Bernard Le Roux (; born 4 June 1989) is a

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

n-born 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, who recently played as flanker for French

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 ...

side

Racing 92 Racing 92 () is a French rugby union club based in suburban Paris that was formed in 2001 with the collaboration of the Racing Club de France and US Métro. They were called Racing Métro 92 between 2001 and 2015, when they changed the name ...

. As indicated by his family name, Bernard Le Roux has French roots, his Le Roux ancestor originated from

Normandy Normandy (; french: link=no, Normandie ; nrf, Normaundie, Nouormandie ; from Old French , plural of ''Normant'', originally from the word for "northman" in several Scandinavian languages) is a geographical and cultural region in Northwestern ...

. On 11 July 2013, he stated to the French sport newspaper L'Equipe, "I've done some research, my family originated from the Nantes area. They first moved to Belgium and then to South Africa, a few centuries ago."

Career

Bernard's rugby career started out when playing for amateur club side A.S.R.V. Ascrum in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...

. In 2009, he represented the

Boland Cavaliers The Boland Cavaliers (Boland Kavaliers in Afrikaans), are a South African rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup tournament. They draw players from the Cape Winelands and West Coast districts of Western Cape Province, an ...

in the 2009 Vodacom Cup, where the Cavaliers finished sixth in the Southern Section. He played in just 4 matches that season, all of them brief appearances from the bench. In addition to the Cavaliers, he spent some time with the

Border Bulldogs The Border Bulldogs is a South African professional rugby union team that participates in the annual Currie Cup and Vodacom Cup competitions. They are governed by the Border Rugby Union (BRU) and are based in East London. History The Border Ru ...

during the

2009 Currie Cup First Division The 2009 Absa Currie Cup First Division season was contested from 11 July through to 16 October. The Currie Cup is an annual domestic competition for provincial rugby union teams in South Africa. The Currie Cup tournament (also known as the Abs ...

, in which the Bulldogs finished fifth in the Division. Le Roux was tempted by

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

winning coach

Jake White Jake White (born 13 December 1963 as ''Jacob Westerduin'') is a professional rugby union coach and former coach of the South African national team – the ''Springboks'' – whom he coached to victory in 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 2004 Tri ...

to sign with the

Lions The lion (''Panthera leo'') is a large cat of the genus '' Panthera'' native to Africa and India. It has a muscular, broad-chested body; short, rounded head; round ears; and a hairy tuft at the end of its tail. It is sexually dimorphic; adult ...

for the

2010 Super 14 season The 2010 Super 14 season kicked off in February 2010 with pre-season matches held from mid-January. It finished on 29 May. The 2010 season was the fifth and last season of the expanded Super 14 format. The schedule, which covers 3½ months, fea ...

. However, a call the night before he was due to sign the Lions contract convinced him that a short-term medical wildcard contract with Racing 92, then known as Racing Métro, would be better – with the aim of perhaps signing with the Lions after the stint was over. However, Le Roux explains that he "fell in love with the country, the culture and the rugby environment", and remained on with Racing Métro after his short-term contract. He signed a three-year contract to start with, but a call up to the French senior squad for the 2013 French tour of New Zealand, being eligible through residency laws, was too tempting to decline, and a re-sign with Racing Métro was inevitable after the tour with 'Les Bleus'. He made his first appearance for France when playing against

Super Rugby Super Rugby is a men's professional rugby union club competition involving teams from Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, and the Pacific Islands. It previously included teams from Argentina, Japan, and South Africa. Building on various Southern Hem ...

side the Auckland

Blues Blues is a music genre and musical form which originated in the Deep South of the United States around the 1860s. Blues incorporated spirituals, work songs, field hollers, shouts, chants, and rhymed simple narrative ballads from the Afr ...

on 11 June 2013. He started in what was a 38–15 victory. Le Roux made his test debut 4 days later in

Christchurch Christchurch ( ; mi, Ōtautahi) is the largest city in the South Island of New Zealand and the seat of the Canterbury Region. Christchurch lies on the South Island's east coast, just north of Banks Peninsula on Pegasus Bay. The Avon River / ...

, starting and playing the full 80 minutes in a 30–0 defeat to the

All Blacks The New Zealand national rugby union team, commonly known as the All Blacks ( mi, Ōpango), represents New Zealand in men's international rugby union, which is considered the country's national sport. The team won the Rugby World Cup in 1987 ...

. Since being named in that 38-man squad for the All Blacks tour, Le Roux has featured in every French squad

Philippe Saint-André Philippe Georges Saint-André (; born 19 April 1967) is a former French rugby union footballer and currently the manager of Top 14 side Montpellier. He earned 69 test caps for France between 1990 and 1997. His preferred position was wing but h ...

has announced, with Saint-André "looking to build something for the next World Cup" (the

2015 Rugby World Cup The 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was onl ...

). He represented France for the first time in the 2019 Rugby World Cup, starting in the game against the USA.

Honours

: 2015–16

External links

France profile
at FFR

References

1989 births Living people Afrikaner people France international rugby union players French people of South African descent Racing 92 players Rugby union flankers Rugby union players from Moorreesburg South African people of French descent People of Norman descent {{SouthAfrica-rugbyunion-bio-stub