European Union
All kind of International Rugby Events, like June Tours, Pacific cups and all others.
Churchill Cup 2010
Match scheduled:
Date: 19-06-2010
Time: 21:30 until 23:30
The Finals - USA vs France
Watch live rugby TV
[edit] European
The Heineken Cup, known as the H Cup in France due to alcohol advertising laws, is an annual rugby union competition involving leading club, regional and provincial teams from the Six Nations: England, France, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and Italy. The competition was launched during the European summer of 1995 by the (then) Five Nations Committee, following the advent of professionl rugby union. The tournament was born with the intention of providing a new level of professional European competition. The French clubs have been quite successful in the tournament; the inaugural competition was won by Toulouse. Then in the following year Brive were the champions. Toulouse became the first ever, and so far only team to win the competition more than twice, becoming champions again in 2003, 2005, and 2010.
The second-tier European Challenge Cup was launched the year after the Heineken Cup. Currently, all Top 14 teams that do not qualify for the Heineken Cup compete in the European Challenge Cup. The first four competitions were all won by French sides—Bourgoin in 1997, Colomiers in 1998, Clermont (then known as Montferrand) in 1999, and Pau in 2000. Since then, French sides have made the finals five more times, with Clermont winning in 2007.
The European Shield, which ran from 2002–03 to 2004–05, was a repechage competition that involved first-round losers in the European Shield. It was scrapped when the European Challenge Cup was revamped for the 2005–06 season. This trophy was claimed by a French club in each of its three seasons—Castres in 2003, Montpellier in 2004, and Auch in 2005.
[edit] National side
France, nicknamed Les Bleus (The Blues), is a top tier nation, as cited by the International Rugby Board. France competes in the Six Nations Championship annually. Although France have never won the World Cup, they have in fact appeared in both the 1987 and the 1999 finals — losing to New Zealand and Australia respectively. In addition to being runners-up on two occasions, France has always appeared in the semi-finals — with the exception of the 1991 Rugby World Cup where they were knocked out in the quarter finals. The French style of play is renowned for its paradoxical combination of rugged physicality and inspired grace. This particular style of play has been nicknamed the "French flair".
[edit] National Rugby Centre
The National Rugby Centre was opened by then French President Jacques Chirac in November 2002.[7] The facility cost GP£46 million (approx. €68 million, c.2007), and is located in the village of Marcoussis, south of Paris.[7][8] The facility covers 20 hectares (49 acres) and includes five rugby pitches (one of them covered, and two floodlit), a gym, medical facilities, a swimming pool, media centre, and library.[9] Living quarters are also included, with 30 rooms which are each named after a championship winning French club. The living quarters also have a dedicated restaurant. France's under-19 team are permanently based at the NRC, and provide regular opposition for the French national team during training.[9]
[edit] Media coverage
Free-to-air channel France 2 broadcasts the Six Nations games, as well as France's home internationals, such as those that are played during the latter stages of the year in November. Matches from the Top 14 are broadcast by the premium pay television channel Canal+, which also broadcasts many other rugby union competitions, including the Southern Hemisphere's Tri Nations, between Australia, New Zealand and South AfricaFrance have won 354 of their 635 test matches, a win record of 55.66%.[32][33] When the World Rankings were introduced by the International Rugby Board (IRB) in 2003 France were ranked fifth. During November 2003 France briefly occupied third place before falling to fourth by December that year. After falling to fifth during November 2004, France rose again to fourth by April 2005. During early 2006, France rose again, peaking at second in July that year. France were ranked number two in the world until falling to third in June 2007 after two successive defeats to the All Blacks. They then fell to fifth after losing to Argentina in the opening match of the 2007 World Cup.[34]
Their test match record against all nations, up until 22 June 2009, is as follows:[32][35]
Against | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Win percentage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina | 41 | 30 | 1 | 10 | 73.2% |
 Australia | 36 | 16 | 2 | 18 | 44.4% |
| British and Irish Lions | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0% |
 Canada | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% |
 Czech Republic | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Côte d'Ivoire | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 England | 90 | 35 | 7 | 48 | 39% |
 Fiji | 7 | 7 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Georgia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Germany | 15 | 13 | 0 | 2 | 86.7% |
 Ireland | 86 | 52 | 5 | 29 | 60.7% |
 Italy | 27 | 26 | 0 | 1 | 96.3% |
 Japan | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Namibia | 5 | 5 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 New Zealand | 48 | 12 | 1 | 35 | 25.5% |
 Romania | 50 | 40 | 2 | 8 | 80% |
 Samoa | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Scotland | 83 | 46 | 3 | 34 | 55% |
 South Africa | 37 | 11 | 6 | 20 | 29.7% |
 Soviet Union | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 33.3% |
 Spain | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Tonga | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 66.7% |
 Tunisia | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 United States | 7 | 6 | 0 | 1 | 85.7% |
 Wales | 86 | 40 | 3 | 43 | 46.4% |
| West Germany | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
 Zimbabwe | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 100% |
| Overall | 636 | 354 | 30 | 252 | 55.7% |
[edit] Players
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[edit] Current Squad
Marc Lièvremont announced France's squad for their tests against South Africa and Argentina. [36] After Yannick Jauzion pulled out of the squad, Florian Fritz was called up to replace him. [37] Imanol Harinordoquy withdrew from the squad due to injury and was replaced by Grégory Lamboley. [38] Mathieu Bastareaud was also forced to withdraw and was replaced by Lionel Mazars. [39]
- Caps updated before test matches.
Head Coach: Marc Lièvremont
[edit] Notable players
Six former French national team players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame: Serge Blanco, André Boniface, Jo Maso, Jean Prat, Jean-Pierre Rives and Philippe Sella.[40] Sella has the added honour of induction into the IRB Hall of Fame.[41]
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