David Skrela (born 2 March 1979) is a former 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 it ...

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby ...

. He most notably played for Stade Français and

Toulouse Toulouse ( , ; oc, Tolosa ) is the prefecture of the French department of Haute-Garonne and of the larger region of Occitania. The city is on the banks of the River Garonne, from the Mediterranean Sea, from the Atlantic Ocean and from Pa ...

in 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 ...

as well as the French national side as a

fly-half In the game of rugby union, there are 15 players on each team, comprising eight forwards (wearing jerseys numbered 1–8) and seven backs (numbered 9–15). In addition, there may be up to eight replacement players "on the bench", numbered 16– ...

centre Center or centre may refer to: Mathematics * Center (geometry), the middle of an object * Center (algebra), used in various contexts ** Center (group theory) ** Center (ring theory) * Graph center, the set of all vertices of minimum eccentri ...

. He was renowned for his tackles and his kicking skills.

Club career

In three years at Toulouse he won the Heineken Cup and the

. In the

2010 Heineken Cup Final The 2010 Heineken Cup Final was the final match of the 2009–10 Heineken Cup, the 15th season of Europe's top club rugby union competition. The match was played on 22 May 2010 at Stade de France, Saint-Denis north of Paris. It was contested by B ...

he scored three penalties and two drop goals as Toulouse defeated Biarritz.

International career

Skrela won his first full international

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for France on 30 June 2001 against

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

. He did not earn his second until six years later, when his performances for Stade Français attracted the attention of French coach

Bernard Laporte Bernard Laporte (born 1 July 1964) is a rugby player, coach and former French Secretary of State for Sport. From 1999 to 2007, Laporte was the head coach of the France national team. In 2011, he became the head coach at Toulon, after Philippe Sa ...

. He was part of the 2007 France Six Nations and

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...

squads and played in many of the team's matches. After returning to his hometown club

he was again selected under new coach

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's ...

for France's 2008 autumn tests. On 11 May 2011 he was selected by

to participate in the next 2011 Rugby World Cup. The French coach underlined Skrela's skills and maturity. Skrela was injured in the opening game against Japan and withdrew from the tournament and replaced by

Jean-Marc Doussain Jean-Marc Doussain (born 12 February 1991) is a French rugby union fly half. He plays club rugby for Stade Toulousain and has appeared for the French national U20 side. He made his debut for France with 5 minutes left of the 2011 Rugby World Cu ...

. France were beaten in the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

by hosts

. (Source
French Rugby Federation official website
profile.)

Personal life

Skrela is the son of the famous French international rugby player and coach

Jean-Claude Skrela Jean-Claude Skrela (born 1 October 1949 in Colomiers, Haute-Garonne) is a former coach of the French national rugby union team. His son, David Skrela, is a French rugby union player and his daughter, Gaëlle Skrela, is a professional basketbal ...

. His sister, Gaëlle, is a professional basketball player. He is of Polish descent on his father's side. At his father's insistence, he completed a diploma in civil engineering at Toulouse's

Institut National des Sciences Appliquées An institute is an organisational body created for a certain purpose. They are often research organisations (research institutes) created to do research on specific topics, or can also be a professional body. In some countries, institutes can ...

before beginning his rugby career full-time. He is married to Celine, and has a daughter and a son; Cabiro and Mathieu.

Honours

US Colomiers Union sportive Colomiers Rugby or US Colomiers is a French rugby union club currently competing in Pro D2, the second level of the French rugby pyramid. They had been relegated from Pro D2 after finishing last in the 2006-07 season, but earned ...

European Challenge Cup The EPCR Challenge Cup is an annual rugby union competition organised by European Professional Club Rugby (EPCR). It is the second-tier competition for clubs based in European leagues behind the European Rugby Champions Cup. From its inception i ...

: 1998 Stade Français *

French championship The French rugby league championship (french: Le Championnat de France de Rugby à XIII) has been the major rugby league tournament for semi-professional and professional clubs in France since the sport was introduced to the country in the 1930s. ...

: 2004, 2007 Stade Toulousain *

: 2011 * Heineken Cup: 2010

References

External links

David Skrela
on ercrugby.com
French Rugby Federation official website
profile * {{DEFAULTSORT:Skrela, David 1979 births Living people Rugby union players from Toulouse French rugby union players US Colomiers players Stade Français players Stade Toulousain players ASM Clermont Auvergne players French people of Polish descent France international rugby union players Rugby union fly-halves