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9 unusual facts about France national rugby union team


Anthony Floch

He was called up to the French squad by Marc Lievremont for the 2008 Six Nations Championship, where he won his first cap off the bench against England in a defeat at the Stade de France.

Colin Smart

While in Paris, after beating France in the Five Nations, England teammate Maurice Colclough emptied a bottle of free aftershave from the after-match meal, filled it with wine, and drank from it.

In 1979, Smart was called up to the full England team, making his debut at Twickenham Stadium against France.

Craig Wickes

The selection policy for this match excluded all players who had played against Australia and France earlier in the season.

France national rugby team

France national rugby union team, often nicknamed les bleus, administered by Fédération Française de Rugby.

Mark Cueto

He was left out of the surprise quarter-final victory against Australia and the even more surprising semi-final victory over France due to a niggling injury.

Matteo Barbini

In 2004 he made his Six Nations Championship debut, coming on as a replacement in a match against France.

Sila Puafisi

He was called up to Tonga for the 2013 Autumn Internationals against Romania, France and Wales.

Teodor Florian

His first match was a 59-3 loss to France, at the 4 May 1924, for the 1924 Olympic Tournament, and his last came at the 6-0 loss to Germany, at 19 May 1927, in Heidelberg, in a friendly match.


1981 New Zealand rugby union tour of Romania and France

The All Blacks won eight of the ten games, including the international match against Romania and both internationals against France.

Apenisa Naevo

After playing two games in July 2003 he was included in the Fiji squad for the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia, playing three games, against France and the United States, scoring tries in both, and the games against Scotland.

Eric Whiteley

He played his final match for England on 6 April 1931 at Colombes in the France vs England match.

Henry Paul

He won his first England cap as a replacement against France in the 2002 Six Nations Championship, but has only managed to win a handful of caps since then, mostly during the 2004 Six Nations Championship, coming off the bench in Rome and at Murrayfield.

History of the French national rugby union team

The French national rugby union team first competed at the 1900 Summer Olympics.

Jean Barthe

He earned his first cap with the French national team on 29 July 1954 against Argentina at Buenos Aires.

Mark Chisholm

The following season he made his debut for the Wallabies in a test against Scotland in Edinburgh and was subsequently named in the 22 against France the following week and went on to start at lock for Australia A against the French Barbarians in Paris.

Murray Hofmeyr

Playing as a full-back, Hofmeyr appeared in three of England's four Tests in the 1950 Five Nations Championship, against Wales, France and Scotland.

Ossie Newton-Thompson

He was first capped in England's win over Scotland at Twickenham and made his other appearance in their defeat of France at the same venue.

Rod Macqueen

He led the Wallabies to victory at the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales, where they defeated France in the final, becoming the first nation to ever win the World Cup twice.

Roy Prosser

Prosser played 25 Test matches: seven against South Africa, six against New Zealand, five against France, three against Ireland and one each against England, Scotland, Wales and Fiji.

Serge Blanco

Serge Blanco (born 31 August 1958 in Caracas, Venezuela) is a former rugby union footballer who played fullback for Biarritz Olympique and the French national side, gaining 93 caps, 81 of them at fullback.

Wenceslas Lauret

He has also been selected to play for the French national team, he made his debut against South Africa in Cape Town on 12 June 2010.


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