Wesley Fofana

Wesley Fofana is renowned in the rugby world for his electric pace and powerful play as a centre, so much so it earned him the nickname ‘The Cheetah’. Thanks to his speed he also occasionally plays on the wing.

Born in Paris, in January 1988, Wesley Fofana is also of Malian descent. He played rugby union as a youth and then at amateur level with French sides USO Massif Central and Paris Université Club before joining the academy at Clermont in 2008.

Wesley Fofana remains a one-club player and since making his senior debut for Clermont in 2009 he has played over 200 games and amassed over 300 points. Notable honours in his career include Top 14 title wins in 2010 and 2017 as well as an EPCR Challenge Cup win in the 2018-19 season. During the final of said tournament Wesley Fofana also scored a try, and to date, is one of Les Jaunards most prolific players.

His fine form for Clermont was enough to get him noticed by the international setup and he was first called up in 2012 and made his senior debut for France against Italy in the Six Nations Championship of that year. He also scored his first try for Les Blues in the same game and in the following three games scored three more, becoming one of only a few players to score in their first four international matches.

In the 2013 Six Nations, Wesley Fofana scored a memorable solo try against England which saw him run 70 metres and dodge numerous tackles on the way. He called time on his international career in 2019 and was originally meant to stop playing for France after the Rugby World Cup of that year. However, in controversial circumstances he left the French camp after the first game in the competition, citing an undetected injury, before retiring from the international game for good.

He is often now mistaken for the Premier League footballer of the same name.