France-Italy: Damian Penaud equals Vincent Clerc and becomes second best scorer in the French XV

2023-10-06 21:20:39

It was only a matter of time, it’s now official, Damian Penaud is the second best try scorer in the history of the French XV. By scoring the Blues’ first try against Italy at the Rugby World Cup in the second minute, the winger joins Vincent Clerc in second place, with 34 tries. He is only four short attempts behind the leader of this ranking, Serge Blanco.

It only took one opportunity for the former Clermontois to score the first try of the evening. After a big battle from the front to find space in the Italian camp, Damian Penaud was on the receiving end of a pass from Thomas Ramos at the end of the line. Totally alone, the Frenchman flattened quietly, without the slightest difficulty. A first try, transformed by Thomas Ramos, who launches the Blues perfectly.

Before the start of this World Cup in France, Damian Penaud was only in sixth place in this ranking, with 29 goals. His try against New Zealand and his hat-trick against Namibia first allowed him to overtake Philippe Sella (30 tries) then Philippe Saint-André (32 tries). This time it’s Vincent Clerc who sees the UBB winger equalize, before probably overtaking him. The former Stade Toulouse and Toulon winger still remains on the podium, still largely dominated by Serge Blanco. But at the speed at which Damian Penaud is piling up the tests, the honorary title of the former Biterrois is still seriously threatened.