Mathieu Bastareaud

Stade Francais

Bastareaud played for Creteil Rugby youth squads and then moved to Massy, where he fitted in well due to his bare mass. He went through the junior academy there and played for the third division club SU Massy. He attracted national attention and after two seasons he moved to Stade Français.

He was included in the 2009 Six Nations Championship squad. He impressed in the match against Wales, which France won 21–16, on 27 February 2009, this was his Six Nations Championship debut. He later played against England and as a replacement against Italy in the same competition. Matthieu was involved in the 2010 Six Nations Championship and was a key figure for the French side. He scored two tries against Scotland at Murrayfield. He was rested for the majority of the game against Italy but was brought on for the last 15 minutes.

RC Toulon

In July 2011 Bastareaud was finally allowed to join Toulon. He had previously declared his wish to leave and with Stade Francais suffering major financial difficulties, (which saw them come close to being relegated) his wish was eventually granted. He signed a 3-year contract. In May 2013 he was named as man of the match as Toulon won the 2013 Heineken Cup Final by 16-15 against Clermont Auvergne.

2009 New Zealand tour

Bastareaud was included in the French tour to New Zealand and Australia in June 2009, but returned to France early after sustaining facial injuries. He initially claimed that he had been assaulted from behind by "four or five men" outside his Wellington hotel as he was returning from a night out. The New Zealand Police launched an investigation into the assault and turned up security camera footage of Bastareaud returning uninjured to his hotel with four other people at 5:22 am that night, confirming the assault could not have taken place. Bastareaud subsequently stated that he had been drunk and had sustained the injuries after tripping over a table in his hotel room, and that he had concocted the original story in order to avoid getting in trouble with team management.

The incident proved to have diplomatic implications. Following the initial assault allegation, international media speculated on New Zealand's security and suitability as a tourist destination and host country, especially leading into the 2011 Rugby World Cup, spurring New Zealand Prime Minister John Key to issue an official apology for the incident. Following the later revelations, French Prime Minister François Fillon sent a letter to Key, in which he apologised for the unfortunate affair and spoke of the strong relationship between France and New Zealand, a rare official intervention in sporting issues for the French.

Then on 29 June, L'Equipe reported that he had been admitted to a psychiatric facility after attempting suicide. Pierre Camou, President of the French Rugby Federation has referred the case to their Disciplinary Committee and asked them to investigate.

In 2010, he was selected in the French Barbarians squad to play Tonga on 26 November.

Personal life

French international football player, William Gallas, is Bastareaud's cousin.