Two weeks before the season starts, the fourteen Top 14 squads are now settled. Their profiles, however, vary widely from one club to the next.
Back in the top flight after winning the Pro D2 final, RC Vannes start the second Top 14 campaign in their history with the oldest average age in the league: 28.5 across the 47 players listed in their squad. Castres and USAP follow at 28.1, Bayonne at 27.8.
At the other end, Clermont have got younger than anyone and have the youngest group in the Top 14, with an average of 26.3, ahead of Pau, Racing 92 and Stade Toulousain, all at 27.0 or 27.1.
| Club | Squad | Average age | Average height | Average weight |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Clermont | 39 | 26.3 years | 1.86 m | 101 kg |
| Pau | 47 | 27.0 years | 1.87 m | 99 kg |
| Racing 92 | 42 | 27.1 years | 1.85 m | 99 kg |
| Stade Toulousain | 41 | 27.1 years | 1.87 m | 105 kg |
| UBB | 40 | 27.3 years | 1.87 m | 103 kg |
| Toulon | 47 | 27.5 years | 1.86 m | 99 kg |
| Montpellier | 44 | 27.5 years | 1.86 m | 102 kg |
| La Rochelle | 39 | 27.5 years | 1.86 m | 100 kg |
| Stade français | 44 | 27.6 years | 1.85 m | 100 kg |
| LOU | 39 | 27.7 years | 1.85 m | 98 kg |
| Bayonne | 40 | 27.8 years | 1.87 m | 102 kg |
| USAP | 48 | 28.1 years | 1.86 m | 99 kg |
| Castres | 42 | 28.1 years | 1.87 m | 101 kg |
| Vannes | 47 | 28.5 years | 1.87 m | 100 kg |
Vannes do not have the most players in their thirties, but they have the most aged 34-plus
The detail qualifies the ranking. With 14 players aged 30 or over out of 47, the promoted side are only fifth in the league on that measure, well behind Toulon (18 out of 47) and USAP (16 out of 48). What sets them apart is the top of the pyramid: seven Vannes players are 34 or older, while no other Top 14 club has more than four.
| Player | Age | Position |
|---|---|---|
| Sione Kalamafoni | 38 | Back row |
| Steeve Blanc-Mappaz | 36 | Back row |
| Michael Ruru | 35 | Scrum-half |
| David Cherry | 35 | Hooker |
| Nic Schonert | 34 | Prop |
| Matias Alemanno | 34 | Lock |
| Anthony Bouthier | 34 | Full-back |
The other explanation lies at the bottom of the pyramid: Vannes have only five players under 23, while Toulon have thirteen and Pau twelve. That is how the Var club, despite having the most players in their thirties, post an average age a year lower than the promoted Brittany side.
Twenty-one years between the oldest and the youngest
The oldest player in the league is USAP’s Argentinian fly-half Benjamín Urdapilleta, 40. Behind him come Vannes’s Tongan back-row forward Sione Kalamafoni (38), Racing 92 scrum-half Maxime Machenaud (37), La Rochelle’s Fijian centre Levani Botia (37) and Toulon prop Rabah Slimani (36).
The youngest is Pau’s Joachim Senga, 18, ahead of Clermont’s Leo Michaux Vargas, also 18, and his Spanish team-mate Juan Martin Montilla, 19.
Stade Toulousain have the heaviest pack
The differences in build are tighter: two centimetres separate the average heights of the fourteen clubs. Stade Toulousain stand out on weight, however, with an average of 105 kg, five more than the league average, while LOU are the lightest at 98 kg.
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