Alexandre Albouy (born May 26, 1979) is a French

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, currently playing for the

Top 14 The Top 14 () is a professional rugby union club competition that is played in France. Created in 1892, the Top 14 is at the top of the national league system operated by the French National Rugby League, also known by its French initialism o ...

team

Castres Olympique Castres Olympique () is a French rugby union club located in the Occitanian city of Castres and is currently competing in the top level of the French league system. Founded in 1898, the club took its current name in 1906. They play at the Sta ...

. A scrum-half, Albouy went through the different levels of Castres – his home town – youth teams before signing his first professional contract in 1998. On 2 February 2002, aged 22, he made his debut for the French national team during the 33–12 victory against

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

. As such, he took part in France's Grand Slam that year, but this cap turned out to be his last. Nonetheless, he enjoyed a successful club career in Castres, with whom he won the

European Shield The European Shield (known as the Parker Pen Shield for sponsorship reasons) was a repechage tournament for teams knocked out in the first round of the European Challenge Cup. As such, it formed Europe's third-tier club rugby union competition ...

in 2003. In 2006, he decided to switch clubs and joined French giants

Stade Français Stade Français Paris Rugby () is a French professional rugby union club based in the 16th arrondissement of Paris. The club plays in the Top 14 domestic league in France and is one of the most successful French clubs of the modern era. The ...

. He struggled in his first season there and was used mostly as a substitute behind Agustín Pichot and

Jérôme Fillol Jérôme Fillol (born 10 February 1978, in Agen) is a French rugby player, who currently plays for Top 14 club Stade Français after signing from Racing Métro in 2011. His most famous involvement in rugby to date was on 6 April when he was accus ...

, and therefore did not play a major role in Stade Français's title. After two more lukewarm seasons in the French capital, he returned to Castres at the start of the 2009–10 season. Again it looked like Albouy was going to start games on the bench more often than not, the spot in the starting XV being seemingly reserved to fellow international

Sébastien Tillous-Borde Sébastien Tillous-Borde (born 29 April 1985) is a former French rugby union player. He played scrum-half for his club rugby with Toulon after signing from Castres in 2011. After his retirement in 2018, he is now the backs coach for Toulon. Ca ...

, but the latter seriously injured himself early in the season, and Albouy took his place and the captaincy.

Honours

(2003) **

Challenge Yves du Manoir The Challenge Yves du Manoir was a rugby union club competition that was played in France between 1931 and 2003 under different names. It is named after former player Yves du Manoir. History The Challenge Yves du Manoir was officially created on S ...

(2004) *

(

2007 File:2007 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Steve Jobs unveils Apple's first iPhone; TAM Airlines Flight 3054 overruns a runway and crashes into a gas station, killing almost 200 people; Former Pakistani Prime Minister of Pakistan, Pr ...

) * France national team **

Six Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Guinness Six Nations for sponsorship reasons) is an annual international men's rugby union competition between the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. The current champions ar ...

(

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Albouy, Alexandre 1979 births Living people People from Castres French rugby union players France international rugby union players Sportspeople from Tarn (department) Rugby union scrum-halves