Who is Melvyn Jaminet: Ten things you should know about the France full-back

Melvyn Jaminet played Test rugby before appearing in the French top flight and has established himself as France’s first-choice goalkicker…

Ten things you should know about Melvyn Jaminet

1. Melvyn Jaminet was born on 30 June 1999 in Hyeres, France. He stands at 5ft 11in (1.8m) and weighs 12st 1lb (77kg).

2. He plays for Perpignan but is set to join Toulouse for the 2022-23 season.

3. Jaminet won his first cap for France‘s senior side in 2021 against Australia – making his Test debut before playing in the Top 14 as Perpignan were playing in the ProD2, the French second division, in 2020-21 before being promoted.

4. Towards the end of his first cap, a decision to pass rather than clear to touch resulted in France conceding a late penalty that allowed the Wallabies to win 23-21.

He said afterwards: “I saw the negative comments about me. It’s normal. We lose on this action and I was very frustrated to lose the team on this pass.”

5. A week later, he slotted a late penalty – one of seven he kicked in the match – to give France a 28-26 victory, their first win over the Wallabies in Australia in 31 years.

6. He was successful with 34 out of 37 kicks at goal for France in 2021, giving him a success rate of 92%.

7. His two brothers, Kylian and Dylan, are both professional rugby players.

8. Jaminet won Revelation of the Year and ProD2 Player of the Year at the La Nuit du Rugby awards.

9. He played in his first Six Nations in 2022 – a tournament he watched growing up.

He told RMC Sport: “It’s a huge championship, the biggest in the world. When I was young, I was excited to be able to watch the matches. And to be able to participate in it is exciting.

“I can’t wait to discover the stadiums that I don’t know, the teams that I don’t know. I’m very eager to discover that.”

10. He likes to ski.