Mathieu Bastareaud the cult hero matures to give France stability

Powerful centre is in the form of his life and will pose plenty of problems for England in the Six Nations next SaturdayThe foreword to Mathieu Bastareaud’s book Tête Haute (Head Held High), in which the Frenchman lays bare his soul, is written by Jonny Wilkinson. He speaks of the honour and privilege of playing alongside Bastareaud at Toulon but, first, he recalls the centre’s arrival at the club – “for an Englishman, he represented a real mystery”. Plus ça change.For Bastareaud remains one of rugby’s most complicated and perhaps misunderstood individuals. Not long before his book w…