Sekou Macalou

Few back-row forwards in the Top 14 offer the athletic profile of Sekou Macalou. Born in Paris on 20 April 1995, the France international has become one of the most recognisable figures at Stade Français Paris, a club he has served across the bulk of his professional career. Macalou's appeal is his sheer mobility. Tall, long-limbed and unusually quick for a forward, he covers ground like a back and is frequently found wide in attack, where his stride and reach make him a difficult man to contain in space. That same frame makes him a genuine lineout option, both as a target and as a disruptor of opposition ball, while his leap has been used to good effect at restarts. Defensively he works on the edge, using his acceleration to shut down width and to arrive as a nuisance at the breakdown. In the loose he functions as a link between forwards and backs, carrying into the wider channels rather than solely into traffic. Capped by France and a regular through successive Top 14 and European campaigns with Stade Français, Macalou represents the modern back-row archetype: a forward selected as much for what he offers in open play as for his work in the tight exchanges.