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The France rugby team, also known as ‘Les Bleus’, is one of Europe’s leading international sides. Thanks to a catalogue of titles and impressive campaigns, France are regarded as fierce and formidable competitors at the Rugby World Cup and the Six Nations.
From France’s Six Nations performances and Rugby World Cup highlights to their history and latest news, keep scrolling to learn more about the France national rugby union team.
France in the Six Nations
France’s Six Nations history dates back to 1910, when Les Bleus joined the competition. This resulted in the Home Nations being rebranded as the Five Nations Championship. Today, the France rugby team competes against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the annual Six Nations.
In a surprising turn of events, France were removed from the tournament in 1932. They were excluded on grounds of suspected professionalism, which was not allowed during rugby’s amateur era. After the tournament paused during World War II, France were invited to rejoin the Five Nations in 1947.
With the exception of this period, the France Six Nations team has participated in every Championship since 1910. In 1954, after competing in 37 tournaments, France celebrated their first shared win. Five years later, France won their first outright Five Nations title.
To date, the France Six Nations squad has captured 26 titles (18 outright and eight shared victories) and 10 Grand Slams.
France at the Rugby World Cup
Although they have competed in every edition of the tournament, France have never won the Rugby World Cup. However, as a talented and intimidating team, Les Bleus have reached the final on three occasions. The France rugby team finished as the runners-up in 1987, 1999 and 2011.
France’s first Rugby World Cup final came after one of the sport’s greatest semi-finals. The match saw a fierce France battle a determined Australia and, just as extra time seemed inevitable, Serge Blanco scored one of the best tries of the modern era. Despite their semi-final triumph, Les Bleus suffered a 29-9 loss against New Zealand in the final.
In 1999, France faced Australia in the final after overcoming New Zealand at the semi-final stage. Sadly though, they fell to a resounding 35-12 defeat. Then, in 2011, France almost captured the trophy. They fought a fierce clash against New Zealand, but they lost the match 8-7.
Players
Forwards
Cameron Woki Flanker 7 Charles Ollivon Number 8
Cyril Baille Prop Demba Bamba Tighthead Prop
Dorian Aldegheri Prop Dylan Cretin Number 8
Florian Verhaeghe Lock Francois Cros Blindside Flanker
Gregory Alldritt Flanker 7 Jean-Baptiste Gros Loosehead Prop
Julien Marchand Hooker Paul Boudehent Openside Flanker
Paul Willemse Lock Peato Mauvaka Hooker
Pierre Bourgarit Hooker Reda Wardi Prop
Romain Taofifenua Lock Sebastien Taofifenua Prop
Sekou Macalou Flanker 7 Sipili Falatea Prop
Thibaud Flament Lock 5 Thomas Laclayat Prop
Uini Atonio Prop Yoan Tanga Number 8
Backs
Antoine Dupont Scrum Half Antoine Hastoy Fly Half
Arthur Vincent Centre Baptiste Couilloud Scrum half
Baptiste Serin Scrum half Bastien Chalureau
Brice Dulin Fullback Damian Penaud Centre
Emilien Gailleton Inside Centre Ethan Dumortier Centre
Gabin Villiere Right Wing Gael Fickou Centre
Jonathan Danty Centre Louis Bielle-Biarrey Fullback
Matthieu Jalibert Fly half Maxime Lucu Fly half
Melvyn Jaminet Fullback Romain Ntamack Fly half
Thomas Ramos Fullback Yoram Moefana Centre
History of the France National Rugby Union Team
Rugby was first introduced to France back in 1872 and France was represented at the 1900 Olympics. However, France’s first official international test match didn’t take place until 1906, when France played against New Zealand in Paris.
The French squad competed in the Olympic Games of 1920 and 1924, where they narrowly missed out on gold medals against the United States. But it was in the Five Nations of the 1950s and 60s where France really showed their class on the world stage. Two decades later, they were the runners-up in the first Rugby World Cup.
Since then, Les Bleus have built a reputation as one of the world’s most talented and fierce rugby teams. After being named as the World Rugby Team of the Year in 2002, France have bounced between first and 10th place in the World Rugby Rankings.
France Rugby Players
With such a prolific history in terms of achievement, it’s no surprise that the France national rugby union team has seen its fair share of quality players. In fact, several of the team’s former players have been inducted into the World Rugby Hall of Fame. This includes fullback Serge Blanco, centre Philippe Sella and lock Fabien Pelous.
The current squad also features a variety of popular players, the majority of who compete in France at domestic level. This includes scrum-half Antoine Dupont, fullback Thomas Ramos and centre Gaël Fickou.
