Abdelatif Benazzi ( ar, عبد اللطيف بن عزي; born 20 August 1968) is a French- Moroccan

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

player who represented both

Morocco Morocco (),, ) officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is the westernmost country in the Maghreb region of North Africa. It overlooks the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Atlantic Ocean to the west, and has land borders with Algeria to ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

.Bath, Richard (ed.) ''The Complete Book of Rugby'' (Seven Oaks Ltd, 1997 ) p71 He played as a lock or back row forward. Abdel Benazzi started out with his homeland Morocco, but his ability was quickly spotted by France's selectors. He won his first France cap in 1990 against

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and went on to make 78 appearances and score nine tries for ''Les Bleus''. He played in three World Cups and was a member of the France team that reached the 1999 Rugby World Cup final. He was twice a

Grand Slam Grand Slam most often refers to: * Grand Slam (tennis), one player or pair winning all four major annual tournaments, or the tournaments themselves Grand Slam or Grand slam may also refer to: Games and sports * Grand slam, winning category te ...

winner and led ''Les Bleus'' in the 1997 tournament. His last international appearance was on 7 April 2001 against

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

. He finished his club career with

Saracens file:Erhard Reuwich Sarazenen 1486.png, upright 1.5, Late 15th-century Germany in the Middle Ages, German woodcut depicting Saracens Saracen ( ) was a term used in the early centuries, both in Greek language, Greek and Latin writings, to refer ...

in England, retiring in 2003 ahead of his 35th birthday.

References

External links

ERC Rugby profile

Sporting heroes
1968 births Living people French rugby union players Moroccan rugby union players French sportspeople of Moroccan descent Rugby union locks Rugby union flankers Saracens F.C. players France international rugby union players People from Oujda Officers of the Ordre national du Mérite SU Agen Lot-et-Garonne players Expatriate rugby union players in England Expatriate rugby union players in Australia French expatriate rugby union players Moroccan expatriate rugby union players Moroccan expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in England French expatriate sportspeople in Australia Morocco international rugby union players {{Morocco-bio-stub

See also

References

External links