Marta, five tries in three games, leads the Top 14 try count

Three years ago he was playing in France’s third tier with Dax. Today, no one in the Top 14 has scored more tries.

A try in every match

Rodrigo Marta has wasted no time adapting to the Top 14. The Section Paloise wing scored in round one at Montpellier, then added two braces, against Bayonne in the 70-28 win and at Lyon last Saturday.

With five tries in three matches, he leads the championship’s try scorers outright, ahead of Lyon’s Gabin Lorre on four. He and Lorre are also the only two players to have scored in all three rounds.

Three seasons to climb the divisions

His path in France has come in stages. In 2022-23 he scored 17 tries in 20 Nationale matches with Dax. He then joined Colomiers in Pro D2 for three seasons: 6 tries in the first, 7 in the second, then 11 last season, 24 tries in 53 matches in all.

Pau signed him this summer. After three Top 14 matches, he is already close to his tally from his first Pro D2 season, six tries.

The man behind Portugal’s only Rugby World Cup win

Marta is also a Portugal international. At the 2023 World Cup he played in all four of his country’s matches and scored in the 78th minute against Fiji, in a 24-23 win.

It remains Portugal’s only victory at the Rugby World Cup in the fifteen-a-side game, from eight matches played in 2007 and 2023.