Damian Penaud (born 25 September 1996) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a wing for Top 14 club Bordeaux Bègles and the France national team.
Club career Penaud played for the Clermont Academy side and was selected for the France U20 squad for the 2015 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. He scored 2 tries against the England u20 side. but they lost in the semi-finals to eventual champions, New Zealand. The following year he made the u20 team again for the 2016 World Rugby Under 20 Championship. He only scored one try against Japan in the whole tournament with France finishing 9th.
Penaud made his Top 14 debut in April 2016 against Agen at inside centre. He only played one game that season. He quickly established himself as the backup option for incumbent centre and club legend, Aurélien Rougerie in the following season, regularly playing inside him. He also played 3 games in the 2016–17 European Rugby Champions Cup including the final against Saracens F.C. where he came off the bench to replace Aurélien Rougerie.
Penaud played in the 2016–17 Top 14 Final against RC Toulon helping set up Clermont's only try to Alivereti Raka which helped them win the title.
In 2019 Penaud won the European Rugby Challenge Cup with Clermont in the final against La Rochelle by 36 to 16 with a try in the 30th minute of play.
During the 2024–25 Champions Cup, he scored a hat-trick in a 69–17 win away against Exeter Chiefs. The following week he scored six tries in a 66–12 win against the Sharks. This was a new record for most tries scored in one Champions Cup fixture by an individual player overtaking the previous record of five jointly-held by Tom Beim and Matt Cardey. In April 2025, he broke the record for the most tries scored by one player in a single Champions Cup season scoring against Munster during a 47–29 victory in the quarter finals taking his tally to 12 and overtaking the previous record held by Chris Ashton. In Champions Cup semi-finals, despite his side beating Toulouse 35–18 to reach their first ever European final, he left the field of play early with a knee injury. In May 2025, he was deemed fit enough to start the final, scoring another two tries as Bordeaux defeated Northampton Saints 28–20 to claim their first every trophy. This extended his personal tally in competition to 14 tries for the season further extending his own record. He went on to win Champions Cup Player of the Year 2025.
International career Penaud was named by France head coach Guy Novès in a 35-man squad ahead of their three-test series against South Africa in June 2017.XV de France : Le groupe pour la tournée He was a part of the French squads that won the 2022 and 2025 Six Nations Championships, winning a Grand Slam in 2022. He is France's leading all-time try scorer, equaling Serge Blanco with his try in the 2025 Six Nations encounter with Ireland, and moving past him in the 2025 Autumn International against South Africa.
Career statistics List of international tries + International tries DateVenueOpponentScoreResultCompetition1 17 June 2017Kings Park Stadium, Durban, South Africa30–1537–152 10 February 2019Twickenham, London, England23–844–83 16 March 2019Stadio Olimpico, Rome, Italy14–2514–25424 August 2019Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland0–517–1453–1268 March 2020Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland6–528–17714 February 2021Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland3–1513–15813 March 2021Twickenham, London, England13–1523–20926 March 2021Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France18–1023–271013 July 2021Melbourne Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne, Australia11–328–261114 November 2021Matmut Atlantique, Bordeaux, France22–341–151236–151320 November 2021Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France35–2540–25146 February 2022Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France28–1037–101526 February 2022Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh, Scotland10–3117–361610–36172 July 2022Toyota Stadium, Toyota, Japan0–523–421816–28195 November 2022Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France30–2930–292020 November 2022Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse, France5–033–172126–102211 February 2023Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland7–1131–192311 March 2023Twickenham, London, England10–4610–532410–532518 March 2023Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France 5–7 41–282639–212712 August 2023Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne, France18–1030–272023 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches2827 August 2023Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France24–541–172936–12308 September 2023Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France14–1327–132023 Rugby World Cup3121 September 2023Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France5–096–03224–03366–0346 October 2023Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu, France5–060–73529–0362 February 2024Stade Velodrome, Marseille, France8–1717–38378 February 2025Twickenham, London, England12–1826–25388 March 2025Aviva Stadium, Dublin, Ireland13–4025–42398 November 2025Stade de France, Saint-Denis, France5–017–324012–6414 July 2026One New Zealand Stadium, Christchurch, New Zealand0–534–32
Honours France 2x Six Nations Championship: 2022, 2025 1× Grand Slam: 2022
Clermont 1× Top 14: 2017 1× European Rugby Challenge Cup: 2019
Bordeaux Bègles 2× European Rugby Champions Cup: 2025, 2026
Individual 1x European Player of the Year: 2025
References
External links France profile at FFR ASM Clermont profile