After a prolonged sojourn, our celebration of French rugby's journeymen returns with a bang. Le Rugby rejoices in the ongoing career of a full back who’s tried his luck in three different countries. Here is a live contender for our Marco Polo award for Rugby’s Ultimate Journeyman. Bienvenue Julien Laharrague!

Born in Tarbes (ho ho!) in July 1978, full back/winger Julien spent his formative rugby years with Les Hohoistes, working his way through the mini and junior ranks at the Stade Maurice Trelut along with his brother Nicolas.

His time at Tarbes (ho ho!) soon came to an end as he upped sticks to join Beziers, but our hero was clearly unsettled as he decided that life on the Med wasn’t for him.

Next was a trip west to join Agen, but frustration was le nom de jeu as he struggled for game time. Up next was a move further west to link up with Dax, who in 1999 were still a reasonable force to be reckoned with, having been Heineken Cup quarter-finalists just two years previously.

Two largely uneventful seasons followed at the Stade Maurice Boyau where Julien failed to establish himself as a first team fixture. He was now at a crossroads in his life. Where was his career heading?  Was he destined for a career of fulfillment at rugby’s top table or would he languish in the Fédérale jungles for the rest of his playing days?

The answer would lie in his next move. Where better to go than back to one of your old haunts? Our man certainly thought so as he engineered himself a move back to Beziers, and his second spell on the shores of the Mediterranean would be far more profitable. For the 2001/02 and 2002/3 campaigns, Laharrague made an impressive 33 starts from 39 league and European appearances. Equally as impressive was his haul of six tries from full back. This would prove to be a pivotal period in his career, as he established himself as a numero quinze to be reckoned with... but not in Beziers. Brive would be his next port d’appel where our intrepid hero would, for the one and only time in his career, show his worth with the boot.

Laharrague was pretty much an ever-present for Brive between 2003-05.  His consistency at full back was instrumental in securing Brive’s return to French rugby’s top table. His prowess for scoring points was also clear for all to see (yet strangely has never been utilised since). In all he notched a total of 263pts for les Correzains, with an impressive 151 of these coming during the 2004-05 campaign. One of rugby’s most staggering statistics is that since kicking thirty three penalties during said campaign, he’s only ever kicked one more penalty during the following seven seasons.

It was at the tail-end of his time at the Stade Amédée-Domenech that he made his international bow. When first selected against Wales in February 2005, his attacking play was compared to that of JPR (fans of Aironi would subsequently argue it was more like JCB). He would go on to win 12 caps for Les Bleus – he should have won more but French management didn’t know where to send the selection telegram.

Family ties would prove too much for Julien, who penned a deal to join Perpignan in the summer of 2005 to join up with younger brother Nicolas, in what was probably his stand-out move. Things began well enough during a solid first term with les sang et or, although he was soon on the move again after a slightly less productive second season. Philippe Saint-André’s Sale snapped him up on a three month loan deal in February 2007. He showed enough to persuade the Manchester-based club to sign him on a permanent basis.

Would this rugby nomad finally find a permanent home? Could he cancel his annual subscription to Pickfords? The fact he made just six league starts the following season tells you all you need to know. He never really settled in the rugby hot bed that is Edgeley Park. Our man, who in a recent interview admitted he doesn’t own a television and that he’d have become a fireman had he not played professional rugby, was once again on the move, this time to flourishing Top 14 outfit Montauban.

In what was becoming a regular feature of Laharrague’s career, he spent two years at his new home, the Stade Sapiac, but failed to set the world, or even the Tarn-et-Garonne, alight. An injury-plagued first campaign saw him make just 11 league and European appearances. The 2009/10 season was kinder to him personally, as he played in 20 of les Sapiacains 26 league games, yet it was a season of doom for his club as they were demoted to Fédérale 1 due to financial debauchery, despite finishing the season in 12th place.

Last season saw his passport stamped once again, as he linked up with Italian team Aironi. The fledgling region was embarking on their first Celtic League campaign and took advantage of Montauban’s demise by snapping up chomeur Julien.

Despite plenty of enthusiasm and endeavour, ex-Welsh international flanker Rowland Phillips’ men were outclassed for most of the season. A solitary win over Connacht was the only highlight of an otherwise grisly debut season amongst Europe’s finest.

In fact, one year of heavy losses at the Stadio Luigi Zaffanella was enough to persuade our man to return home to l’Ovalie. He’s penned a deal with ambitious Fédérale 1 side Lourdes, now his 10th different club, alongside the likes of 32-cap Romanian lock Sorin Socol and bulky ex-Free State Cheetahs prop Jacques Botha.

Now 33 years old, this could be the final move of this rugby journeyman’s long and winding career. Whatever happens in the future, he can be confident of bragging rights in the Laharrague household at Christmas, having notched up ten more caps than his brother. Allez Julien!