 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Birth name | Fabien Barcella | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Date of birth | 27 October 1983 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Place of birth | Agen, Lot-et-Garonne, France | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.83 m (6 ft 0 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 108 kg (238 lb) [1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rugby union career | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Fabien Barcella (born 27 October 1983) [2] is a French former professional rugby union player who played as a prop. He played for France at international level, earning 20 caps between 2008 and 2011.
Barcella played for Toulouse before joining Valence-d'Agen in 2005. He then went on to play for Auch between 2006 and 2008. In 2008 he joined Biarritz Olympique where he made his Heineken Cup debut.
In 2008 French coach Marc Lievremont sprung a surprise when he called up Barcella for the 2008 Six Nations Championship match against Italy at the Stade de France. He was also called up to the Wales game a week later. He featured again in the Autumn against Argentina. During the 2009 Six Nations Championship, he was in competition with Sale prop Lionel Faure for the starting job, which he obtained, making big performances. He played at the 2011 Rugby World Cup squad in New Zealand.
He was later called for test matches against New Zealand and Australia in June, where he made a number of standout performances. Barcella is often seen as one of the best loose head props in the world, his ability to destroy his opposite number in the scrum and cause havoc around the pitch with his brute aggression often sets him apart from his peers.
Rugby union football, commonly known simply as rugby union or often just rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in England in the first half of the 19th century. Rugby is based on running with the ball in hand. In its most common form, a game is played between two teams of 15 players each, using an oval-shaped ball on a rectangular field called a pitch. The field has H-shaped goalposts at both ends.
The Georgia national rugby union team, nicknamed The Lelos, is administered by the Georgian Rugby Union. The team takes part in the annual Rugby Europe Championship, and the Rugby World Cup which takes place every four years and in which it has appeared continuously since 2003.
In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards and seven backs. In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16–23. Players are not restricted to a single position, although they generally specialise in just one or two that suit their skills and body types. Players that play multiple positions are called "utility players".
Graham Christopher Rowntree is an English rugby union former player and former head coach of Irish club Munster. He played loosehead prop for Leicester Tigers and England. He was capped 54 times for England, despite having to compete for his position with one of the world's most capped forwards, Jason Leonard. Rowntree was born in Stockton-on-Tees. He was educated at John Cleveland College, Hinckley, Leicestershire, which has also produced other rugby union players.
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 Italy national rugby union team represents the Italian Rugby Federation in men's international rugby union. The team is known as gli Azzurri. Savoy blue is the common colour of the national teams representing Italy, as it is the traditional colour of the royal House of Savoy which reigned over the Kingdom of Italy from 1860 to 1946.
Jason Leonard is an English former rugby union player. He won a then-record 114 caps for England men’s rugby team during a 14-year international career.
Dimitri Yachvili Markarian is a French former rugby union footballer who played as a scrum-half for Biarritz and France. He played for France from 2002 to 2012, earning 61 caps and scoring 373 points. With them he played in the final of the 2011 World Cup losing to New Zealand and won two Grand Slams in 2004 and 2010. In club rugby, he won a European Cup in 2012 and played in two European Cup finals in 2006 and 2010 with Biarritz. With this club, he also won two French championship titles in 2005 and 2006. With his previous club, Gloucester, he was champion of England in 2002. After the end of his playing career, he became a rugby consultant, a career he began while still a player.
Mauro Bergamasco is an Italian former rugby union player who last played for Zebre. He predominantly played as an open-side flanker, although his versatility meant that he had also played a number of international games on the wing, and started at scrum-half in an infamously error-prone performance. He was considered to be one of Italy's best players in his preferred position.
Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team.
Ioane Fitu "John" Afoa is a New Zealand professional rugby union player. His position of choice is at prop. Afoa currently plays for the Crusaders in Super Rugby.
Marcus Horan is a retired Irish rugby union player who played prop for Munster and Ireland.
Thierry Dusautoir is a French former rugby union player who last played for France at international level and Toulouse in the French Top 14 club competition. He was called the "Dark Destroyer" during his career. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He was considered the best tackler in the world during his career.
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.
Adam Rhys Jones is a Welsh former professional international rugby union player for Wales and the British & Irish Lions. He is currently scrum coach for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins
Bismarck Wilhelm du Plessis is a South African former professional rugby union player, who played for the Bulls in the United Rugby Championship and for the Blue Bulls in the Currie Cup. He played for the Free State Cheetahs in 2003, before moving to the Sharks in 2005 where he spent the bulk of his career, and then to Montpellier in the French Top 14. He is widely acknowledged to be one of the best hookers of his time, both in club and country performances.
Rhys Webb is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half. Born in Bridgend, he is a product of the Ospreys academy and played club rugby for Bridgend and Aberavon before breaking into the regional side in 2008. He played for the Ospreys for 10 years before moving to French club Toulon in 2018, but terminated his contract with them in 2020 and agreed a return to the Ospreys; however, he was unable to join the Ospreys immediately and signed for Bath for the remainder of the 2019–20 season before returning to the Ospreys.
Ben John Franks is an Australian-born New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He played as a prop. He is one of only 43 players who have won the Rugby World Cup on multiple occasions.
Joseph William George Marler is an English former rugby union player who played as a prop for Premiership Rugby club Harlequins. He played for the England national team until his retirement in November 2024.
In June 2013, France played a three-test series against New Zealand as part of the 2013 mid-year rugby test series. This was the sides' first encounter since they met in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, which New Zealand won 8–7. It was France's first test series against the All Blacks since their 2009 two-test tour of New Zealand, which ended in a 1–1 draw.