Sometimes a random fact catches your attention. It did here, when I discovered Top 14 old men Vincent Clerc and Aurelien Rougerie – ahead of what is almost certainly their final seasons in professional rugby – were both within touching distance of a long-standing French try-scoring record
The name Laurent Arbo is probably not one many rugby fans outside France will recognise.
He did not grace the international scene as a player and his domestic career bears all the hallmarks of an honest, long-serving journeyman. It ran from the early years of professionalism in 1991, when the Top 14 was the Top 16, until 2007, and included spells at Perpignan, Brive, Pau, Castres Olympique, and Montpellier.
Yet in those 16 years of service in the French top flight, he set a record that still stands today.
James Harrington: Freelance sports journalist 