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He’s the Welshman who plays week-in, week-out in the French Top 14 and has made more tackles in the competition than anyone else this season.

He runs out in front of huge crowds and lines up against the likes of Dan Carter, Bryan Habana, Duane Vermeulen, Ma’a Nonu, Sergio Parisse and Conrad Smith.

And yet Luke Hamilton found himself surplus to requirements back home in regional rugby, consigned to life in the semi-pro Premiership.

By any standards, it is a remarkable story.

The young man from Pembrokeshire remains a little known figure in Wales and has nothing like the profile of those household names who have headed across the channel in recent years.

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No chances with the Blues...

But he has certainly made his mark for Agen, helping them to promotion from Division Two last season and emerging as one of their shining lights in the Top 14 this term.

And, along the way, he has gone through experiences which have left him with one heck of a tale to tell about the crazy, madcap world of French rugby.

It was back in the spring of 2014 that the former Wales U20s back rower decided to try his luck on foreign fields.

Having been released by the Scarlets as a teenager, he had moved to Cardiff Blues, but was finding opportunities very limited there too and having to settle for turning out for the Cardiff club side.

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“That last season I didn’t really play much for the Blues. I had maybe three games, whereas the season before I had played quite a bit,” he explained.

“It was difficult at the time. I was sick of going down there for training and then playing with the club side every week. I wasn’t really enjoying my rugby.

“I didn’t really get any explanation or any reason why I wasn’t getting a chance with the Blues.

“I thought if I kept playing for Cardiff and kept trying to do something I might get a chance. But then it got to about the January and I realised I wasn’t going to feature and I kind of gave up on it happening.

“I was coming to the end of my contract and I wanted to go somewhere and play.

“I spoke to my agent and he was going through the options and said ‘what do you think of France’? I said I would be open to it, without really thinking anything would happen.

“But then I had a phone call and within a week I went over there and pretty much signed. It was all done quite quickly. I don’t think it really sunk in until I finished with the Blues and I was thinking I actually have to go to France now!”

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(Image: Huw Evans Picture Agency)

'I spotted Philippe Sella, so I introduced myself'

During his playing days in Wales, Hamilton had been notable for his shock of blond hair, but when he arrived out in Agen for the first time, he’d had a severe haircut, leading to some initial confusion in the arrivals lounge, if you can call it that.

“I don’t know how you would describe Agen airport,” he said.

“It’s probably like Haverfordwest Airport in Pembrokeshire, with about one flight a day. It’s just one room and security is one guy who checks your passport.

“I was sat there waiting, expecting to see someone there to meet me.

“But there were just these five blokes sat opposite, looking blankly at me.

“Then I recognised Philippe Sella and I thought that must be them, so I introduced myself.

“I think they must have had a bit of a shock because I was virtually bald.

“They were probably thinking this isn’t the guy we’ve signed, this is someone completely different!”

For a young man of just 22, with no grasp of the French language, it was certainly a bold venture into the unknown.

“I had no-one with me, no commitments, nothing, just me and my three big bags,” he recalled.

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“I was anxious, nervous and excited all at the same time. I went through all three emotions at different times of the day.

“I was a bit nervous about the language and not being able to understand anyone, but there was a good group of foreign players at the club that pretty much did everything for me.

“They got my Sky TV sorted and once I had my TV and my play station I was fine.

“I have lived away from home now since I was 16, so it wasn’t too bad. More than anything, I was just excited to get out there and try something different. It was a fresh start.”

'Three of our props started head-butting each other in the showers!'

And different it certainly was, as he discovered with his first taste of rugby French style.

“My first home game was against Narbonne. I remember being in the changing room beforehand and our Irish hooker Dennis Fogarty saying to be careful and sit down.

“I asked him ‘what do you mean’, but he said ‘just sit down out of the way’, so I said ok.

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“I didn’t know what was going on, but then the next thing I knew the forwards coach dragged three front rowers into the showers and they started head-butting each other! I remember sitting back, looking at Dennis and saying ‘are you serious?’.

“It’s very old school the way they prepare for things. It’s quite amusing to watch.

“We played Racing 92 this season and the boys were on the headbutting case again. Our loose-head prop split both of his eyes before he went out for kick off. He was running out down the tunnel and he was covered in blood!

“As soon as the game began, he had to go off and get stitched up.

“I’ve managed to avoid the head-butting and now they just leave me alone to do my own thing. Sella likes to come over every now and then and give me a little head-butt, but that’s not too bad, because he was a back.”

Fighting within a minute of the kick-off

Given what it’s like in the dressing room, it’s hardly surprising to hear that things can really get out of hand out on the pitch.

“I remember we lost a couple of scrums in one match and the plan for the next game was that if there was a problem there, we’d get up and fight,” revealed Hamilton.

“I thought it can’t be serious, it must be a joke, but then the next thing I knew the front row were all going at it, fighting probably within a minute of the kick-off.

“Some of the teams in Division Two were quite dirty. There are a few lunatics in that league who don’t want to play rugby, they just want to fight.

“You go to some places and you expect to get jumped on, gouged and take a few cheap shots.

“We played Biarritz away and that was probably the biggest fight I have seen on a rugby field. It was 15 against 15, plus a few management came in.

“In those situations, I have got a technique. I always go for an islander or a foreign player. We just grab each other for a bit and pretend we are doing something.

“Against Biarritz, there was another fight and our tight-head prop was against four of their forwards. I thought I couldn’t leave him, so I got in there and kind of broke it up.

“We had a video session then on the Monday, where one of our coaches paused the video and gave a 10 minute explanation on how well me and the prop did and called out every other single player for not getting in there and fighting!

“He spent more time on the scuffle than anything else in the game.

“They tend to be very lenient on fighting out here. It’s part of the culture and part of the rugby. You tend to only get a one week ban for punching, whereas it can be five or six weeks back home.”

'We got off the bus at Perpignan and people were blocking us'

It’s not just the opposition players who get fired up, as Hamilton learned pretty early on.

“My first away game was at Perpignan on a Friday night,” he said.

“It was the return of their No 8 Henry Tuilagi, who is a bit of a legend down there, and there was something like 20,000 people at the ground.

“When we were getting off the bus, they were blocking you and pushing people in your path. I was thinking ‘this place is horrible’.

“They called out Tuilagi’s name on the mic during the warm-up and the place just erupted. The atmosphere was crazy.

“I remember before the kick-off people were spitting at me and throwing bottle caps at me and shaking the cage.

“Then Tuilagi caught the ball and went on this run and I’ve never heard a noise like that at club ground in my life.”

For Hamilton, who has played right across the back row for Agen, it’s been a case of getting used to a totally different rugby culture, both on and off the field.

Rugby before weights...unlike in Wales

“The biggest shock for me was how old school they are in what they do and how very laid back they are,” he said.

“Fitness is not really the priority it is in Wales. You wouldn’t want to be in training back home because it’s that horrible.

“I remember after one session at the Blues, grown men were crying because they couldn’t walk.

“We do a bit here, but compared to back home, it’s nothing. Here, it’s all about the game, which I quiet like.

“You play some games back home and you’re still tired from the fitness and the weights you’ve done in the week.

“Weights are second here and rugby is first, whereas sometimes back home it’s the other way round.

“Everything with the team is done a lot more closely together out here. It’s about spending as many hours together as you can

“Then, on the field, it’s very physical and very fast. I couldn’t get over the speed in the Top 14 and the sheer size of people.

“It’s all about scoring tries and points, whereas the Pro12 is all about not conceding points and putting a lot of pressure on other people. Over here, attack comes first and then defence. Back home, I’d say it’s the other way round. It’s very different.”

Facing a back row of Gorgodze, Lobbe and Vermeulen

As it happens, in an attack-orientated competition, Hamilton has made his name in defence, leading the way in terms of tackles made across the league.

“You don’t want to be embarrassed or run over by someone, even if they are three times the size of you,” said the 24-year-old, who picks out Montpellier’s Springbok No 8 Pierre Spies as the best player he’s faced in France.

“For me, it’s a lot to do with pride. There is nothing worse than if someone runs over you and you are on the floor. “Nowadays, if that happens, it’s all over Twitter and Facebook within about an hour.

“The majority of the best back rowers in the world are playing in the Top 14.

“When we played Toulon, their back row was Gorgodze, Lobbe and Vermeulen! I wanted to show I could play against people like that.

“I have pretty much played every game, 80 minutes, and I have really enjoyed it.”

Despite Hamilton’s Herculean efforts, Agen look likely to be relegated, so with his contract running out at the end of this season, he has a big decision to make.

(Image: Getty)

'People go out for lunch every day of the week'

But he knows he would like to remain in France, with returning to Wales not on the agenda.

“I enjoy the lifestyle out here. It’s nice and hot. You are not training in the cold and the rain,” he said.

“The culture is so different. People go out for lunch every day of the week.

“The language was difficult at first. But it’s one of those things where you just get on with it and learn it.

“I can say what I need to say now and get by. It’s nice to learn another language and to be able to speak to the fans.

“I would love to stay in the Top 14, because I think it would suit me as a player. I have spoken with a few clubs and I’m just waiting on a few things. I have got a lot of thoughts going through my head.

“As far as my agent is concerned, there’s nothing in Wales for me at all.

“People say to me why don’t you come back. Well, I can’t come back to nothing.

“I wouldn’t want to go back to where I was anyway. It spoiled me as a player and it took me a while for me to get my confidence back from that.”

For Hamilton, it’s clearly been a case of “vive la difference”.