Bordeaux-Bègles: Perchaud to 2030, life after Poirot takes shape

Bordeaux-Bègles are planning the next chapter of their front row. Matis Perchaud, who arrived from Bayonne in the summer of 2024, has committed for three more seasons.

The club confirmed the deal late on Wednesday 30 September. Perchaud had been under contract until June 2027. He has taken on a central role in a position where Bordeaux-Bègles have been without Jefferson Poirot, injured since late August, and Lasha Pkhakadze, suspended for two weeks.

Thirty matches last season

His first season in Bordeaux was cut short by an injury in round 11 against Montpellier. He returned in April and finished the campaign as a finisher, including the Champions Cup semi-final. He played 11 Top 14 matches that season, four of them as a starter.

The 2025-26 season changed his standing: 24 Top 14 matches, ten of them starts, plus six in the Champions Cup, for 30 appearances in all. An injury ruled him out of the European final. This season he has started three of the club’s four matches and played 226 minutes.

According to L’Équipe, the club were pleased with his physical work last summer: six to seven kilos added, neck strengthening and a nutrition programme.

Poirot’s designated successor

Perchaud came through the Bayonne academy and was handed his Top 14 debut in 2020 by Yannick Bru, whom he joined again in Bordeaux. Rugbyrama describes him as the successor to Jefferson Poirot, who is due to retire at the end of the season.

He is the latest in a run of Bordeaux-Bègles extensions since the summer: Louis Bielle-Biarrey and Marko Gazzotti until 2029, Boris Palu until 2029 and Pierre Bochaton until 2030. The case of tighthead Ben Tameifuna, out of contract in 2027, remains open.

Bordeaux-Bègles host Lyon on Saturday 3 October in round 5.