Bordeaux put their faith in Gazzotti

“The flanker who starred in the U20s World Cup is keen to hit the Top 14 as soon as possible”

- JAMES HARRINGTON

FRANCE U20 sensation Marko Gazzotti has swapped the Alps for the Atlantic and the ProD2 for the Top 14 after agreeing to leave Grenoble for Bordeaux on a four-year deal in time for the start of the 2023/24 campaign.

It’s some coup for Bordeaux, and a statement of ambitious intent from the 18-year-old – he turns 19 in September – but he’s treading a career path that, though well-worn in France, can be fraught.

Back row Gazzotti, named Player of the Tournament after Les Bleuets romped to a third World Rugby U20 Championship title in a row last month in South Africa, had been the subject of speculation for some time.

The player – already well-trained in the art of media work, it seems – had watchfully dead batted questions about his future when Midi Olympique caught up with him shortly after he had returned home with his France U20 colleagues from the successful trip to the Western Cape.

“We’ll see what to do for the future when I get back,” he said at the time. “Stay at Grenoble for another season? I don’t know, I can’t say. It’s impossible, at this precise moment, to predict what will happen in the future.”

He was on the radar of both Toulon and, especially, Toulouse, reports suggested. But, as it turned out, Bordeaux – now under the management of Yannick Bru – beat Toulon and Toulouse to Gazzotti’s signature, agreeing to buy out the last year of his current academy contract.