Related Research Articles
George Musarurwa Gregan AM is a retired Australian rugby union player, and is currently Australia's most capped international player.
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.
The Top 14 is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the France National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism of LNR. There is promotion and relegation between the Top 14 and the next level down, the Rugby Pro D2. The fourteen best rugby teams in France participate in the competition, hence the name Top 14. The competition was previously known as the Top 16.
Gethin Jenkins is a Welsh former professional rugby union player who played as a prop for Pontypridd, Celtic Warriors, Cardiff Blues and Toulon. At international level, he won 129 caps for Wales. On his 105th appearance in 2014, he became Wales' most-capped player, overtaking the record held by Stephen Jones; having earned his final cap in November 2016, his record was surpassed by Alun Wyn Jones in September 2019. He is one of a small group of Welsh players to have won three Grand Slams. He also won five caps for the British & Irish Lions on three tours in 2005, 2009 and 2013. He is the sixth most-capped player in rugby union history and the most-capped front-row forward.
Frédéric Michalak is a former French rugby union footballer. His early career was spent playing for his hometown team, Toulouse, in the Top 14 and in the Heineken Cup. He moved to South Africa to play for the Sharks in the Super 14 after the 2007 Rugby World Cup, but after just one year with the Sharks he moved back to Toulouse. He has also played over 70 tests for France to date, and is the country's leading Test point scorer, achieving that milestone in 2015. Michalak originally played scrum-half but has played mainly at fly-half. He has appeared in advertisements for companies such as Nike and Levi's.
Rugby Club Toulonnais, also referred to as Rugby Club Toulon or simply Toulon, is a French professional rugby union club based in Toulon and competing in the Top 14. Located on the French Riviera, in the Provence region, the club plays its home games at the 17,500-capacity Stade Mayol.
Juan Martín Hernández is an Argentine retired rugby union player. A mainstay of the Argentina national team The Pumas. He played for the club Toulon in the French Top 14 competition. His 2010 move to Racing brought him back to the city where he had begun his professional career in 2003 with Stade Français. He has also played in the South African Currie Cup with the Sharks, and was slated to play with the Sharks in Super Rugby in 2010, but suffered a back injury that knocked him out of the Super Rugby season. Hernández is a "utility back" capable of playing at fly-half, centre, or fullback, though he generally prefers fly-half.
Matthew James Giteau is an Australian rugby union professional player who plays for San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR).
Philippe Georges Saint-André is a former French rugby union footballer and was most recently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but he could also play at centre. After retiring, Saint-André has found success as a rugby coach in both England and France. He was serving as director of rugby at Toulon before being announced as the successful candidate for head coach of France from 2011 to 2015. He formally took charge of the national team on 1 December 2011, and left his post on 17 October 2015 following a 13–62 loss to New Zealand.
Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team.
Gonzalo Quesada is an Argentine rugby former player and current coach, who presently works as head coach for the Italy national rugby union team.
Guy Novès is a former French rugby union player and most recently coach of the French national team. Born in Toulouse, Novès, who played on the wing, was capped seven times for his country, and played with Stade Toulousain from 1975 to 1987 and was a member of the team that won the Bouclier de Brennus in 1985 and 1986. He later coached the side in a tenure that lasted 22 years, when he won the French championship nine times and the Heineken Cup four times.
Pieter Joshua de Villiers is a South African-born French rugby union player and coach. As a player he represented France at international level and played in two Rugby World Cups, and ended his club career with Stade Français in the Top 14 competition in France. A prop, he was renowned for his scrummaging ability.
Juanne Hugo Smith is a South African former professional rugby union player who represented South Africa in international test rugby, the Cheetahs in the Super Rugby competition, and the Free State Cheetahs in the Currie Cup. He mainly played as a blindside flanker, although he has also played number eight.
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.
Stephen Leigh Halfpenny is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and Stephen Jones.
Aubin Hueber is a former French rugby union player and a current coach. He played for the French national team as a scrum half.
Guilhem Guirado is a former French rugby union player. During his 17-year career, he played for Perpignan, Toulon, and Montpellier. Guirado was also the captain of France from 2016 to 2019.
Cheslin Kolbe is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays at fullback. He has also recently featured at fly half for Toulouse in the Top 14, and as a scrum half internationally. Kolbe was a member of the South Africa Sevens team that won a bronze medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. He has won the Rugby World Cup twice with South Africa, in 2019 and 2023. Kolbe was nominated for 2019 World Rugby Player of the Year but lost to teammate Pieter-Steph du Toit. He is widely regarded as one of the best players in the world. He previously played for Toulouse, Toulon, Stormers, and Western Province. He has won the World Cup, Rugby Championship, and Lions Series with the Springboks, the Top14, and Champions Cup with Toulouse, the Currie Cup with Western Province, and the Challenge Cup with Toulon. He is one of the highest paid rugby players in the world, with a reported salary of between ¥130-155 million yen a season.
David Young is a Welsh rugby union coach and former rugby union and rugby league player. He was most recently director of rugby at Cardiff Blues.
References
- ↑ "Toulon : l'international varois Eric Melville est décédé". L'Équipe (in French). 19 June 2017.
- ↑ "SA-born ex-France international Melville dies". News24 . 19 June 2017.
- ↑ Keohane, Mark (25 October 2020). "The secret behind South Africans' love affair with French rugby". Independent Online .
- ↑ "Melville, Eric". Fédération Française de Rugby (in French).
- ↑ "Eric Melville, la révérence du colosse". Le Temps (in French). 19 June 2017.