Mathieu Bastareaud

Mathieu Bastareaud (French pronunciation: ​[matjø bastaʁo]; born 17 September 1988) is a French rugby union centre who plays for Toulon.

Stade Francais

Bastareaud played for Creteil Rugby youth squads and then moved to Massy, where he fitted in well due to his bare mass. He went through the junior academy there and played for the third division club SU Massy. He attracted national attention and after two seasons he moved to Stade Français.

He was included in the 2009 Six Nations Championship squad. He impressed in the match against Wales, which France won 21–16, on 27 February 2009, this was his Six Nations Championship debut. He later played against England and as a replacement against Italy in the same competition. After some very impressive performances for his club, Matthieu was involved in the 2010 Six Nations Championship and was a key figure for the French side. He stood out as an extreme powerhouse, as he scored two tries against Scotland at Murrayfield, and kept on impressing against Italy and Wales. He was rested for the majority of the game against Italy but was brought on for the last 15 minutes and nearly scored with a 10-metre leg charge.