Alix Popham’s arrival in Brive is the latest attempt by a Welsh player to fender l’ecrou of French rugby. Le Rugby takes an alphabetical look back at those Welsh players who have played in the Top 14 and D2 in recent years. Were they a hit (un coup) or a miss (une mademoiselle)?

Gareth Bowen
The former Llanelli Scarlets outside half left Stradey Park in 2007 to team up with D2 newcomers Aurillac, themselves all geared up for a return to D2 after a season in the Federales jungles. Despite Les Aurillacois enjoying a largely successful season, winning 14 games and never in danger of relegation, Bowen struggled to make any sort of impact at the Stade Jean Alric. A paltry tally of just 10 games (4 starts), 3 penalties and 6 conversions went a long way to sealing his move back to Bridgend at the end of the season.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Colin Charvis
After being controversially snubbed by the new Welsh regions following the 2003 RWC, the veteran former Welsh captain signed for D2 outfit Tarbes in November 2003. No statistics are available however, in the part season that he played at the Stade Maurice Trelut, Charvis made an instant impression. A big hit with the local supporters, he proved that he was worthy of playing at a higher level. Despite offers from Tarbes and other teams in France, he left to join Newcastle at the end of the season.
Verdict: un coup

Barry Davies
The Welsh international full back’s move to Brive from Llanelli Scarlets in 2007 was a surprising one. Davies’ liking for open field breaks was not an obvious match for Brive’s conservative game plan. Despite this, he enjoyed a largely successful first year at the Stade Amédée-Domenech last season, making 15 appearances (14 starts) in the league and scoring 2 tries. He also played 4 times (4 starts) in the European Challenge Cup, scoring 2 tries and a penalty. Playing in a team that laboured to maintain its top flight status, Davies can be happy with the impact he made.
Verdict: un coup

Adrian Durston
A journeyman full back who played for Bridgend, Neath, Ospreys and Viadana, Durston’s move to D2 outfit Oyonnax in 2006 was a strange one. Oyonnax is not an obvious draw for foreign players, due partly to its location in the rugby wilderness of eastern France and partly to its limited financial budget. Durston’s time at the Stade Charles-Mathon is easily forgotten, as he played just 7 games (7 starts) and didn’t score a point. He left after just one season and spent last year playing for C S Beaune in Federale 3 – he’s either addicted to steak frites or he’s got a French oiseau. All in all, there’s only one conclusion.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Derwyn Jones
The giant of the Welsh line-out, 6ft 10in Derwyn became 2,08m Derwyn with a move from Bedford to Béziers in the summer of 1999. Les BItterois had just dropped into the second division, but 19-cap lock Jones helped them return to the top flight at the first time of asking. He didn't stay on for a taste of championnat rugby though, shunning contract offers from Béziers and an italian club to call time on his professional career and return to Britain to go into teaching and to "spend quality time with his girlfriend", according to a Daily Mirror report, turning out for Midlands 1 outfit Banbury. Nevertheless he admits to having had a great time in France and becoming fluent in the language within his first three months. Allez!
Verdict: un coup

Stephen Jones
No introductions needed here. Jones’ decision to leave his spiritual Stradey Park home in 2004 to join Clermont was headline-grabbing news. Some fears were voiced about his move to France, but he made an immediate impact. In his first season he played 22 league games (22 starts), kicking 89 penalties, 27 conversions and 3 drop goals. His 315 points was second best in the league. He also played 4 games (2 starts) in the European Challenge Cup, kicking 7 penalties and 13 conversions. The next season he played 18 games (18 starts) in the Top 14, kicking 42 penalties, 30 conversions and 3 drop goals. He also played 3 games (3 starts) in the Heineken Cup, kicking 6 penalties, 8 conversions and 1 drop goal. This was enough for him to be voted Top 14 fly-half of the season by French journalists. Some were disappointed by his decision to head back home to the sanctity of Llanelli in 2006, as he was a firm favourite amongst Les Auvergnats at the Parc des Sports Marcel-Michelin. Undoubtedly one of the Welsh successes in France.
Verdict: un coup

Gareth Llewellyn
The veteran former Neath and Ospreys second row was a surprise capture by Top 14 outfit Narbonne in 2004. With his marathon international career having finally come to an end, Llewellyn embarked on un été Indienne down on the Mediterranean coast. His time at the Parc des Sports et de l'Amitié was solid and productive, seeing him play 20 league games (15 starts). He did enough to warrant a new contract offer from Les Narbonnais, but opted to leave for Bristol at the end of season.
Verdict: un coup

Steve Moore
Welsh international lock and brother of Andy left Cardiff for the sunnier climbs of Narbonne in the summer of 2001, but his time chez les Oranges et Noirs started badly as he and his daughter were involved in a car accident within a month of the season starting. He recovered to make 24 appearances for the club, before leaving for the distinctly un-Mediterranean climate of Orrell at the end of his one and only season in France. Mid-way through the season it looked as if Narbonne would be fielding an all-Welsh second row, but Andy Newman's arrival as a replacement for the injured Olivier Merle failed to materialise. Injury forced Moore to quit the game less than a year after leaving France, and these days he runs an online rugby shop.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Richard Parks
Former Sardis Road favourite Parks left Leeds for the rugby mad city of Perpignan in 2006. A strange transfer, and one that was rumoured to have been triggered by Parks’ then celebrity girlfriend and all-round oiseau chaud Amanda Protheroe-Thomas’ decision to relocate to the south of France. Parks’ stint at the Stade Aimé Giral was very disappointing, seeing him play in only 9 league games (3 starts) and 2 Heineken Cup games (0 starts). He left with a year remaining on his contract to sign for the Dragons.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Cerith Rees
The former Wales Under-21 fly half joined Top 16 team Grenoble from Bridgend in 2002. His time in the Alps was fruitless however, as he played only 6 games (all as sub) and scored just a try, a penalty and a conversion. So unproductive actually that he moved to unheralded Federale 1 outfit Lons-Le-Saunier in 2003 (again a case of steak frites syndrome or a oiseau, surely). He played there for two seasons, and in his second season was the league’s top points scorer. Albi took note and snapped him up in 2005. His time with Les Albigeois was chaud et froid. In his first season in D2 he played 22 games (16 starts), kicking 42 penalties, 18 conversions and a drop goal. With Albi’s promotion to the Top 14 came a slide down l’ordre picotant. He played only 2 games (2 starts), kicking 5 penalties. He also played 5 games (3 starts) in the European Challenge Cup, notching a try, 3 penalties and a drop goal. He left the Stadium Municipal d’Albi at the end of the season to sign for Doncaster in what must be the only Albi-Doncaster transfer ever recorded.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Tony Rees
Wales B cap Tony Rees became the first Welsh player to win the Heineken Cup when he came off the bench to help Brive beat Leicester in the 1997 final in Cardiff . Rees joined Brive after two years playing in Japan with Tokyo Gas, but spent only a year in France , returning to Cardiff the following season. He'd obviously brought a bit of the Correze spirit home with him - just a month into the season he received a record 90-day ban for kicking fellow Welshman Gareth Llewellyn in a Heineken Cup match against Harlequins.
Verdict: un coup

Arwel Thomas
Welsh rugby’s answer to Willo the Wisp joined Pau in 2003 from Swansea, after he failed to bag a regional contract. In a microcosm of his career, he failed to hit the heights at the Stade du Hameau. His Top 16 career comprised of just 3 games (2 starts), kicking 9 penalties and a drop goal. Although his contract allowed for a further year’s extension, both parties cut their losses and Thomas left for the Scarlets at the end of the season.
Verdict: une mademoiselle

Gareth Thomas
The former Welsh captain joined Toulouse from the Celtic Warriors in 2004 in what is still the highest profile move of a Welsh player to France. Alfie was joining a star-studded team with a set of backs that was a qui est qui of French rugby. Despite this he soon broke into the team and in his first season in the Top 16, played in 21 games (18 starts) and scored 8 tries. He also played 7 games (3 starts) in the Heineken Cup, scoring 1 try. The following season he played 13 games (11 starts) in the Top 14, scoring 7 tries. In the Heineken Cup he played 6 games (6 starts), scoring 3 tries. In his final season in 2006, he played 9 games (8 starts) in the league, scoring 1 try. He also played 4 games (2 starts) in the Heineken Cup, before spending the second half of the year out of favour following his part in the Trevor Brennan incident. He announced he was returning to Wales to play for Cardiff Blues in January 2007, but his spell in France ended acrimoniously as despite being off the teamsheet, Toulouse refused to release him from his contract before the season was out, and the club even threatened to sue him when he went on tour to Australia with Wales in June 2007 rather than staying for the Top 14 play-offs. Nevertheless Thomas was a favourite amongst Les Toulousains and can be proud of his achievements that include being part of the team that lifted the 2005 Heineken Cup. Undoubtedly one of the most successful Welsh rugby exports to France.
Verdict: un coup

Chris Wyatt
The journeyman former Newport, Neath and Llanelli Scarlets international forward joined Bourgoin from Munster in 2007. This was a decent move for Wyatt, who’d been signed by the Irish rugby dinosaurs to play exclusively in the Magners League, but typical of Bourgoin’s lack of ambition. He played 15 league games (10 starts) last season, scoring 3 tries. He also played 6 games (3 starts) in the Heineken Cup. With his one year contract at an end, Wyatt has penned a player-coach deal with big spending Federale 3 outfit Aix-en-Provence, who narrowly missed out on promotion to D2, in the knowledge that he made a reasonable impact at the Stade Pierre Rajon.
Verdict: un coup