Present at the Ceva Campus on Wednesday for UBB’s return to training, though still working away from the group, Jean-Luc du Preez has got the machine going again. The hard part starts now, though: at 31 and after a blank year, the South African back-rower has to win back a place in an area that is bolted shut. Our data explains why.
A young trio who took everything
Last season, the Bordeaux back row revolved around three men, and all of them are in their prime. Our data shows it beyond argument.
| Player | Age | Matches (Top 14) | Starts |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cameron Woki | 28 | 21 | 19 |
| Temo Matiu | 25 | 20 | 15 |
| Marko Gazzotti | 22 | 18 | 12 |
| Lachlan Swinton (left for USAP) | 29 | 4 | 3 |
| Jean-Luc du Preez | 31 | 1* | 0 |
*du Preez: three matches across all competitions.
Woki, Matiu and Gazzotti monopolised the team sheets, with 18 to 21 appearances each. Gazzotti’s case is the exact opposite of du Preez’s: at 22, the back-rower broke through, to the point of joining the France squad this summer for the Nations Championship. Which is to say the pecking order is firmly established.
du Preez, the signing who became a ghost
This is where it hurts. Arriving with great fanfare from Sale, where he was racking up matches (16 Premiership appearances in the 2023-24 season alone), the 31-year-old Springbok was no more than a shadow in his first season in the Gironde: three matches, not a single Top 14 start, thanks to repeated concussions and a serious knee injury. From marquee signing to invisible player, the fall was brutal.
And now, Tom Willis
du Preez’s return is not into an empty slot, far from it. Bordeaux have deepened the area further by signing Tom Willis, the Saracens No. 8 who had a record season in England. Despite the departures of Swinton (USAP) and Bastien Vergnes-Taillefer (Pau) and the loan of Bobby Bissu (Aix), the competition for a starting place remains suffocating.
The real bet of the season
Here is the equation facing Jean-Luc du Preez: come back from a blank year, at 31, and force his way ahead of a young, high-performing trio and a hungry new signing. On paper, his physique and his Springbok experience argue for him. In practice, our numbers are a reminder that he is starting a long way back.
One certainty remains: with Woki, Matiu, Gazzotti and now Willis, the Bordeaux back row has never been this deep. Even at full strength, du Preez will need to be patient.
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