac in the summer of 1993. His season with les Avions at the Stade Ernest-Argelès never really took off, but did expose our man to the harsh realities of league rugby. A Cessna competing for air space in a world of Airbuses, his lack of experience and maturity was put to the test from le mot allez in what was a steep learning curve. However, he made a favourable impression on the watching scouts and in June 1994 was snapped up by Castres.

Our hero’s three year stint at the Stade Pierre Antoine was an enjoyable one. Castres are much like Stephen Fry, The Simpsons or Salad Cream – reliable, traditional and hard to dislike. He made the transition to top flight rugby with ease, forcing himself into first team contention the following season. The 1994-95 would be a momentous one for his club, as they lost to Toulouse in the Championship Final in front of 50,000 fans at the Parc des Princes. His stock continued to rise and he was on the move again.

His next port of call was Toulon, for whom he penned a deal in July 1997. He spent two solid, productive years at the Stade Mayol. By now, Jeannard had established himself as a reliable, sought-after top-flight lock. In keeping with his journeyman status he was soon packing his backs, this time teaming up with Montauban.

He arrived at Stade Sapiac in the summer of 1999 to join a club eager to get out of Pro D2. Guy was seen as l’homme pour le boulot. Promotion to the Top 16 was achieved in 2000-01, the highlight of four happy years on the banks of the River Tarn. His final season was 2002-03, when he started 18 of 24 league games, scoring 2 tries (you could be fooled into thinking that no statistics were available for previous seasons).

Four seasons at one club is a lifetime for a journeyman player. Cue a move to fellow Top 16 strugglers Beziers in the summer of 2003. His three seasons with les Bitterois at the Stade de la Méditerranée were certainly un sac melange. The 2003-04 season was a productive one for both player and club. Beziers ended the season in a respectable 8th place, with Jeannard making 19 appearances (18 starts). The following season saw things go boites up though. By now our man was part of the furniture, playing in 29 of the 30 league games, making 27 starts. This, along with his two tries was not enough however, and you could hear the cheers as far away as Narbonne as a dismal 15th place finish saw Beziers relegated to Pro D2. Loyal to the end, he stayed on for another season. Despite another ever present effort – Jeannard played in 27 of the 32 games, scoring 2 tries – les Bitterois failed to bag an immediate return to the Top 14. A fifth place finish secured a play-off clash with Albi, a game that saw les Albigeois apportez à la maison le lard 25-20.

Jeannard was on the move again in July 2006. He inked a one year deal with Pro D2 side Pau, a club eager to return to the top flight following their shock relegation a month earlier. Despite another solid campaign for this ultra durable man mountain – he played in 18 games – les Paloises could manage only a tame 8th place finish.

However, Guy's season at the Stade du Hameau won’t be remembered for the statistics. In a story that rocked the rugby world, Jeannard was involved in a highly controversial incident during a clash with Toulon. He claimed he was the victim of “....intolerable racist insults” from Toulon’s South African flanker Charl van Vliet. So bad was the abuse that Jeannard left the field voluntarily moments before the final whistle, before in his words he would “....do something he’d later regret”. Fortunately Van Vliet's own teammates told the South African just what they thought, with Tana Umaga, then the Toulon centre, trying to appease Jeannard by swapping shirts. Toulon president Mourad Boudjellal, also apologised to the player.

Last season saw him fly full circle and return to Pro D2 new boys Blagnac. Now officially away from the limelight, it was a tough year for our grizzled veteran. Les Avions propped up the table in 16th place, despite Jeannard’s best efforts that saw him play in 28 of the 31 matches, notching two tries.

This summer saw him on the move once again as he joined ambitious Fédérale 1 outfit Carcassonne. He’s making his customary mark at the Stade Albert-Domec alongside the likes of fellow journeyman Franck Tournaire, having already made seven league starts.

Worthy of his place in any list of French journeymen players, Guy Jeannard is the epitome of a true rugby warrior who’s racked up 19 yellow cards and two red cards over the last six seasons. Le Rugby is happy to celebrate the career of a man whose nicknames include “the governor”, “the beam” and “the horse whose two front feet are pointing outwards”, illustrating the vagarisms of translation. It’s just a pity he didn’t stay on the pitch a little longer to give that racist South African morceau de merde what he deserved. Allez Guy Jeannard!