He goes fast, Nicolas Depoortere. Very quickly, even. And if they didn’t already know it, the Racing 92 players made the bitter observation on Saturday March 2. Starting from its 22 meters, the three-quarter center of the Union Bordeaux-Bègles hit the gas. Straight ahead. Full iron. It was already too late to stop him. 80 meters further, the 21-year-old Girondin only came down from his cloud to dive into the goal. An unacademic gesture for which no one will hold it against him, the maximum aesthetic mark having already been reached a long time ago.
Since everything is a question of speed with him, Depoortere is preparing to honor, eight days later, his very first cap with the XV of France, Sunday March 10 in Cardiff (at 4 p.m., live on France 2 and france.tv ). Did this fantastic ride in the Top 14 precipitate his debut in the Six Nations Tournament? Very little for Fabien Galthié. “It’s a first selection, but it has been prepared, constructed”indicated the coach in a pre-match press conference.
These debuts in Wales, Nicolas Depoortere owes them a little to the suspension of Jonathan Danty, a lot to his own talent, but above all to… a sheet of paper distributed to his brother Jules at the end of school. “We gave him a flyer from the rugby school and he triedremembers their father, Alexandre. The little brother was on the sidelines and, when he could, he wanted to go too.”
A click during Covid-19
Following in his brother’s footsteps, the Girondin from Vayres, 30 kilometers east of Boredaux, began fiddling with leather in the neighboring village of Izon, between the railway and the Dordogne river. “He was already a little above the resttells Jean-Pierre Nowak, secretary general of US Izon. He already had a lot of power and at the same time he was an adorable kid, without any malice.”
His prowess quickly reached the Bègles rugby school, where he landed at the age of 14. With no other horizon than simple pleasure. “He’s a competitor, he likes the challenge, but he doesn’t have never mentioned being professional”, unfolds his father. Depoortere quietly practiced until 2020, when the Covid-19 pandemic disrupted the daily lives of the UBB youth teams.
“Somehow he benefited from it, because he trained very hard with his brother during the stoppage of competitions, explains the director of the training center, Frédéric Garcia. Arriving in August 2020, the latter waits until Depoortere comes of age (in January 2021) to upgrade him to Espoirs. The last step before the professionals. “He arrived on tiptoe, with boys two or three years olderGarcia continues. And he established himself as a leader by example.”
Selected for the French under-20 team, Depoortere very quickly became captain, in the summer of 2022. To the point, logically, of making his debut in the Top 14 on Christmas Eve of the same year, in La Rochelle. . Until then linear, his trajectory shifted, shortly before his 20th birthday, into an exponential one. In less than a year, the center established itself as a starter at UBB, won the Under-20 World Cup, and won the trials – new, straddling two seasons – and helped defeat Saracens in the Champions Cup. “He was very good as a child, but now, wow!”greets Jean-Pierre Nowak.
Power, finesse and mullet cut
But, even if everything happens very quickly, Depoortere is not the type to get a big head. “As soon as he can, he comes to see us for matches, he still has a lot of friends here”continues the leader of US Izon, which has since merged with clubs from the neighboring towns of Saint-Loubès and Ambarès. “He also often comes to UBB Espoirs training”, adds Frédéric Garcia. The neo-international reserves his only extravagances for his hairstyle. “As long as I have hair, I’ll try things!”he laughed in January in The Team. In Cardiff, we should see him sporting a mullet cut.
“He’s a bon vivant… Well, I’m not saying that in relation to the party. He’s just a happy person!”
Emilien Gailleton, Pau player and French internationalin South West
On the field, the three-quarter center combines his speed with his power (1.94 m, 94 kg) and his outdoor desires, in a Gironde team focused on the offensive. “He’s a boy who protects himself well and manages to avoid injuriescompletes his trainer Frédéric Garcia. On defense, he made reading errors, but that is no longer the case. He has become a very complete player.”
“When there is a try or a timeout, I sometimes see him talking to his teammatescontinues Izonnais Jean-Pierre Nowak. He already did like that when he was very little, with his leadership character.” Not impressed despite his lack of experience, Nicolas Depoortere blends into a collective that includes his great friend Louis Bielle-Biarrey. “They are inseparable, they grew up together in U20 and in club”indicates his father, Alexandre Depoortere.
Six months his junior, but more experienced (a professional season and nine additional selections), “LBB” will accompany his former roommate on the pitch in Cardiff. With Nolann Le Garrec and Léo Barré, also starters in Wales, they embody this new generation of carefree young talents. Somewhere it was written that a kid from Vayres, one of the best places to observe the Tidal Bore – an impressive elevation of the water on the Dordogne – would manage to catch the right wave.