Fabien Pelous

Last updated

Fabien Pelous
Fabien Pelous - Moudenc's rallye, Toulouse town election, 2008 - 1295.jpg
Fabien Pelous in Toulouse, 2008
Date of birth (1973-12-07) 7 December 1973 (age 50)
Place of birth Toulouse, France
Height1.98 m (6 ft 6 in)
Weight114 kg (17 st 13 lb)
Spousemarried
Childrenone child
Occupation(s)Physiotherapist and pro rugby player
Rugby union career
Position(s) Lock, number eight, flanker
Amateur team(s)
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1983–1991
1991–1995		 Saverdun
SC Graulhet 		()
Correct as of 16 September 2007
Senior career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1995–1997
1997–2009		 Dax
Toulouse
222
(60)
Correct as of 29 May 2009
International career
YearsTeamApps(Points)
1995–2007 France 118 (40)
Correct as of 14 October 2007

Fabien Pelous (born 7 December 1973) is a retired French rugby union player. A lock who also occasionally played as a number eight and flanker, [1] he played the bulk of his professional career for Stade Toulousain, and is the all-time leader in appearances for the France national team. He retired as the most-capped lock for any nation in rugby history, with 100 of his 118 France appearances at that position, a record later broken by South Africa's Victor Matfield. [1] Pelous was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in 2017. [2]

Contents

Early life

The son of a family of local farmers, Pelous was born in Toulouse and was introduced to rugby in Saverdun.

International career

Pelous made his test début on 17 October 1995 against Romania.

He proved himself an inspirational captain for France after succeeding Fabien Galthié ahead of the 2004 RBS 6 Nations and enjoyed immediate success, leading Les Bleus to the Grand Slam in his first year and followed that up with a second-placed finish in 2005.

Pelous missed the summer test matches in 2005 with a serious knee injury. He returned to action in September and helped France to a 26–16 win over Australia in November. However, he was handed a nine-week ban in the aftermath of that victory after being found guilty of elbowing Australia hooker Brendan Cannon.

He was due to equal Philippe Sella's record of 111 caps for France in the opener of the 2007 Six Nations against Italy, but was ruled out of the side due to an ankle injury. After he missed their second Six Nations tie against Ireland, he was ruled out of the entire Six Nations. [3] After his injury troubles continued, [4] hooker Raphaël Ibañez, who had filled in for him as captain during the 2007 Six Nations, was named as France captain for the 2007 Rugby World Cup, with Pelous as unofficial vice-captain. [5] He finally earned his record-equalling 111th cap on 11 August 2007 at Twickenham against England, [6] and took the record by himself a week later in Les Bleus' return match against England at Marseille. [7]

He ended his international career after the 2007 Rugby World Cup with 118 caps, 42 of them as France captain. [8]

He was the first French captain to have beaten Australia, New Zealand and South Africa.

Club career

Pelous helped Toulouse win the European Cup twice, [8] [9] [10] and the French Championship also three times [8] before retiring from the game in 2009. [8]

Coaching

In April 2009, it was announced that Pelous would retire at the end of the 2008/09 season. During his last season at Toulouse, he took up a part-time role as an assistant coach of France A. [11]

Awards

The night after the 2007 World Cup Final, Pelous was recognized at the IRB Awards, receiving the International Rugby Players' Association Special Merit Award. [12]

Personal life

In his spare time, Pelous is involved in a winemaking venture that he started in 2002 with France football international Djibril Cissé. [13] Pelous' name is the francization of pelós, which means "hairy" in the Occitan language.[ citation needed ]

See also

Related Research Articles

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Imanol Harinordoquy</span> French rugby union player

Imanol Harinordoquy is a French former rugby union player. He typically played as a number 8 for Stade Toulousain at club level in the Top 14 and for France internationally. Before signing with Biarritz ahead of the 2004–05 season, he played club rugby at Pau.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dimitri Yachvili</span> Rugby player

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frédéric Michalak</span> French rugby union footballer

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Raphaël Ibañez</span> French rugby union player

Raphaël Ibañez is a retired French rugby union footballer. A hooker, he played for the France national team 98 times, and as captain 41 times. After a career in club rugby management, he became Team Manager for France in 2020.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sergio Parisse</span> Rugby player

Sergio Francesco Parisse is a former Italian rugby union player. He is currently the lineout coach for French club Toulon. He played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Parisse is Italy's most-capped player, and currently the fourth most-capped player worldwide. He was the first Italian rugby union player to be nominated for the IRB International Player of the Year, in 2008 and again in 2013. Parisse is widely considered one of the greatest number eights of the modern era, and the greatest Italian rugby player of all time. He also holds the joint record of playing in five Rugby World Cups.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fabien Galthié</span> French rugby union player and manager

Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007 Six Nations Championship</span> Rugby union competition

The 2007 Six Nations Championship was the eighth series of the rugby union Six Nations Championship. Including the previous incarnations as the Home Nations and Five Nations, this was the 113th series of the international championship. Fifteen matches were played over five weekends from 3 February to 17 March.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thierry Dusautoir</span> French former rugby union player

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. Dusautoir was considered a strong ball carrier and possessed incredibly powerful and effective tackling. He broke the record for most tackles in a match, making 38 tackles against the All Blacks in the 2007 World Cup. He was considered one of, if not the best tackler in the world.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bernard Laporte</span> Rugby player

Bernard Laporte is a rugby player, coach and former French Secretary of State for Sport. From 1999 to 2007, Laporte was the head coach of the France national team. In 2011, he became the head coach at Toulon, after Philippe Saint-André became the new national team coach. He was previously the coach at Stade Français. He was the first fully professional head coach of France. Laporte was president of the French Rugby Federation from December 2016 to January 2023.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Omar Hasan</span> Argentine retired rugby player

Omar José Hasan Jalil is an Argentine retired rugby union footballer. He last played for Stade Toulousain in the domestic French club competition, the Top 14. He has also played for Argentina, usually as a prop. He has played in over 50 Tests for the Pumas and has an international career with Argentina spanning more than a decade. He is of Lebanese background.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rory Best</span> Ireland international rugby union player

Rory David Best is an Irish former rugby union player who was the captain of the Ireland national team from 2016 to 2019. He played hooker for Ulster and was registered for Banbridge RFC. Best earned 124 caps for Ireland, making his debut in 2005 and retiring at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, his fourth World Cup. Best is one of the most capped rugby players of all time, as well as the most-capped forward to represent Ireland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Émile Ntamack</span> Rugby player

Émile "Milou" Ntamack is a French former rugby union footballer. He played professionally for Stade Toulousain and France, winning 46 caps. Ntamack made his French debut against Wales during the 1994 Five Nations Championship. Ntamack was part of the Grand Slam winning sides in 1997. He was in the 1995 and 1999 World Cup squads. He initially announced his retirement in 2003 due to a facial injury, however he then stayed on for another year before retiring in 2004. His younger brother, Francis Ntamack was also capped by France. Ntamack coached the Espoirs team of the Stade Toulousain and the French U21 team which was the first Northern Hemisphere side to win the World Championships in this age category, held in the Auvergne in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Dylan Hartley</span> England international rugby union player

Dylan Hartley is a former England Rugby union captain who represented England and Northampton Saints.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2007–08 Heineken Cup</span>

The 2007–08 Heineken Cup was the 13th edition of the Heineken Cup, the annual rugby union European club competition for clubs from the top six nations in European rugby.

Throughout August 2007, various teams prepared for the Rugby World Cup in France with a short series of test matches, primarily in the Northern Hemisphere and involving the RBS Six Nations sides. In addition, South Africa played one test in Scotland following the 2007 Tri Nations and Argentina one test in their home country and one in Wales. The tests were effectively a replacement for the usual Autumn international series in November which does not take place in World Cup years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Leonardo Ghiraldini</span> Rugby player

Leonardo Ghiraldini is a retired Italian international rugby union player. Ghiraldini's playing position is hooker.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Romain Millo-Chluski</span> Rugby player

Romain Millo-Chluski is a former rugby union player for Toulouse in the Top 14 competition. He plays as a lock.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antoine Dupont</span> French professional rugby union player

Antoine Dupont is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Top 14 club Toulouse and captains the France national team. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest players in the world and of his generation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thibaud Flament</span> French rugby union player

Thibaud Flament is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team.

References

  1. 1 2 Griffiths, John (31 January 2011). "Unofficial world champions, Blackrock College Lions and the world's most capped lock". Ask John. ESPNScrum.com. Retrieved 3 March 2011.
  2. ↑ "Five legends inducted into World Rugby Hall of Fame" (Press release). World Rugby. 10 November 2017. Retrieved 29 November 2017.
  3. ↑ "France robbed of skipper Pelous". RugbyRugby.com. 20 February 2007. Archived from the original on 27 September 2007.
  4. ↑ "France hand Ibanez the armband". Planet-Rugby.com. 2 July 2007. Archived from the original on 29 September 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  5. ↑ "Ibanez to captain France at Cup". BBC Sport. 2 July 2007. Retrieved 4 July 2007.
  6. ↑ "England 15–21 France". BBC Sport. 11 August 2007. Retrieved 11 August 2007.
  7. ↑ "France 22–9 England". BBC Sport. 18 August 2007. Retrieved 18 August 2007.
  8. 1 2 3 4 Most-capped French player Fabien Pelous retires France 24, 23 April 2009
  9. ↑ "Toulouse regain European crown". BBC. 24 May 2003. Retrieved 25 September 2019.
  10. ↑ Stade Francais 12–18 Toulouse BBC Sport, 22 May 2005
  11. ↑ "Ex-France captain Pelous to quit". BBC Sport. 23 April 2009. Retrieved 26 April 2009.
  12. ↑ Rugby News Service (21 October 2007). "Habana named IRB Player of the Year". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
  13. ↑ "Pelous on the verge of greatness". International Rugby Board. 23 January 2007. Archived from the original on 2 February 2007. Retrieved 25 February 2007.
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.