France national rugby union team

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France
Union	Fédération Française de Rugby
Nickname(s)	Les bleus
Coach	Bernard Laporte
Captain	Fabien Pelous
Most caps	Philippe Sella (111)
Team colours		Change colours
First international
New Zealand 38 - 8 France (1 January 1906)
Largest win
Fiji 10 - 77 France (24 November 2001)
Worst defeat
New Zealand 54 - 7 France (26 June 1999)
World Cup
Appearances	5 (First in 1987)
Best result	Losing finalist, 1987, 1999

The France national rugby union team are a national sporting side, representing France in rugby union. The team is also known as les Bleus or les Tricolores. France is governed by the Fédération Française de Rugby, which was formed in 1919.

France competes in the Six Nations Championship annually. The team was infamously expelled from the competition in the 1930s because of professionalism and other problems. France has won the competition outright on 14 occasions, shared in another 8 wins and completed 8 Grand Slams.

Since the inaugural World Cup in 1987, France have competed in all tournaments which have taken place. France appeared in the very first World Cup final, but lost to New Zealand. They were again losing finalists in the 1999 World Cup against Australia. The last World Cup saw France finish atop of their group table and make it to the semi-finals.

Contents 1 History 1.1 Early years 1.2 The Five Nations and the Olympics 1.3 Expelled from Five Nations 1.4 Post war 1.5 1960s-1980s 1.6 Early World Cups 1.7 Modern era 2 Current squad 2.1 Forwards 2.2 Backs 3 Notable players 4 Upcoming fixtures 4.1 2006 November tests 4.2 2007 World Cup 5 Recent results 5.1 2006 June tests 5.2 2006 Six Nations Championship 6 See also 7 Sources 8 External links

[edit] History

[edit] Early years

Rugby was introduced to the Le Havre region of France by English merchants in 1872 and spread through the country with them, but despite this arrival in the north of the country the game began to flourish in the poorer, more rural south amongst workers in the wine trade. The first involvement a national rugby union side had was at the 1900 Paris Olympics, where a French team took part in the rugby union event. France beat Britain (represented by Mosley Wanderers RFC) 27 - 8 and Germany 27-17 to win the gold medal. In 1906 France played and lost their first ever test match against Dave Gallaher's All Blacks, losing 38-8 in Paris. France first played England in March 1906, again in France, this time losing 35-8.

France played their first test outside their nation on the 1st of January 1907, losing to England 31-13 at the Athletic Ground in Richmond. Two days later they played a game against the Springboks in Parc des Princes, Paris with a side made up from the two Parisian clubs: Stade Français and Racing Club de France. Only two of the side that had faced the All Blacks played against the Springboks - three-quarter Paul Sagot and forward Georges Jérôme. and none was in the team that had played England. The Springboks scored 13 tries in winning 55-6.

[edit] The Five Nations and the Olympics

France played fellow European rugby union nations, Wales and Ireland for the first time in 1908 and 1909 respectively. When Scotland played France in the first official international match between the two countries in 1910, the foundation was laid for a Five Nations competition. Their first win in the competition came against Scotland 16-15 in Paris in 1911. In early 1913, France was host to a touring Springboks party, France lost 5 points to 35, the match was part of an era that last from 1911 until 1920 which saw France lose 18 games in a row.

In 1919, the Fédération Française de Rugby was formed, 13 years after France's test debut. At the 1920 Antwerp Olympics there was another rugby union event and France was one of only two teams to enter. A straight final took place between the USA and France but the USA caused a shock by winning 8-0 to take the gold medal. Their first win in the five nations against Ireland was attained in 1920 in Dublin 15-7. During their last match of the 1921 Five Nations, France showed signs of new strength beating Ireland 20 to 10. Though France did not win a game the following year, the side did draw with Scotland and England.

In 1924 rugby union was again an event at the Olympics held in Paris, France. France beat Romania 59-3, scoring 13 tries including four by the fine Stade Francais winger Adolphe Jaureguy. The final took place at Colombes stadium, Paris on 18 May 1924 and the USA took the gold with a 17-3 victory in front of 30,000 spectators. The All Blacks returned to France in 1926, the first time since their inaugural test against them in 1906, France lost 6 to 30.

[edit] Expelled from Five Nations

The mid to late 1920s was a period of disappointment for the French, that is until they won their first games over England and Wales, in 1927 and 1928 respectively. France had mediocre results on field during the latter end of the decade and the start of the 1930s, but showed definite signs of improvements in the Five Nations. However, they were expelled from the Five Nations in 1932 following accusations of professionalism in the French league as well as on-field violence and poor organisation and were not allowed to rejoin until 1939. During this time many French players turned to rugby league, which began to attract larger crowds than Union while the latter code was excluded from the Five Nations. Despite this there were some internationals played; Germany between 1932 and 1936, Italy (1937) and Romania (1938). On the 2nd of January 1934 FIRA was formed, an organisation to rival the International Rugby Board.

Having been expelled from the Five Nations and forced to play against weaker opposition, France went on a winning spree which still stands today, winning ten games in a row during the years from 1931 to 1936. During the German occupation of France in World War II, Vichy France forcibly merged the French rugby league into the French rugby union, declaring that there was only one rugby.

[edit] Post war

The Five nations resumed after the second World War in 1947 and French rugby came of age. Lucien Mias was the innovative captain whose line-out ploys bring a new attacking dimension to forward play. They finally won their first outright Five Nations title in 1959. They were champions for four years in a row and in 1968 won their first Grand Slam.

In 1952 France played their second match against the Springboks and again lost 25-3. France's recorded their first win over New Zealand 3-0 at Colombes in 1954.

The French made their first visit to South Africa in 1958 and rocked the Springboks by winning the two-test series. Led by Lucien Mias, in the absence of tour skipper Michel Celaya who had been injured, the underestimated French drew the first test 3-3 at Newlands and then produced an even bigger shock by beating the Springboks 9-5 at altitude at Ellis Park. That tour was considered a watershed in the history of French rugby union; signaling that they were now among the top nations.

[edit] 1960s-1980s

The Springboks formidable 1960/61 touring side were held to a 0-0 draw at Colombes Stadium in Paris.

In 1964 the Tricolores returned to South Africa for a single match in Springs, and beat the Boks again 8-6 in a test described until his dying day by Dr Danie Craven as the worst yet to be seen in South Africa.

In 1967 The French again toured South Africa. They were beaten 26-3 in Durban and 16-3 in the "Battle of Bloemfontein" but were able to come back and win the third 19-14 in Johannesburg and draw the last 6-6 in Cape Town.

The late 1960s and early [[1970s was also a golden era in the Five Nations, with the French running the Welsh every step of the way, winning in 1967 and 1968 and sharing the top spot in 1970 and 1973. Titanic battles raged between Barry John, Gareth Edwards, Dai Morris, John Taylor and Gerald Davies for the Welsh and Jo Maso, Claude Dourthe, Jean-Pierre Lux, Guy Camberabero and Pierre Villepreux for the French.

Jean Desclaux coached France between 1973 and 1980. The 1976 Championship went well for France, their only loss came against Wales and they beat England 30-9. 1977 saw France win their second Grand Slam. In 1978 France finally became a full member of the International Rugby Board. France beat the All Blacks for the first time 24-19 on Bastille day 14 July, 1979.

In November 1980 France play their last international against South Africa in the apartheid era. They were led by Jean-Pierre Rives and lost 15-37 to the Springboks in what was termed the "Summer Test".

Jacques Fouroux became the coach of France shortly before the 1981 Five Nations tournament. In the ten years that he managed the side, France won the Five Nations on six occasions and two Grand Slams (1981 and 1987). France's successes were based around their massive pack, a fact which upset a number of commentators in France who preferred a more technical approach. Famous names from this time included Philippe Sella, Daneil Dubroca and Serge Blanco.

[edit] Early World Cups

France entered the inaugural World Cup as one of the favourites. France beat Australia 30-24 in the semi final, coming from behind three times to triumph. France were unable to repeat the feat in the final against favourites New Zealand losing 29-9.

After an embarrassing 12-6 defeat to Romania on French soil, Fouroux was given the sack.

With the ban on playing South Africa lifted, France toured South Africa. They were led by Olivier Roumat after tour captain Jean-Francois Tordo had suffered a horrific facial wound in the game against Western Province at Newlands. They lost to South Africa 'B' and Northern Transvaal and drew with Free State but then drew the first test 20-20 in Durban and again upset the odds by taking the series with an 18-17 victory at Ellis Park.

Knocked out by England in the quarter-finals in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, they were desperately unlucky to lose in the semi-finals to the hosts and eventual champions South Africa in 1995.

[edit] Modern era

As the game adjusted to the new professional era, the Championship was very much dominated by England, who coming off the 1995 win, bascked up with a tournament win in 1996. During the tournament, France actually defeated England, but it was their one point loss to Wales that prevented them from taking the title. After the Five Nations France hosted Romania, and later travelled to Argentina for a two match series; winning all fixtures. At the end of the year, they met Wales, who had beaten them in their last game of the Five Nations, though this time France won, 40 to 33, though this was followed by two losses to the Springboks at home.

After narrowly missing out on the 1996 Five Nations championship, France entered the tournament with confidence, and went through the competition undefeated. After the win, France played aspiring Five Nations entrants Italy, who defeated France 40 points to 32. After defeating Romania, France continued on to Australia for a two test series, which they lost. At the end of the year, France defeated Italy, Romania and Argentina at home, and against host South Africa for a two test series, losing both, the second by 40 points.

Despite performing poorly against the southern hemisphere teams of Australia and South Africa in 1997, France successfully defended their Five Nations title, and again completed a grand slam of the tournament, even defeating Wales 51 to nil. France also hosted Australia at the end of the year, though the Wallabies won, 32 to 21.

Their Five Nations title defense was off to a weak start, after defeating Ireland by just one point. France went onto lose every other match and finished wooden-spoonists in the last ever Five Nations. After mixed results during the mid-year, France stormed through the group stages at the 1999 World Cup to finish atop of their pool. After defeating Argentina 47 to 26 in the quarter-finals, France proceeded to the semi-finals, where they met red hot favourites, the All Blacks. Against the odds, France defeated the All Blacks 43 to 31 with an outstanding display of attacking rugby, which saw them enter the final, where they would meet Australia. Fatigue took hold as they were beaten convincingly 35 to 12 by Australia at Cardiff's new Millennium Stadium.

Bernard Laporte became the first fully professional head coach at the end of 1999. In 2000, Italy joined the Five Nations, making the tournament the Six Nations. France did not perform to expectations in the revamped tournament, losing to both England and Ireland and finishing second behind England. After defeating Romania 67 to 20, France hosted Australia in Paris, who beat them 18 to 13 in a 1999 World Cup final re-match. This was followed by a two test series against the All Blacks, which France lost one and won one.

France again did not perform that well in the 2001 Six Nations, losing to Ireland, Wales and England; and only finishing fifth. They did however manage victories over South Africa and Australia at the end of the year, as well as an impressive 77 to 10 win over Fiji.

France went undefeated in the 2002 Six Nations Championship to claim the first Six Nations grand slam. Though they later lost two games to Australia, France defeated South Africa, and drew with the All Blacks that year.

France lost two matches at the 2003 Six Nations, including their opening game with England, who would go onto win a grand slam. France finished only third. In preparation for the 2003 World Cup, France played Argentina, the All Blacks and England, with mixed results. France won their opening match against Fiji at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium, which saw them continue undefeated through the rest of the pool stages. They met Ireland at Telstra Dome in Melbourne in the quarter finals, which they won 43 points to 21. France then met England at Telstra Stadium in Sydney, and went down seven to 24. At the same venue, France contested for third place with the All Blacks, and lost, finishing fourth overall in the tournament.

After the strong showing at the World Cup, France reproduced their Six Nations success of 2002 at the 2004 Six Nations Championship. France won all five of their matches to win the tournament and complete a grandslam. France finished second, behind Wales in the 2005 Six Nations Championship, and the following year at the 2006 tournament, France won again, getting their third Six Nations trophy under Laporte.

The following year France completed a tournament grand slam of the 2004 Six Nations, inlcuding a win over World Champions England. After a short successful tour of North America, France played southern hemisphere teams, Australia, Argentina and the All Blacks; losing all three. In 2005 France completed another strong Six Nations, losing only to eventual grand slam winners Wales. France lost a two test series to South Africa, and lost to Australia during the mid-year. At the end of the year, France continued Australia's run of losses, and completed heavy wins over Canada and Tonga, and a close victory over South Africa.

France lost their opening game of the 2006 Six Nations, 16 to 20 to Scotland, but went on to defeat the other four nations to win the Six Nations.

[edit] Current squad

Squad for November Tests:

[edit] Forwards

• Julien Bonnaire (Bourgoin)
• Thierry Dusautoir (Toulouse)
• Pieter De Villiers (Stade Francais)
• Raphael Ibanez (Wasps)
• Sylvain Marconnet (Stade Francais)
• Remy Martin (Stade Francais)
• Olivier Milloud (Bourgoin)
• Pascal Pape (Castres Olympique)
• Fabien Pelous (Toulouse)
• Dimitri Szarzewski (Stade Francais)
• Jerome Thion (Biarritz Olympique)
• Elvis Vermeulen (Clermont Auvergne)

[edit] Backs

• Christophe Dominici (Stade Francais)
• Jean-Baptiste Elissalde (Toulouse)
• Florian Fritz (Toulouse)
• Cedric Heymans (Toulouse)
• Yannick Jauzion (Toulouse)
• Julien Laharrague (Perpignan)
• David Marty (Perpignan)
• Aurelien Rougerie (Clermont Auvergne)
• Damien Traille (Biarritz Olympique)
• Dimitri Yachvili (Biarritz Olympique)

[edit] Notable players

Pierre Albaladejo Jean-Pierre Bastiat Jean-Michel Benacloï Abdelatif Benazzi Pierre Berbizier Serge Betsen Serge Blanco André Boniface Guy Boniface Olivier Brouzet Christian Califano Thomas Castaignède Jérôme Cazalbou Fernand Cazenave Marc Cécillon Éric Champ Michel Crauste Benoit Dauga Christophe Dominici Jean-Baptiste Élissalde Jacques Fouroux Jean Gachassin Fabien Galthié Imanol Harinordoquy

Stéphane Glas Constantin Henriquez De Zubiera Raphael Ibanez Adolphe Jauréguy Yannick Jauzion Mani Kula Thierry Lacroix Patrice Lagisquet Olivier Magne Yves du Manoir Roger Martine Jo Maso Frédéric Michalak Guy Novès Émile N'Tamack Alain Paco Robert Paparemborde Fabien Pelous Alexandre Pharamond Jean Prat Jean-Pierre Rives Philippe Sella Pierre Villepreux Dimitri Yachvili

Inductees to the International Rugby Hall of Fame in bold.

[edit] Upcoming fixtures

[edit] 2006 November tests

• 18 November 2006 New Zealand at Stade de France in Paris

[edit] 2007 World Cup

• 7 September 2007 Argentina at Stade de France in Paris
• 16 September 2007 (Africa) at Stadium de Toulouse in Toulouse
• 21 September 2007 Ireland at Stade de France in Paris
• 29 September 2007 (Europe 3) at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille

[edit] Recent results

[edit] 2006 June tests

• 11 November 2006 3-47 loss to New Zealand at Stade de Gerland in Lyon
• 24 June 2006 14-62 win over Romania at Cotroceni in Bucharest
• 17 June 2006 16-21 win over South Africa at Newlands in Cape Town

[edit] 2006 Six Nations Championship

• 18 March 2006 16-21 win over Wales at Millennium Stadium in Cardiff
• 12 March 2006 31-6 win over England at Stade de France in Paris
• 25 February 2006 37-12 win over Italy at Stade de France in Paris
• 11 February 2006 43-31 win over Ireland at Stade de France in Paris
• 5 February 2006 20-16 loss to Scotland at Murrayfield in Edinburgh

[edit] See also

• Dieux du Stade
• Six Nations Championship
• World Cup
• Ligue Nationale de Rugby
• France national rugby union team (sevens)

[edit] Sources

• 100 years of SA rugby contact with France (from Planet Rugby)
• HISTORY OF RUGBY IN OTHER COUNTRIES

[edit] External links

• Fédération Française de Rugby
• French rugby union news from Planet Rugby
• French news from El Rugbier (Spanish)