Benoît Baby (born 7 September 1983) is a former Frenchrugby union footballer. He usually played at centre, but also at fullback and fly-half and represented France.
Baby made his début for the national team during the 2005 Six Nations, against Ireland in Dublin. France won the match 26 points to 19. Baby was cited for head butting Brian O'Driscoll during the match. The Irish match was Baby's only appearance in the 2005 Six Nations, though he was capped twice again for France that year, in the losses against South Africa in Durban and Australia at Brisbane's Suncorp Stadium. He was considered as very promising at his post until a series of relatively serious injuries stopped him in his progression. He came back with the French team during the 2008 Autumn internationals, scoring one penalty kick against Argentina, a game the French eventually won 12–6.
Jonathan Peter Wilkinson, is an English former rugby union player. A fly-half, he played for Newcastle Falcons and French side Toulon and represented England and the British & Irish Lions. He is particularly known for scoring the winning drop goal in the 2003 Rugby World Cup Final and is widely acknowledged as one of the best rugby union players of all time.
Brian Gerard O'Driscoll is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the British & Irish Lions for their 2005 tour of New Zealand. He is regarded by critics as one of the greatest rugby players of all time.
The France national rugby union team represents the French Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union matches. Colloquially known as Le XV de France, the team traditionally wears blue shirts with a Gallic rooster embroidered on the chest, white shorts and red socks in reference to the French national flag. Les Bleus mostly play home matches at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship along with England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. France have won the tournament on 26 occasions, winning the Grand Slam 10 times.
Gordon William D'Arcy is a retired Irish rugby player who played most of his career at inside centre. He played for Irish provincial side Leinster for his entire professional career and is second on the record list for most Leinster appearances at 257, behind Devon Toner and is third on the all time Leinster try list with 60. He was registered to club side Lansdowne.
Andrew David Farrell is an English professional rugby union coach and former player for both rugby league and rugby union. Farrell has been head coach of the Ireland national team since 2019.
Paul Jeremiah O'Connell is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. When he retired, he was Ireland's third most-capped player (108) and the eighteenth most-capped international player in rugby union history. During his career, O'Connell captained Munster, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions. He is now the forwards coach for the Ireland national men's team.
Warren David Gatland is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is the head coach of the Wales national team.
In rugby union, a Grand Slam occurs when one team in the Six Nations Championship beats all the others during one year's competition. This has been achieved 42 times in total, for the first time by Wales in 1908, and most recently by the Irish team in 2023. The team with the most Grand Slams is England with 13. It can also apply to the U20 and Women's Six Nations Championships.
Thomas John Bowe is an Irish television presenter and former rugby union player from County Monaghan, Ireland. He played on the wing for Ulster, Ospreys, Ireland and the British & Irish Lions.
Vincent Clerc is a former French professional rugby union player who played on the wing.
Benoît Pierre David Assou-Ekotto is a former professional footballer who played as a left back.
Cédric Heymans is a French former rugby union footballer who played mainly as a wing or a full-back for French Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team.
Jérôme Thion is a French former professional rugby union footballer who played as a lock. He played for the France national team from 2003 to 2011, representing them at the 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups, as well as captaining them in three tests in late 2005. He was also a part of the side that won back-to-back Six Nations Championship titles in 2006 and 2007.
Sylvain Marconnet is a French rugby union footballer who played for Biarritz Olympique having signed from Stade Français in the Top 14 club competition in France. His usual position is prop. Marconnet has played for France, including representing them at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia.
Dimitri Szarzewski is a former French rugby union footballer. His usual position was at hooker, and also represented France.
David Auradou is a French former rugby union footballer. He last played for Paris club Stade Français, where he was the captain, in the Top 14. His usual position was at lock.
David Marty is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a centre for USA Perpignan and also for France.
Tomás O'Leary is an Irish former rugby union player who played as a scrum-half. O'Leary played most of his career in the United Rugby Championship with Munster, where he was part of the team that won the Heineken Cup in 2006 and again in 2008. He also played in the English Premiership with London Irish, and the Top 14 with Montpellier. Internationally, he represented Ireland, where he was a member of the team that won the 2009 Six Nations Championship and Grand Slam. Also in 2009, he was selected for the British & Irish Lions, though injury prevented him from touring with the squad. O'Leary retired from professional rugby in July 2017.
Alun Wyn Jones is a Welsh former international rugby union player who played as a lock. He played most of his career for Ospreys and for the Wales national team. He is the world's most-capped rugby union player, with 158 caps for Wales and 13 for the British & Irish Lions, and also holds the records for the most Wales caps and the second most Wales caps as captain. He retired from rugby in 2023.
Jonathan Jeremiah Sexton is an Irish former professional rugby union player who played as a fly-half and captained the Ireland national team from 2019 until 2023. He also played club rugby for Leinster and French side Racing 92.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
