Still only 19, the Londoner, who can play as a blindside flanker or second row, has started eight of Racing’s 11 league games, establishing himself as a first choice in a squad that also features France pair Cameron Woki and Romain Taofifenua, along with Wales’ Will Rowlands.
“At the start of the season, I did not expect to be starting over some of the big names we have at Racing,” Kpoku adds.
“But I was working so hard because I was hungry to start.”
He is part of an English enclave at the heart of the Racing dressing room.
Owen Farrell, Henry Arundell and ex-Sale centre Sam James have made Paris home. Former England coach Stuart Lancaster is the boss. Paul ‘Bobby’ Stridgeon oversees fitness and Tom Whitford, a veteran Top 14 team manager who helped Jonny Wilkinson integrate into Toulon’s galacticos, organises behind the scenes.
Kpoku has an advantage over them all.
Born in Newham to Congolese parents, he has been fluent in French since he was a boy.
His twin elder brothers Joel and Jonathan already play in France, for Pau and second-tier Albi respectively. One of the motivations for Junior’s own move from Exeter to Racing was to be nearer his unwell father.
With Lancaster still learning the language and a stellar squad from different nations, Kpoku is the first-choice on-pitch translator, as well as a back-five wrecker.
He is settling so well, it has unsettled some back in England.
Across the water and therefore ineligible for Steve Borthwick’s England team, the prospect of Kpoku representing France remains live.
To play for France, he would have to be registered with a French club for five years. It is a lengthy process, but Kpoku has started early.
He would be 23 when he, in theory, he becomes eligible in autumn 2028.
In practice, Kpoku says it is unlikely.
