Stade Français confirmed on Friday that Noah Nene has extended his contract until 2031. The 21-year-old centre, who was courted by La Rochelle, has committed for five more seasons. The club describes him as a “powerful, explosive player who can make the difference with ball in hand”.

Nine tries, and only one centre ahead of him

The contract rests on a season that changed his standing. Nene played eighteen Top 14 games in 2025-2026, seventeen of them as a starter, and always in the same position: inside centre. He scored nine tries, plus a tenth in the Challenge Cup.

Nine tries is a lot for a number 12. Among Top 14 players whose main position last season was centre, only one did better: Jeremy Ward, with eleven tries. He is his team-mate at Stade Français. Behind them, Jules Favre and Nicolas Depoortere are level with Nene, followed by Émilien Gailleton, Justo Piccardo and Sireli Maqala on eight.

Factor in his age and the figure stands out even more. Among players under twenty-two, no one scored more than Nene in the Top 14 last season. He shares top spot with Grégoire Arfeuil, also on nine. Kalvin Gourgues, Fabien Brau-Boirie and Léo Carbonneau follow on seven.

A loan spell at Dax along the way

His path has been anything but straight. Nene made his Top 14 debut on 30 December 2023, at Toulon. His first start came two weeks later, and not in the league: away to Leinster, in the Champions Cup, wearing 12.

Stade Français then loaned him to Dax for the 2024-2025 season. Fourteen Pro D2 matchday squads, nine starts, three tries. A season of game time, at a point when the Paris bench offered him little.

He returned the following summer and made the position his own. The Six Nations followed, with a first cap in February against Wales.