Tiedemann to make Bourgoin debut

Canadian prop Andrew Tiedemann will make his debut for French club Bourgoin on Friday evening. The World Cup squad member runs out at tighthead prop against Montauban in his first taste of Pro D2 action since playing for Auch in the 2012-13 season. Tiedemann signed for the club in November after a brief stint with Hong Kong FC. He spent 2014-15 with RFU Championship side Plymouth Albion but left when the English club was relegated to National One.

Bourgoin currently sits in 9th place out of 16, just one point back from Narbonne. While they aren’t entirely in the clear yet, a drop to Fédérale 1 looks unlikely with Provence 18 points behind and Tarbes seemingly facing automatic relegation after a massive 15 point penalty due to administrative failures, though that remains subject to an appeal. Chances of promotion to the Top 14 are similarly slim, though the window appears slightly ajar as Perpignan sits only six points head in the final knock-out position.

Tiedemann is the only Americas player at the club, though there are five other internationals present, including three props. Tongan loosehead Peni Fakalelu is among the reserves, as well as Spanish tighthead Jonathan Garcia. Former Cameroon skipper Gambo Adamou covers second or back row, while twice-capped French winger Jean-François Coux starts in the no14 shirt. Portugal stalwart Cristian Spachuk, a veteran of 47 caps at prop, is not in the lineup.

BOURGOIN v Montauban
1 Yann Resseguier 2 Julien Janaudy 3 Andrew Tiedemann 4 Léandre Cotte 5 Clément Fontaine 6 Théophile Cotte 7 Mickaël Recordier 8 Leonard Vignon 9 Fabio Da Silva 10 10 Sébastien Bouillot 11 Nicholas Price 12 Grégory Puyo 13 Raphael Eymond 14 Jean-François Coux 15 Jérôme Bosviel

16 Peni Fakalelu 17 Frédéric Montagnat 18 Maxime Santoni 19 Gambo Adamou 20 Vincent Barrère 21 Nicolas Faure 22 Baptiste Gabriel 23 Jonathan Garcia