France national rugby union team
Rugby union was introduced into France by the British in the early 1870s. It quickly began to flourish in the poorer, more rural south amongst workers in the wine trade. Rugby Union is still much more popular in the southern part of France than in the North. The French league, started in 1906, was the first truly national league anywhere in the rugby union playing world.
France have been playing in the Six Nations Championship (then known as the Five Nations) since 1910. They were expelled in 1932 following accusations of professionalism in the French league as well as on-field violence and poor organisation and weren't allowed to rejoin until 1939. During this time many French players turned to rugby league, which soon became the dominant game in France.
During the German occupation of France in WW2, Vichy France forceably merged the French rugby league into the French rugby union declaring that there was only one rugby. After this the union code was dominant in France again.
They finally won the Six nations tournament in 1959 and since then have gone on to be one of the strongest competitors. Their finest achievement was to reach the final of the 1999 Rugby Union World Cup after a surprise victory over New Zealand in the semi-final.
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Famous players
- Abdelatif Benazzi
- Serge Blanco
- Olivier Brouzet
- Raphael Ibanez
- Olivier Magne
- Fabien Pelous
- Jean-Pierre Rives
- Philippe Sella
See also
