Louis Bielle-Biarrey: How the ‘Haaland of Rugby’ Broke the Six Nations Record Again
Louis Bielle-Biarrey has moved from promising young winger to one of the defining attacking players in international rugby. In the 2026 Six Nations, the France star did something even more remarkable than his record-breaking 2025 campaign: he scored nine tries in five matches, including four against England in the extraordinary 48-46 finale in Paris, and helped France retain the Championship.
The performance gave fresh force to a nickname that had already followed him through the tournament: the “Haaland of rugby.” Former England winger Ugo Monye used the comparison because of Bielle-Biarrey’s extraordinary finishing rate, speed and instinct for appearing where scoring opportunities develop.
But the comparison only explains part of his rise. He is not simply a winger who waits for chances at the end of the backline. His kicking, support lines, defensive work, positioning and ability to turn broken play into tries have made him a far more complete threat.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey Rewrote the Six Nations Record Book Twice
The story began in the 2025 Championship.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored eight tries across five matches as France won its first Six Nations title since 2022. That total broke the Six Nations-era record of seven set by Ireland’s Jacob Stockdale in 2018 and matched the older Championship record of eight, previously achieved by Cyril Lowe in 1914 and Ian Smith in 1925.
He did more than score. Official Six Nations statistics credited him with four try assists as well, giving him 12 direct try involvements during the 2025 tournament. He scored in every round and was voted Player of the Championship. His second try against Ireland was also selected by supporters as Try of the Championship.
For many players, that would have been the kind of tournament that defines an entire career.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey returned in 2026 and surpassed it.
He scored nine tries in five matches, becoming the outright record holder for tries in a single edition of the Championship. He also became the first player to score in 10 consecutive Six Nations matches, a run stretching across the 2025 and 2026 tournaments.
That is why the 2026 campaign was not simply confirmation of a breakthrough. It showed that his 2025 numbers were not a one-season anomaly.
| Six Nations campaign | Tries | Major achievement |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 8 | Broke the Six Nations-era single-tournament record and won Player of the Championship |
| 2026 | 9 | Broke his own record and won Player of the Championship again |
| 2025-2026 combined | 17 | Scored in 10 consecutive Six Nations matches |
Four Tries Against England Turned a Great Tournament Into a Historic One
France entered the final round of the 2026 Six Nations with the Championship on the line. England arrived in Paris with its own ambitions, and the match became one of the most dramatic finales the competition has produced.
France eventually won 48-46 at the Stade de France on March 14, 2026. The official Six Nations match report confirms the remarkable score and France’s successful defence of the Championship.
The French winger scored four of France’s tries. His fourth came late in the match after he used his pace and footballing skill to chase a loose ball and finish another opportunity. England regained the lead afterward, but Thomas Ramos kicked the decisive penalty with time expired.
The victory secured a second consecutive Six Nations title for France.
The four-try performance also carried individual historical significance. Bielle-Biarrey became only the second player in the Six Nations era to score four tries in one match, matching Chris Ashton’s four for England against Italy in 2011.
His nine-try tournament total moved him one clear of the record he had set only a year earlier.
France’s success was collective, with Antoine Dupont, Ramos and a deep forward pack central to Fabien Galthié’s side. But Bielle-Biarrey produced the finishing performance that defined the title-deciding night.
For a broader look at the standout performers from that Championship, see The News Ink’s 2026 Six Nations Team of the Tournament analysis.
Why Is Louis Bielle-Biarrey Called the ‘Haaland of Rugby’?
The nickname comes from former England winger Ugo Monye, who compared Louis Bielle-Biarrey with Manchester City striker Erling Haaland.
The logic is easy to understand. Haaland is famous for scoring at an exceptional rate, making difficult finishes look routine and finding space before defenders recognize the danger. Bielle-Biarrey has developed a similar reputation in rugby.
During the 2024-25 season, he scored 33 tries for club and country. The comparison with Haaland gained attention because of the extraordinary volume of scoring across two completely different sports. Bordeaux-Bègles also records the 33-try season in its official profile of the winger.
Monye also highlighted Bielle-Biarrey’s extraordinary pace. But raw speed alone does not explain the numbers.
The best finishers anticipate space. They understand when to hold width, when to cut inside, when to accelerate and when to support a teammate rather than demand the ball. He repeatedly makes those decisions before defenders can reset.
That is where the Haaland comparison becomes more interesting. Both players can appear quiet for stretches and then suddenly decide a contest because they have recognized the next scoring opportunity earlier than the opposition.
His Scoring Rate Is Already Challenging Six Nations History
Brian O’Driscoll remains the leading try scorer in Championship history with 26 tries.
By the end of the 2026 Six Nations, Louis Bielle-Biarrey had reached 18 Championship tries. That left him eight short of O’Driscoll’s record after only 14 Six Nations appearances. An official Six Nations review published in June 2026 highlighted exactly how quickly the French winger had closed the gap.
The contrast in appearances is striking. O’Driscoll built his record across a long international career. Bielle-Biarrey has reached the chasing group at unusual speed.
There is no guarantee that the record will fall. Injuries, selection, tactical changes and the simple difficulty of sustaining an elite scoring rate can alter a career quickly. Defences will also increasingly build plans specifically around stopping him.
Still, he does not need another nine-try campaign to put O’Driscoll under pressure. If Louis Bielle-Biarrey remains healthy and continues starting regularly, the record could come into realistic range during the next few Championships.
More Than a Finisher
Calling him an elite finisher is accurate, but incomplete.
His attacking game includes several qualities that make him difficult to defend.
He has the acceleration to punish a defensive mismatch, but he also possesses a kicking game developed during his earlier years as a fly-half. That background helps explain why he looks comfortable nudging the ball into space, chasing his own kicks and making decisions that are not typical of a winger who relies only on pace.
His support play is equally important. Many of his tries come because he stays connected to the ball carrier and anticipates where a break will develop. That creates scoring opportunities that may look simple at the end but require excellent reading of the play beforehand.
He also works away from the ball. Modern Test wingers must defend across wide channels, compete in the air, cover kicks and make decisions under pressure. A winger who scores heavily but becomes a defensive weakness can quickly lose value at international level.
Bielle-Biarrey’s rise has happened because France can trust him in more phases than the final five metres.
The Numbers Behind Two Extraordinary Championships
The 2025 and 2026 campaigns reveal how quickly his impact accelerated.
| Measure | 2025 | 2026 |
|---|---|---|
| Matches | 5 | 5 |
| Tries | 8 | 9 |
| Player of the Championship | Yes | Yes |
| France won title | Yes | Yes |
| Consecutive-round scoring run | 5 | Extended to 10 |
Winning Player of the Championship once is difficult. Louis Bielle-Biarrey won it in consecutive years.
The official Six Nations award for 2026 came after a public vote in which he finished ahead of Stuart McCloskey, Tommaso Menoncello and Kyle Steyn. It gave him the honour for a second consecutive year after his 2025 victory.
His 2026 award also underlined that the England finale did not create his reputation by itself. The four tries were the spectacular ending to a tournament in which he had already scored in every previous round.
Bordeaux-Bègles Has Been Just as Important to His Rise
International success can make it easy to overlook the club environment that develops a player.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey represents Union Bordeaux Bègles, where he has grown from a young prospect into one of European club rugby’s most productive attackers.
His 2024-25 season was exceptional: 33 tries in 30 matches across club and country. Rather than slowing down the following year, he improved the overall total.
Bordeaux’s official player profile records 34 tries across all competitions and teams during the 2025-26 season. The club also won another Investec Champions Cup, and Louis Bielle-Biarrey was named the competition’s 2026 Player of the Year after helping UBB secure a second consecutive European title.
That matters when assessing whether his Six Nations form is sustainable. His try scoring is not limited to one competition, one tactical structure or a handful of international matches.
By the beginning of the 2026-27 club season, Bordeaux’s official profile listed him as the club’s all-time leading try scorer, ahead of established names including Blair Connor and Damian Penaud.
The “Haaland of rugby” label may have begun as a catchy comparison, but the club numbers show why it has lasted.
From Fly-Half Prospect to International Wing
One of the more revealing parts of Louis Bielle-Biarrey’s development is that he was not always viewed as a future world-class winger.
During his youth career, he spent time at fly-half. He had vision, kicking skill and footwork before the explosive pace and physical development that later transformed his game. Six Nations Rugby has noted that he began his development as a fly-half before moving toward wing and full-back.
As he matured, coaches moved him toward the back three. That change allowed his speed to become a weapon without removing the playmaking instincts he had developed closer to the ball.
It also helps explain why he often looks different from a conventional touchline winger.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey can stay wide and finish, but he is equally comfortable moving infield, chasing kicks or linking with teammates. His rugby education gave him more tools than pure acceleration.
France has benefited from that versatility because its attack frequently asks back-three players to read space rather than remain fixed in one channel.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup Was Only the Beginning
The wider rugby public first saw how quickly Louis Bielle-Biarrey could adapt to the international stage during the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
Still only 20, he forced his way into France’s tournament plans and scored four tries in three World Cup appearances before the quarter-final, according to World Rugby.
France’s quarter-final defeat by South Africa ended the host nation’s title hopes, but Bielle-Biarrey had already established himself as more than a development player.
What followed was unusually rapid.
He went from emerging World Cup winger to Six Nations record breaker, then repeated the achievement on an even larger scale in 2026.
By April 2026, official Six Nations figures credited him with 28 tries in 26 France appearances, a scoring ratio rarely seen at Test level.
He Has Already Earned Recognition Beyond the Six Nations
After his outstanding 2025 season, World Rugby nominated Bielle-Biarrey for Men’s 15s Player of the Year alongside Pieter-Steph du Toit, Malcolm Marx and Ox Nché.
Malcolm Marx ultimately won the award, but Bielle-Biarrey was selected in the World Rugby Men’s 15s Dream Team of the Year, confirming that his impact had extended well beyond the Six Nations.
In 2026, he added another major individual honour when the Investec Champions Cup named him Player of the Year.
Within roughly two seasons, Louis Bielle-Biarrey therefore collected back-to-back Six Nations Player of the Championship awards, a World Rugby Player of the Year nomination, a place in the World Rugby Dream Team and a Champions Cup Player of the Year award.
How France Uses Him
France’s attacking structure is particularly well suited to a winger with his instincts.
Fabien Galthié’s side can play with power through the forwards, use Antoine Dupont to alter tempo and rely on players such as Thomas Ramos to distribute or kick. That variety forces defences to protect multiple areas at once.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey thrives when those defensive systems begin to stretch.
He can stay on the edge, arrive through the middle, chase a kick or accelerate onto an offload. The threat of his speed also changes how defenders position themselves even when he never receives the ball.
France’s depth creates another advantage. Opponents cannot simply design an entire defensive plan around one winger when Dupont, Penaud, Ramos and other elite attackers are capable of punishing space elsewhere.
Before the tournament, The News Ink examined whether post-Lions fatigue could give France an advantage in the Six Nations. France ultimately retained the title, although its success came through far more than any single scheduling factor.
Can Louis Bielle-Biarrey Break Brian O’Driscoll’s Record?
Mathematically, yes. Practically, it remains a major challenge.
With 18 Championship tries after the 2026 tournament, Louis Bielle-Biarrey needs eight to equal O’Driscoll and nine to move ahead.
He scored 17 tries across the 2025 and 2026 Six Nations campaigns alone, so the required total is clearly within his demonstrated scoring range. But projecting recent form indefinitely would be a mistake.
International careers are shaped by injuries, competition for places and tactical evolution. Opponents will study his preferred support lines, chase patterns and finishing habits in greater detail.
What makes the record chase credible is not an assumption that he will score eight or nine every year. It is his age, his established role in a powerful France side and the fact that he has already accumulated 18 tries in only 14 Championship appearances.
If he continues at anything close to his current pace, the record will become one of the central individual stories of the 2027 Six Nations.
What Comes Next for France’s Record-Breaking Winger?
The next challenge is sustaining excellence after opponents have had time to adapt.
That is often the dividing line between a spectacular young player and a long-term great.
Louis Bielle-Biarrey has already passed the first test. After breaking records in 2025, he did not regress in 2026. He scored more tries, won the Championship again and retained the tournament’s top individual award.
His club season then reinforced the same pattern, with another huge try total and another European title for Bordeaux-Bègles.
The question is no longer whether he can produce one extraordinary campaign. It is how long he can maintain a level that is already changing the Six Nations record book.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many tries did Louis Bielle-Biarrey score in the 2026 Six Nations?
Louis Bielle-Biarrey scored nine tries in five matches, setting a new record for the most tries in a single edition of the Championship.
How many tries did he score against England in 2026?
He scored four tries in France’s 48-46 victory over England at the Stade de France on March 14, 2026.
Why is Louis Bielle-Biarrey called the Haaland of rugby?
Former England winger Ugo Monye used the comparison because of his exceptional finishing, speed and scoring rate, drawing a parallel with football striker Erling Haaland.
Did he win the 2026 Six Nations Player of the Championship award?
Yes. Louis Bielle-Biarrey won the award for a second consecutive year after also receiving it in 2025.
How close is he to Brian O’Driscoll’s Six Nations try record?
He finished the 2026 Championship with 18 Six Nations tries. Brian O’Driscoll holds the Championship record with 26, leaving Bielle-Biarrey eight tries behind.
Which club does Louis Bielle-Biarrey play for?
Louis Bielle-Biarrey plays for Union Bordeaux Bègles in France. He has become a major part of the club’s attack and was named the 2026 Investec Champions Cup Player of the Year.
A New Standard for Six Nations Finishing
Louis Bielle-Biarrey entered the 2025 Six Nations as one of France’s most exciting young players. Two Championships later, he had become the competition’s most prolific single-season try scorer, a two-time Player of the Championship and one of the closest active challengers to Brian O’Driscoll’s historic try record.
The 48-46 win over England was the clearest demonstration of his impact. Four tries in a title-deciding match would be remarkable in any context. Doing it while breaking a record he had set only a year earlier made the performance exceptional.
The “Haaland of rugby” nickname captures his appetite for scoring, but Louis Bielle-Biarrey has already shown that his game is broader than finishing alone. His pace, intelligence, kicking, support play and ability to read space are why he keeps finding the try line.
France has no shortage of established stars. Yet the last two Six Nations tournaments have made one thing clear: Louis Bielle-Biarrey is no longer simply the future of French rugby. He is already one of the players defining its present.
