Stade Toulousain, also referred to as Toulouse, is a professional rugby union club based in Toulouse, France. They compete in the Top 14, France's top division of rugby, and the European Rugby Champions Cup.
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.
Stade Français Paris is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The original Stade Français was founded in 1883. In its current form, the club was founded in 1995 with the merger of the rugby sections of the Stade Français and Club Athlétique des Sports Généraux (CASG).
Association Sportive Montferrandaise Clermont Auvergne is a French professional rugby union club from Clermont-Ferrand in Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes that currently competes in Top 14, the top level of the French league system. Clermont are two times French champions in 2009-10 and 2016-17. The rugby section is a part of a multi-sport club called AS Montferrand, which was founded in 1911 and adopted that name in 1919. Although the rugby section changed its name to the current ASM Clermont Auvergne in 2004, it is still frequently referred to as Montferrand both within and outside France.
Stephen Larkham is a retired Australian rugby union professional player, currently in the role of head coach for Brumbies. He spent his career with the Brumbies in Super Rugby, for whom he played from the inception of the professional Super 12 in 1996 through 2007. He is best known for his long tenure with the Wallabies at international level, for whom he played 102 times. After initial selection at fullback from 1996 to 1997, Larkham was the first-choice Australian fly-half from 1997 to 2007, playing in the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Rugby World Cups. He is married to Jacqueline and has two children, Jaimee and Tiahna.
Shaun Edwards, OBE is an English rugby union coach and former rugby league player, who is the defence coach for the France national team. A scrum-half or stand-off, Edwards is the most decorated player in rugby league history, with 37 winner's medals. In 2015 he was the 25th person inducted into the Rugby League Hall of Fame.
Felipe Contepomi is an Argentine rugby coach who is currently the backs coach at Leinster Rugby. He was a rugby union footballer who played fly-half or centre; his last club was Club Newman, in the first division of the URBA championship. He was also a key player for Argentina, having played 15 years for the national team. His twin brother Manuel was also a Puma. In June 2015 he was appointed coach of Argentina XV. Contepomi was inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame in November 2017.
XIII Catalan is a rugby league team from Perpignan in the Pyrénées-Orientales region of southern France. They were founded in 1934, and thus were founding members of the French rugby league championship. In 2000 their senior team merged with nearby neighbours AS Saint Estève to form Union Treiziste Catalane, now better known in the English-speaking world by their Super League identity of Catalans Dragons.
Union Sportive Colomiers Rugby or Rugby Colomiers is a French rugby union club currently competing in Pro D2, the second level of the French rugby pyramid. They had been relegated from Pro D2 after finishing last in the 2006–07 season, but earned promotion from Fédérale 1 at the first opportunity in 2007-08, and survived a relegation scare in 2008–09, finishing 14th, in the last safe position. The club was relegated from Pro D2 in the 2010–11 season. The club, based in Colomiers in the Haute-Garonne département of Occitania, was founded in 1915 and plays at the Stade Michel Bendichou. The players wear blue and white. Colomiers have been runners-up in the French championship and Heineken Cup, as well as winners of the European Challenge Cup.
Fabien Galthié is a French rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of the France national team.
Jean-Baptiste Élissalde is a former French rugby union player, playing either as a scrum-half or as a fly-half, and most recently defense coach for Montpellier in the Top 14.
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.
Stade Rochelais, commonly called La Rochelle, is a French professional rugby union club based in La Rochelle, France that competes in the Top 14. Founded in 1898 and wearing yellow and black, the club's first-team plays its home matches at Stade Marcel-Deflandre.
David Skrela is a former French rugby union player. He most notably played for Stade Français and Toulouse in the Top 14 as well as the French national side as a fly-half or centre. He was renowned for his tackles and his kicking skills.
Mario Ledesma Arocena is an Argentine rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played in Argentina's successful 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign and had a professional playing career in France spanning 10 years. Since retiring he has coached at the highest level in the Northern and Southern Hemispheres and was most recently the head coach of the Argentine national team.
Jean-Claude Skrela is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketball player.
William Servat is a former French rugby union footballer and is currently an assistant coach for the France national team. Servat played as a hooker for Toulouse in the Top 14 club competition and for France at international level. Servat was regarded as one of the top hookers in the world in the late 2000's, culminating in 2010 Grand Slam & European Cup wins.
The 2010 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup, the 15th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 22 May 2010 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis north of Paris. It was contested by Biarritz and Toulouse, both from France. Toulouse won the final by 21–19, and for a record fourth time in fifteen seasons of the competition.
Jean-Marc Doussain is a French rugby union fly half. He plays club rugby for Lyon OU and has appeared for the French national U20 side. He made his debut for France with 5 minutes left of the 2011 Rugby World Cup final, becoming the first player ever to make his Test debut in a Rugby World Cup final. Doussain wasn't initially named in the squad and was only called up as an injury replacement for David Skrela.
Robert Bru was a French rugby union coach.
